Hazel's Hitchhiker

56: Almost There

Hazel

Austin was only an hour away according to Google Maps. Damn, this was getting real. Only an hour and we'd be in Austin. The temptation for my foot to press on the gas peddle was getting serious. To keep calm, Joey and I discussed our favorite moments of our trip while I drunk as much Arizona Iced Tea as possible.

"Vegas was fun," claimed Joey. "Never would I have imagined that I would be able to test out my poker skills with someone in the mafia. I can only imagine how jealous Phillip must feel about that."

"I hated Vegas. I was that close to losing my virginity to that idiot Ryan. Can you imagine losing your virginity to someone you hate? Damn, I want my first time to be special."

"I can imagine it actually. Don't forget, I lost my virginity to Jessica who I wasn't crazy about."

"True, but you didn't hate her. To be honest, I kind of hated her a little. I know for a fact that Amber never liked her. She was always bitching about her and how annoying she was."

We both laughed. I don't know why Amber hating Jessica was funny, but it was. Hopefully, Jessica would eventually find a guy that would like her and want to be with her for who she was and not her appearance.

Once we finished laughing, an awkward pause took place until Joey spoke again. "You know, I'm glad you took me to see my mom. If you had tried to pull that off when I was awake, I would've literally murdered you."

"I would've killed you first before you had the chance." A sip of that tea was taken. "But yeah, I'm glad you got to see your mom. She seems nice. And I definitely like that Craig guy. He's a good guy. Too bad he's not your father."

"Yeah, I kind of wish that man was my father. Can you imagine how much different and better my childhood would've been if that guy was my father? Part of me wonders if I would've ended up the drunk alcoholic that I am."

"Speaking of parents," she began with a low tone with her phone pulled out. "I actually have a text message ready for my dad telling him that I'm not going be a nurse." The phone was handed to Joey for him to look at. "I wrote out the message last night at the hotel but was afraid to send it out to him. At first, I thought that maybe I would send it to him and throw my phone into the pool. If it was destroyed my dad wouldn't be able to contact me."

"Damn, you should've thrown it into the pool. Why didn't you?" His eyes were glued to the message the presented itself on the phone. It seemed like he was adding something to it.

Why didn't I throw that mess of a phone into the water? The answer was obvious, but there was no way I could tell Joey why I didn't do it. If I told him the truth, I'd be telling him a lot more than just the truth. In fact, my life would be a complete turn if he knew the truth. No, the truth was not worth telling at this moment in time. Maybe later. Instead, another excuse was given.

"iPhones are so damn expensive. How would I get by if I didn't have a phone? I wouldn't be able to contact anyone like Amber or even you."

Shit, did I really just say that? I actually told him that I wouldn't be able to contact him? That had to have meant something to him. Oh my gosh, I hope he wasn't reading into what was just said. Hopefully, his mind was still on the text.

"Yeah, I guess you should send out this message when you're ready. How will you know when you're ready?"

"As soon as we get there, I'm changing my major. No way in hell I'm going one day on that campus as a nursing major." Wow, it was hard to believe that I said that. Up until that point, it had not occurred to me to change my major as soon as I got there, but it sure made sense to do that.

"Smart plan. Do you want me to go with you for support? I actually need to change my major as well. Of course, my old man won't give a shit if it's changed. He didn't even want me to go to Austin. Claimed it was too liberal of a school and too liberal of a city."

"Sure, come with me. In the process, we'll be really liberal and piss off your old man." The two of us snickered at the thought of pissing off that drunk idiot.

For the next few minutes, neither of us said anything. We only had thirty more minutes until we reached Austin. Shit, thirty more minutes. What would happen as soon as we got there? I could imagine how different our lives would be within the next half hour. Nothing would ever be the same again. Shit, I don't think I was completely ready for what was about to happen in that amount of time. The inside of me started to hyperventilate. If only it were possible to have one more night together before all of the change that was about to happen. If only.

"Hey," I blurted. "To be honest, I don't really want to get to the campus tonight. The only good thing about getting there tonight is getting that scholarship. The more I think about it, the more I don't really want that damn scholarship. Could we spent one last night together before all of this crazy shit happens?"

A smile from Joey came out of nowhere. "Dude, it's like you read my mind. Hell yeah, we don't have to be at the campus tonight. I was looking at my phone and there are some night campout spots. McKinney Falls looks like a great place to spend the night."

Just like that, we were going to McKinney Falls.

Austin is so close! We're almost there! Hang in there! Don't forget to comment and vote!

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