📌 Yorkshire, England, UK
I spent the entire ride organizing Brad's emails and accounting for all the expenditures we had so far. Unfortunately, yesterday's overbudget cost a lot that we may not have enough to pay for our next room since Brad didn't have any upcoming clients from his freelance producing job, which meant that we don't have another way to earn money other than busking.
"Something wrong, Cai?" Brad whispered to me since he was supposed to be on vocal rest, then I sighed and shook my head before counting the cash we have left to make sure that it coincides with my records, then the car started beeping on its own.
"What's going on?" I asked Brad, who was shifting his gaze between the road and the speedometer.
"We're almost out of petrol. Luckily, there's a service station nearby. Do we have enough money for a full tank?" Brad asked, then I remembered the meager funds we have left.
"Yeah, I think we have enough," I lied, then Brad nodded his head before we got to the gas station, with Brad stopping the car right in front of the pumps.
"Can you fill her up? I need to take a wee," Brad asked, then I nodded my head before we climbed out of the car. As he went to the toilets, I filled the tank up and paid with my credit card despite knowing that Brad wouldn't appreciate that. However, it was the least I could do considering that we needed the money, and since I was his travel mate after all, I probably should contribute as much as I could.
Unfortunately, Brad still wasn't back when everything was done, and I was starting to worry. Before I could think about where he could be, a car started honking behind me.
"Move it, lassie!" The man yelled as he honked his horn, then I got out of the car and looked at him.
"My friend went to pee. It's his car," I said, but he went on.
"You can move it, though. Get on with it!"
"I'm sorry, but, I can't drive! Not legally, anyway."
"I don't care. Move it!" He yelled as he kept honking his horn, then I frantically looked around for Brad, who was still nowhere to be found, before groaning internally, hoping that Brad could forgive me for touching his precious vehicle without permission and thanking the Gods for letting him leave his keys behind and making me as tall as him, which meant that I didn't have to adjust anything to my fitting.
The man finally stopped honking when I moved the car away, then I tried to look for Brad. When I went to the toilets, I saw that he wasn't there, and I immediately grew nervous. I looked around and I saw Brad walking out of the convenience store, then I drove to him so he won't walk any further.
When I stopped the car right in front of him, he looked more confused than angry. I immediately pulled the handbrake and got out, hoping that Brad wasn't too mad at me, but since I've already done so much to the guy, I doubt it.
"I'm so, so sorry. The guy behind me kept annoying me until I moved the car because he wanted to fill his tank. I looked for you but I couldn't find you anywhere. I tried to explain to him that it was your car and I tried to say that I didn't know how to drive, but he just—" I said, then Brad cut me off.
"Cai, it's fine. I should apologize for taking too long. The queue was slow today."
"You're not mad? I touched your precious baby without permission," I said, then he chuckled.
"No. You did what you had to. It was quite rude to keep the guy waiting, to be fair. But, all is good now, so shall we go?" Brad asked me, then I nodded my head.
When we got to our next destination, however, we discovered that the whole street where Brad was planning to busk was blocked off, since they were going to film this show called Peaky Blinders. When I looked at the poster, I chuckled to myself, because Brad's outfit was similar to the flat cap and overcoat that the character was wearing.
"What are you laughing at? Shouldn't you be stressed? We can't earn money tod—" Brad cut himself off when he followed my gaze, then he looked at his outfit, which made it even more difficult to hold my laugh in.
"You think I look like Tommy Shelby?" Brad asked, then I shrugged.
"Is that his name?"
"Yeah. Funnily enough, he's based in Birmingham, too."
"That's where you're from?"
Brad nodded his head, then I let him stand next to the poster and imitate the guy's pose so I could take a picture. After snapping the picture, someone from the production crew pointed at me and started to yell.
"Hey, no pictures!" The man said, then I stood frozen. I looked at Brad, who held my hand.
"Run!" Brad said before we pranced away like lost chickens, our legs trying to keep the pace up as we noticed that three people were chasing us.
"Where are we going?" I asked Brad, who squeezed my hand a little.
"Someone stop those two!" One of the crew said, then Brad looked at me with a smile on his face, as if being chased was the wildest yet happiest thing he has ever done.
"Less questioning, more running!" Brad laughed, then I laughed along with him as I put my trust in him, hoping that we won't get lost.
After a while, Brad and I reached a dead end, forcing us to stop, then the crew surrounded us, making sure that we couldn't easily get out of their sight.
"Show us the picture you took," said the crew man who pointed me out, then I handed them my phone to show that I was simply taking a picture of Brad and the poster, then he started bursting in laughter.
"For a second there I thought you were going to take a picture of the set, which is not allowed. Anyway, upon seeing this, young man, would you like to be an extra? One of them called off because they got food poisoning, and we were supposed to replace him with another, but we weren't able to find anyone who looks the part," the man told Brad, who was surprised and relieved at the same time.
"Me? But I don't know how to act."
"That's alright! You'll just stay by the side, walk like a normal person, and follow the directions we give you. We'll pay you 10 quid for your participation."
Brad and I looked at each other, considering that although it was less than what we would get from busking, it was still good money, so he decided to take the job.
I watched as Brad walked around the set while they were taping, and although I didn't know what was going on since I have never watched the show before, it was entertaining to see Brad not being himself for a bit and just walking around as if he actually has somewhere to go.
After his brief acting stint, Brad was paid as promised, then we went to Rose Hill Manor, where we decided to have lunch for the day.
"Hi, my name is Leila, and I will be serving you today," the waitress said, then after she took our orders, I asked her what the WiFi's password is and connected my phone to the internet.
Seconds later, it started to ring. I excused myself from Brad before going outside to take the call.
"Papa?" I asked my father, who sounded distraught.
"Iha, what the hell are you doing in England? Aren't you supposed to be in Scotland with your dad?"
"How do you know where I am?"
"Where you use your credit card can be tracked, Cai. You left me no choice when your dad called me and said that you ran away without telling him where you went, and when either of us tried to call you, you never responded. Susmariosep, Cai! What has gotten into your brain? We have been worried sick, it was very wrong of you to take off like that!"
"You know what's more wrong? You destroying your marriage by having an affair with Vi," I finally put my foot down, ready for my response if he will lie to me again.
"What are you talking about? That is a false accusation, darling. I told you already; the media made up a false story about us and didn't give us the chance to explain."
"The last time I checked, Oslo was not imagining it when you took her home to our house," I said, and there was a long period of silence between us.
"Iha, please, hear me out—"
"Do you know how much pain I had to endure when you and Dad got divorced? I grew up thinking that you and Vi were only friends, that you never had history, that she was my best friend and my prime example of living in life, but, no. I have defended you two for your actions for so long without knowing the full story, and it has made me nothing but the fool."
"I was trying to protect you."
"No, Papa. You and Vi lied to me. I confided in the two of you and was completely honest to both of you despite everything, but now, I found out that you two weren't. Do you have any idea how much it hurts? It's like I can't trust anyone anymore!"
"Of course, Cai, it hurts. And I'm so, so sorry for hurting you."
"Sorry for hurting me? You're not even sorry that it happened?!"
There was another silence between the both of us before I took a deep breath, no longer caring about how strained our relationship will be after this call.
"Paris was right. I should've moved in with her when she was still alive."
I ended the call before I could get more emotional to him, then I bursted into silent tears, my heart breaking as I finally told him all the feelings I have bottled up. I quickly tried to stop my tears from flowing before going back to our table, where Brad immediately looked at me.
"Who was it?" Brad asked me, then I shrugged.
"Papa. We just talked about things."
"Wait, you talked to your dad? That's big! How did it go?"
"I'd rather not talk about it."
"Oh," Brad said, then Leila served us our food, which I quickly devoured. Brad and I finished at roughly the same time, then he ordered another coffee before asking for the bill, and I was about to bring our roadtrip funds out when Brad brought a card out, then Leila left with it.
"You didn't ask me to pay for the room last night, and I wasn't able to pay for my car's petrol, so I figured that it was you who paid all. Don't worry, I got our next room covered," Brad said with a guilty look on his face.
"Are you sure?"
"Of course."
Brad and I fell into a deafening silence before Leila came back with his card and thanked us, then we thanked her for her service before we went back to Brad's car, where we realized that we didn't have an agenda.
"So, where to?" Brad asked as he turned the engine on, then I shrugged.
"I don't know this place at all; maybe you have a place in mind?" I asked, then Brad smirked to himself before looking at me.
"Put your seatbelt on," he said as he put one hand on the wheel, then I did what he told me before he drove forward, not putting his phone on its designated holder like he usually would.
● - last edited - ☆ - 27.04.22 - ●