. hour 19 .
The road we're driving on is quite bumpy. Every couple miles, the car feels like we do a complete roll and almost drive off the road.
The sky seems to be almost all clouds now; no blue to be seen at all. George and I haven't spoken since McDonalds, but he chooses to break the silence.
"Why are you driving so slow?" he asks.
I check the speedometer. "I'm going the speed limit."
"It doesn't feel like it." George peeks out the window as if that'll show our car's protectory.
"Then I don't know what to tell you."
A light pops up on the dashboard, and it's almost comedic timing. I recognize it for saying the car's at a low tire pressure. I chew the inside of my cheek, trying to figure out what I could do to fix it.
George, oblivious to the warning light, crosses his arms, choosing to not go back on his phone as he was before. He stares out the front windshield. I don't want to tell him we might have to pull over at the next exit for car troubles.
I glance at the map displayed on the car's screen. We have five hours till our next hotel, and George has already called to get himself his own hotel room.
"The road just doesn't look as bumpy as it feels," George says again, "Is everything okay?"
I swallow once, knowing I could tell him everything might not be okay right now. I'm about to say everything's fine, but then I realize he's going to know when we turn off the interstate.
Where is the next exit? I ask myself, It has to be close.
"I'm not sure what's going on," I lie, "but maybe we should stop at the next exit to check?"
George shrugs. "If you think that's best."
I feel relieved he doesn't ask anymore questions. He picks up my phone, placing it in front of my face to unlock it. He scrolls across the map in search for the next exit. He lets out a hum as he searches.
I glance at the tire pressure light again.
"There's not an exit for a really long time," George says.
I sigh. "That's fine; it'll be okay for a little bit."
We continue driving in silence once again. My heart pounds with the light's warning, and I just hope it can last just a little bit longer.
It takes thirty minutes before the car hits a hard 'bump', and it doesn't seem to stop.
"What the hell?" George once again searches for answers through the window.
I see the sign saying the exit is in one mile. It's so close, but I don't think we'd make it with the way the tires are thumping along the interstate.
I let out a long sigh of defeat. I change lanes to be in the far right, then pull off onto the side of the road.
"What are you doing?" George asks.
"We have a flat tire, George." I click the hazard lights on before getting out of the car. I take a walk around the vehicle before stopping in front of the tire culprit.
George comes around the car to see as I'm pulling out my phone. "You knew it was flat?" George asks.
"The light came on." I shrug. "But I thought I'd have more time to get to the next exit."
I search for a RoadSide Assistance number. I know I saved it somewhere just in case anything ever happened.
"Why didn't you tell me?" George bends next to the tire, squinting his eyes to find the cause.
"I didn't want to panic you," I say, "Obviously it didn't work though."
George scratches the back of his head. "Well, do you know how to change a tire?"
"Nope." My lips pop at the end of the word. I finally find the number. "Wait, do you know how?"
He meets my eyes and blinks a few times. "I can't even drive a car; why would I know how to change a tire on one?"
"It doesn't even matter." I wave it off. "I don't have a spare tire anyways."
"What?" George's voice is flat. "Doesn't every car have one?"
"I had to use it a while ago when my car got a flat," I explain, "then I didn't get a chance to replace it."
"What's wrong with your tires?" George asks, inspecting a non-flat one now.
"I don't know about the one that happened back then," I say, "but we went through a big construction zone today."
George's mouth forms the shape of an 'O'. "That makes sense actually."
I nod once as if to say 'obviously'. "I'm calling for a tow truck."
I sit on the grass near the flat tire as I wait on hold. I pluck a blade of grass out of the earth, fold it over once, then another before throwing it in George's direction. I do it over and over again, but none of them ever actually touch him.
"Why didn't you replace your spare tire?" George asks quietly despite me being on the phone.
"I didn't think this would happen to somebody twice within a couple months," I say. It's not my smartest decision in the world, but everyone has their moments. George just so happens to be here during mine.
"Well it did," George counters.
"RoadSide Assistance." The call finally connects. I wave George away while I talk, determined to fix this by myself.
I explain the situation to the person on the phone. They search for a place to help within the area. I play with the grass between my fingers as I go on and off of hold.
George stands in the grassy area near the road, refusing to sit down. Behind him is a forest line and the sign saying the exit is soon. I try not to pay attention to that area and focus on getting us out of this.
"Yes, we're about a mile from the exit," I reply to the person on the phone.
George steps in front of me with his phone outstretched. "Smile," he whispers.
I roll my eyes instead, and his flash goes off.
I point my finger in the distance away from me. I mouth the words "Go away". He gives me a pout before going to sit down on the edge of the road and grass. I glance at him to make sure he's not going to get hit by a car. He seems to be paying attention.
"Thank you so much," I say when the person confirms a tow truck is on its way.
I hang up the phone and let out a long sigh. This was not supposed to happen.
The sky is now filtering to a darker gray than earlier. George notices I'm off the phone and stands. I stand too so that he doesn't come sit next to me.
He holds his phone screen out towards me. "Perfect teaser for the vlog, right?"
"Did you really take a picture of me with a flat tire?" I ask sharply, "Why is twitter your first thought?"
"Well, we did need a teaser for Tommy's vlog," George explains.
I squint at the screen, noticing it doesn't seem to resemble a draft. "Did you post it already?"
George doesn't respond, which I take as enough of an answer.
"Seriously, George?"
"Listen, you got us into this mess," George says, "I'm just documenting it."
My hands ball up into fist. Yes, this is my fault, but I don't need the pressure of the media knowing what happened on me as well.
"Well, what else was I supposed to do?" George gestures to the grass on the side of the interstate. "We're stuck because of you."
"Well, if we had left on time like I planned, then we wouldn't have been stuck in traffic near the construction zone," I counter.
"Well, if you had let me take the lead of directions, then we wouldn't have gone near the construction at all." George matches my tone and takes a step towards me.
"Well, I would've let you if you didn't lead me to some stranger's house within the first hour of our trip." My voice is raising now, but there's nobody around except George and passing cars to hear it.
"You wouldn't have helped me even if you knew." George once again is able to match me. He raises his voice, sharpens his tone. We're playing a game of darts and every insult is getting us closer and closer to bullseye.
"You're right, I wouldn't have." I throw my hands in the air. "I don't trust you for the exact reason of you leading us off the map."
"You are so annoying, you know that right?" George points his finger towards me, then he starts to count on his hand. "You don't let me sleep, you don't let me charge my phone, you don't let me post teasers."
"You can post the goddamn teaser." I'm yelling now. "Just let me know first."
"Well you would've said no." George's words are sharp and poisoned.
"And I wonder why." I roll my eyes, needing to turn from him to even cool off. When I turn, there is nothing but an empty road. My car sits pathetically with its hazard light blinking.
"You can't even drive, George." My voice is still loud when I face him again. "That's a quality I prefer when going on a thirty-six hour road trip with someone."
"That is out of my control, and you of all people should know that." His voice is quieter but still ready to kill.
"What?" It comes out in one angry huff. "I didn't even know you couldn't drive."
"Ugh." He buries his face into his hand. He turns away as I did a couple seconds ago. Instead of turning back to me though, he just stares at the upcoming exit sign.
I stand with my hands crossed, ready for round two of this war. He's been an asshole even in the times I tried to be nice. I'm tired of the passive-aggressive comments. I want to speak our minds.
But George lets out a laugh. He glances back to me over his shoulder and points to the exit sign. "Is that a couch?"
"What?" My voice is filled with annoyance. I walk next to him and squint.
Sure enough, there's a bright blue couch right next to the sign. It looks dirty and disgusting, but I'm more curious about how in the world it got there.
"Hey." George nudges my side.
I glance up at him. He has a smile on his face now, and I didn't realize how much nicer it is than the gritted teeth and furrowed brows he wore a couple of minutes ago. My shoulders relax.
"I spy something blue," he gestures to the couch.
His arm hadn't completely moved from mine, so a i nudge him back easily. "Guess what."
He takes the hint and steps away from me. "What?"
"We have an ottoman to go with that." I throw my thumb in the direction of the car.
We both laugh, and it's like we forgot that we were even fighting in the first place. I don't even remember what had started the fight because it ended as soon as it began.
author's note:
i think my goal of thirty-six chapters is officially not going to happen :(
but i guess that means more chapters for you guys! have an amazing day