Authors: T. Banny
Ro put on the radio, and we sang along to some oldies. I felt a little bit better than I had in a while. Maybe I could get through this…
Ro missed the exit for New Bedford.
“ Ro that was the exit for the Amtrak station," I told her. “ You missed it, you’re going to have to get off at the next exit”.
“ Did I? Shoot," she said, but she didn’t look particularly concerned.
“ Well, you said the train leaves at 2, and it’s already 1:45. We might not make train," I pointed out. “ Do you have the schedule somewhere? Let me see how long we have to wait for the next one”.
“ It’s in the glove compartment," she said.
I looked around for it, and noticed she flew right past the next exit, as well. “ Ro! That was the exit we needed to get back to New Bedford! We’re going in the wrong direction”.
She didn’t say a word. She kept driving as if she hadn’t heard me.
“ Ro!" I cried. “ Are we not taking the train in New Bedford? Are we taking it somewhere else?”
“ Hush, Nellie. Just let me drive, OK?" she said.
I was too tired to argue. I leaned back, and watched the trucks on the highway.
Ro got off the exit in some little town I’d never heard of.
“ Why are you getting off here?" I asked.
She pointed to her gas tank. “ I’m almost on E”.
“ Are you kidding me, Ro? You’ve got a half a tank there," I said. “I know my car is old, but trust me, it’s still good on gas”.
“ You know me, full tank or nothing," she said, then she pursed her lips together. She turned a corner, and spotted a gas station. She exhaled, as if she were relieved.
She pulled into the gas station, but didn’t stop at a tank. Instead she pulled my car next to an SUV looked very familiar.
It was Ty Sutton’s Range Rover. I looked at Ro, shocked.
“ What the hell is going on, Romina?" I demanded.
Ty got out of his truck and came up to me. He had a set expression on his face.
He opened the back passenger door and grabbed my overnight bag.
“ What are you doing?" I cried. I turned back to Ro. “Ro, what is he doing here? Where are we?”
“ Nellie, Ty will explain. Just go with him," Ro said, giving me a determined stare.
“ Ro, I am not going any where with him!" I snapped. “ Are you for real?”
Ty opened my door, and yanked me out. “ Listen, Nellie. Here’s how it’s going down. You’re getting in my truck, and we’re going to take a drive. Ro is going to drive back home to Egg Cove. Without you.”
He closed the door, and Ro pulled away so fast she almost drove over my toes. I could almost smell the rubber burning.
“ Beautiful, get in the car," he said, opening his truck, and throwing my bag in.
“ Ty, I’m not going anywhere with you," I said, angrily.
“ So, you’re just going to stand here in a strange town? In a strange gas station? Do you think that’s a good idea?”
I stood there, glaring at him.
“ Think about it, Nellie," he said, rubbing his chin. “Pretty girl, at a truck stop in a nowhere town. Sounds like a bad horror movie. You’re best bet is to get in the truck with me. I’d hate to hear they found you in a million pieces in the woods somewhere”.
“ That’s disgusting, Ty" I said. “ But I’ll be fine. I’ll just call a cab from my cell.” I reached for my purse, then cursed when I realized Ro had driven off with it in the front seat of my car. My cell phone was in my purse!
Ty leaned in close to me. “Yeah, looks like you’re not calling anyone, Nellie-girl. It’s going to get cold and dark soon. I’m giving you to the count of ten before I decide to just leave you here and drive away myself”.
I swallowed hard, not sure whether to believe him. I didn’t want to test it. I got in the truck.
“ Where are we going?" I snapped when he got in beside me, and started driving back to the highway.
“ We are going to a small town in the mountains called Bare Hill. Doesn’t sound very promising, I know. But they have these artisan workshops up there, where they make stuff, like coffins and chairs. I don’t know. My eyes kinda always glazed over whenever my brother talked about it.” Ty looked at me and shrugged like he wasn’t all interested.
“ I can’t see him, Ty," I said softly. “ I just can’t.”
“ Well, Nellie, there’s not much you can do about it since I’m at the wheel. Unless you decide to jump out in the middle of the highway, or something," he said, cheerfully.
“ Ty, it’s not a joke," I said, and I felt my throat closing off which meant I was going to be crying soon. “ It still hurts too much”.
“ Nellie. He’s falling apart. I’m worried about him," Ty said, his voice turning dead serious.
“ I’m sure he’s fine. If he’s at this workshop, then he’s doing what he loves," I said, wiping my tears away. “ Trust me, I know Chan. He’s doing what he loves”.
“ If you know Chan, then you must know this workshop is probably the only thing keeping him going. You must know how much he loves you," he said, quietly.
“ Ty, Chan loves Samantha. He told me at Winter Dance she’s a huge part of his life. He broke up with me to be with her!" I yelled. Then I took a deep calming breath. “Please, turn the car around Ty. Take me home”.
“ I really wish I could do that, Nellie. I like you a lot. You’re a really great girl," he said.
He paused. “ But I love my brother more. And I like the guy he is when he’s with you. And I’ll do whatever I have to do to see my brother happy. Even if it means kidnapping the girl he’s crazy about”. I was about to say something more, but he cut me off by turning on the radio.
“ Sit back and relax, Nellie-girl," he said, grinning at me. “ Enjoy the scenery”.
“ You’re crazy," I said, but I sat back in my seat.
It was a beautiful drive through the mountains. The trees were bare, but it was still breathtaking. We drove past several valleys, tucked deep in between rising blue mountains.
“ Chan must be crazy driving up here. I hate the mountains," Ty grumbled.
“ Are you serious? This is so beautiful," I said, gazing out the window. We were driving up a narrow mountain road, trees on both sides.
“ You know how you hate spiders? I hate heights," Ty admitted. “ I always have nightmares I’m about to drop off a cliff, and the only thing stopping me from falling is this one little twig. I’m holding on by my pinky and the twig is like this close to snapping”. He snapped his fingers for emphasis.
I laughed. “ I don’t think that’s ever going to happen, Ty”.
“ Just like I don’t think you’re ever going to be eaten alive by a spider," he countered.
That made me laugh even harder. “ OK, fine. Chan is afraid of heights, too, and he’s up here”.
“ Well, he can handle it. I can’t," Ty said, with a shrug. “ I don’t claim to be a brave guy, you know”.
He put on some hip hop music, and started dancing to it. He opened the windows and started blasting it.
“ Ty!" I screamed, putting my hands over my ears. “ What are you doing?”
“ It’s Jay Z! This is the only way to listen To Jay Z on a mountain drive to the middle of nowhere!" he yelled over the music, turning it up so loud I was sure half the mountainside could hear it.
I just shook my head. Ty Sutton was definitely crazy. We drove about an hour more, and then we reached signs for Bare Hill. Ty programmed his GPS, and began to follow the robotic instructions.
“Looks like we’re close." he said. “I’m surprised I even have a signal so far from civilization”.
We turned down an even more narrow road, and Ty had to drive carefully over the dirt and gravel. We reached a sign that said Bare Hill Artisan Guild and Centre.
“ This is the place," Ty said, as we drove past some cabins. They looked kind of rustic, like they had no electricity or indoor plumbing. Definitely not a place your average A-boy would hang out.
We reached the main lodge, where there was a sign said “Registration and Visitor Information” and Ty told me to wait in the car. “ I’ll run in and ask where Chan is. See if he’s in a shop or in his cabin or something”.
I nodded, and Ty hopped out of his truck. I tried to steady myself. I wasn’t sure if I was ready to see Chan. I just kept hearing his voice in my mind telling me he thought I’d be better off with Joaquim.
Ty came back. “ OK, they told me he should be coming out of one his classes now. We’ve got to drive just a little way up to reach his cabin”.
I clasped my hands together to stop from wringing them together.
Ty reached out, and held them. “ It’ll be fine, Nellie”.
“ You’re going to stick around, right, Ty? In case he doesn’t want to talk to me?" I asked him, nervously.
“ Sure I am," Ty said reassuringly.
We drove past several cabins, and then Ty turned down another dirt road. We saw Chan before he saw us. It was bitter cold, but he was walking shirtless, his muscles sleek and strong and glistening with sweat. His hair was stuck to his forehead, his shirt and jacket were in his hands.
He looked so sexy!
“He doesn’t walk around like that all the time, this workshop must be bringing out a different side of him" Ty said, winking at me. Ty looked over at me and frowned. “ I don’t think you’re going to take your top off, but maybe you might want to put some lipstick on or something”.
“ Ty, shut up!" I said, but I did run my hands through my hair.
Ty stopped the car, and rolled the window down. Chan came up to the window, a huge grin on his face.
“ What are you doing up here, bro?" he asked Ty, excitedly. “Are you going to join one of the workshops I told you about?”
“ Uh, yeah, no," Ty said. He leaned back so Chan could see me. “I brought you a visitor, actually”.
The grin disappeared off Chan’s face when he saw me. I couldn’t read his expression. He’d gone all poker faced, what he always did whenever he didn’t want his emotions to be read.
“ How far away are you? You want a ride?” Ty said, as if it was perfectly normal he’d brought his brother’s sorta kinda ex girlfriend up to see him. “ And put your shirt on, man. It’s freezing cold, and I don’t want to see your nipples”.
Chan swiftly put his shirt on, his face still expressionless. “ I’ll walk.”
“ Suit yourself,” Ty said, and rolled up the glass. He started the car again, and kept driving.
“ He doesn’t want to see me, Ty. He doesn’t want to talk,” I said, my words catching in my throat.
“ Yeah, seems like doesn’t it?” Ty agreed, and I couldn’t tell if he was joking or not.
We stopped in front of Chan’s cabin. It was a little larger than the ones we’d seen when we first came in, but it still looked primitive.
“ Looks like Chan booked the luxury model”, Ty joked. He parked the car, and got out.
He opened the door for me, and I got out reluctantly. We looked down the road. Chan was still a good distance away.
“ You going in?”, Ty asked, pointing to the front door of the cabin.
I shook my head and took a step back. The place looked like spider’s paradise.
“I brought you two cans of Raid because I sort of suspected this place would look like this”, Ty said. “ Aren’t I the greatest?”
“ Maybe me and Chan can talk in the truck, like before at the bowling alley” I said. “ I’m sure it won’t take long. He doesn‘t look at all thrilled to see me”.
“ Yeah, but still, let me get the Raid in case he wants to go inside since I’m here and I’m not going to hang out in the cold while you two talk”, Ty suggested, going back to the car. He opened the car, and then , before I could say another word, he peeled out, just like Ro had done earlier. I almost thought he was going to crash into some trees, he drove away so fast.
“ Ty!”, I shrieked. “ What are you doing? Come back!”
But he kept driving. He stopped only once. He got out, ran to the back of his truck, opened the trunk, and threw my bag onto the path, along with some aerosol cans. The Raid! Then he zipped back into the drivers seat and tore off.
All I could do was stare at him, shocked. He’d left me! Alone! Alone with his brother who looked like the last thing he wanted to do was talk to me!
Chan stopped and picked up my bag, and the cans of Raid from the dirt. He walked up to me, holding the bag over his shoulder.
“ I swear I didn’t plan this, Chan”, I said, quickly. “ I thought I was going to New York with Ro and Ana and Em. And then Ro and Ty kidnapped me and brought me here, and my cell phone is gone and-”. I stopped talking because I was babbling and probably making no sense to him.
“It’s fine”, he said, shortly. He handed me a can of Raid.
“ Are there spiders in there?”, I asked, shakily.
He shrugged. “ I don’t know. I didn’t notice. But either you come in, or you stand out here in the cold.”
He didn’t wait for my answer, he just walked to the cabin. He took a key and went in, leaving my bag by the door.
Whatever! If he wanted to be a rude, insensitive jerk, then fine! I’d sit outside. I didn’t need to talk to him. I was so angry I started to shake even more. I pulled my bag away from the door and dragged it away. I opened it up, hoping there was a possibility I was wrong and I’d left my cell in it, and not in my purse.