Run

“Missy, I don’t know if this is a good idea.”

“I don’t see any other option. Do you?”

Alice sat there in the passenger seat, looking out the window. The happy girl that she had seen in Missy was dwindling. That laughing girl who was holding an ice pack on Alice’s head was now crying behind the wheel of a car. She looked over and noticed a tattoo on the back of Missy’s shoulder. It was a black bird. She wanted to reach over and touch it, but she couldn’t figure out why. There was so much going on in her head and the window seemed to be showing a slower image than it should have been showing. The car was driving too fast. It was hot outside. Sticky.

“It’s just… I met you yesterday! And now we are running from the police and I don’t even know where the fuck we are going and we don’t have hardly any money and I’m scared and… I don’t even know your last name!”

Missy just looked ahead. She didn’t know what to say. She wanted to comfort her, but she didn’t even know how to.

“Jim is going to be so mad…”

“Don’t worry about Jim, Alice.”

“Don’t worry about Jim? I’m sorry, but you do not know anything about my relationship. You have no idea how mad he will be! You have no idea WHAT he will DO!”

“What will he do, huh? You want to tell me?”

Alice looked at her lap. “No. Forget it.” She felt tears coming to her eyes.

“Oh, Alice, I’m sorry… Forget I asked, okay?” She reached over and touched the back of Alice’s head. “Just know that Jim is not going to be mad. He will never even know. I mean… it’s not really possible.”

Alice suddenly realized that Missy was working up the courage to say something to her.

“Missy. What do you mean?”

She looked out the window and mumbled ‘shit’ to herself. Slowly, she pulled the car over to the side of the road. It was dark and there was nobody around. Alice noted to herself that she could hear crickets. Missy put the car in park and turned her body to face Alice.

“You know the man in the parking lot?”

“Obviously. Missy, what the fuck are you talking about?”

“That man… I think it was Jim.”