Show me the way

[Lovely]

April 29, 2010
6:15pm


Delaney drove the pick up down the winding road which lead to the 'old mill', it was still in use but looked like it shouldn't be sometimes, like it was a throwback to decades ago - that's how most of the town was. Rural and kind of closed off from the world, time seemed to go more slowly here and they were a couple hours from the nearest 'city'. The people of Pale Ridge seemed to like that just fine, for the most part, Delaney included. She enjoyed the peace and quiet and even the wildlife with it's warnings which kept the locals talking when someone up and disappeared. Usually it was hikers or campers that went off the marked trails or too deep into the woods. Del had lived here her whole life and never once got eaten by a wild animal, maybe it was because she was smart enough to be cautious or because she respected the wild for what it was. Her radio played softly, a cd of classic rock music since the radio station wouldn't come in out here. Steve had called her to come pick him up, his truck wouldn't start and everyone else had left already, thank goodness the office window had been left open so he was able to get inside and make the call.

Del finally pulled into the small cleared area that made up the parking lot, she saw the truck with it's hood still up but not her boyfriend leaning to fiddle beneath it. She parked next to his truck and waited a minute, looking around the darkening area for where he was. The trees were thick around here and the shadows long, as she opened the door and stepped out to the dirt lot. "Steve... babe, I'm here.." She called out, thinking he might have stepped out of sight to heed the 'call of nature' or gone back through the window into the office to wait.

He knew someone would come eventually, but he'd been thinking 'second course', not a soft, little daisy in a king cab. Who knew the boys in these parts actually knew where to find a pretty girl like her? He came up the side of the lot where she'd looked to see if Steve would come out to play. She called him babe? Maybe it wasn't the same guy, but that wasn't important. What was more crucial was how alone she was as he walked up. He used Steve's oil rag to continue wiping off his fingers as he strolled up and whistled through his teeth. "Sorry lady. Steve's gone home. Something I can help you with?"

She'd just turned to look the other way when the man came out of the shadows so the whistle startled her a bit but she chuckled quietly, thinking for a second it was Steve. A quick glance told her it wasn't, even with the growing darkness, this guy wasn't built like Steve and had longer hair. Of course a moment later he told her himself he wasn't who she was looking for, she sort of pouted, tossing her hand out to the side as she shook her head. "Well that's just great..." She let out a sigh of frustration, thinking Steve was a jerk for doing this, but it wasn't this guy's fault. "Yeah, you can help me kick his ass!" She eyed the guy who walked up, not recognising him as anyone she knew. "I'm sorry.. just a wasted trip up here.." Her gaze fell on Steve's truck and she wondered who he'd gone home with.

The corners of his lips curled up slightly. He could certainly take care of that for her. "Don't say that. It's not wasted if you make a new friend, right? I'm AJ," he offered, looking at his hand first before offering it to her in greeting. His nails looked a little dark like he'd been working with engine grease a lot in his lifetime.

[Lovely]

That was a matter of opinion and she was more than a little irked that she'd made the trip out here so close to dark only to find Steve had left already. Again, that wasn't this guy's fault and it wouldn't be right to take it out on him, he was just doing Steve a favor by working on his truck for him. "That's a much better way to look at it." She smiled and reached for his hand, her other lifting to tuck a long wavy lock of hair behind her ear, which had escaped the clip she'd pulled it back in. "I'm Del.. it's nice to meet you." She glanced around the lot and didn't see any other vehicles, it struck her as odd. Come to think of it she hadn't seen any pass her on the way up here, not since the turn off anyway. That gave her an odd uneasy feeling as she held AJ's hand in introductions. "How long ago did he leave?.. I wonder if he's sitting at my house waiting for me to come yell at him." She covered for the feeling and the first question with the teasing comment but her laugh wasn't quite up to it's usual ring.

He frowned, looking around the lot. "Del? Sorry he stood up the prettiest girl in town over a truck. He seemed a little panicked, but I doubt he's made it back into town. Been about ten minutes, maybe fifteen, give or take."

"The prettiest? That's sweet.. but don't let my sister hear that. We're twins.. she'll pout." She blushed over the compliment and it made her relax to a certain degree but not completely forget herself. "Did he take your car or something? I didn't see anyone pass me on the road." The road that the mill itself was on was more like a long winding drive, nothing else was closeby.

"You didn't? Huh. Maybe it was longer than I thought. He was with one of the other guys... don't know his name. I'm kinda new around here, just doing him a favor," he said, grinning at the blush and the nice perk it gave to her perfume. He went to the truck to put the hood down. "Unless you have a flashlight, I don't think there's anything else I can do for him tonight, though."

"Must have been..." She almost took a step back as he turned away, she was sure Steve had said everyone was gone.. maybe he'd been wrong or someone realized he wasn't on the road behind them and came back? She cleared her throat lightly and glanced from AJ to her own truck. "I do have a flashlight but I don't think you should do anymore tonight.. it's getting dark and all.." Duh wasn't that why he wanted the flashlight? He was new as he'd said and probably didn't realize the reasons why the mill closed down and everyone left before dark were very valid. The other guys should have known and it was pretty crappy of them to leave him up here by himself. "So.. um.. are they coming back for you?"

He shrugged again as the hood clanged shut and he turned to lean on it. "Don't think so. I was just gonna walk home. Usually do. It's a nice night. Nice of you to ask, though. Thanks. Does um... Steve, right? Does he have a phone? I mean he called you, right?"

She made a little choking sound as her eyes went wide, he walked home? She covered by pretending she was just clearing her throat. "He does but there is no reception out here.. he ah.. climbed in the office window." Now she did really clear her throat in a slight nervous way, giving a little smile. "Listen.. I really can't let you walk home.. You're new and all so you might not realize people actually do get mauled by bears and stuff up here.. I'd feel awful if something ate you, or just shredded you cause you were in the wrong place at the wrong time.. I mean I made the trip up here.. let me give you a ride?"

[Lovely]

"The office? Steve-o?" He laughed. The guy didn't seem that adventurous in his eyes. He shook his head. "I was just thinking if he called you, just give him a jingle. I bet he's all holed up for the night already, waiting for you to get home, huh? I know I would be," he said, teasing her a little more. "Bears? It's okay. Really, I think I'll take my chances. I live pretty far offroad, anyway."

At first she blushed at how he said he would be holed up waiting for her and the thought of coming home to him crossed her mind in a vivid flash. She tried to turn her thoughts from that, only to find herself back at it. She licked at her lips and pushed Steve back into her thoughts. "We don't live together.. so if he's waiting for me he's sitting on the front step.. and I hope his butt gets really cold. He knew I was coming, he should have waited for me." She frowned a little, not wanting to dwell on Steve's lack of consideration, she'd deal with it later. "So.. anyway, what if I insist you let me take you home?"

He put the rag away again that he'd been using on his fingers, tucking it in his pocket. "Then I guess I suck it up and say 'yes' to the woman who knows how to take charge," he said, relenquishing the fight before he talked himself out of another tasty morsel. "I'm not crazy or stupid, I just don't want to put you out. You're already upset."

"Meh.." She waved her hand a little in regard to her being upset. "I'll get over it.. or over him.. either way I'll be fine." She shrugged and grinned at AJ, maybe it was because she was pissed, but she thought he way hotter than Steve. "Grab anything you need and tell me where we're going."

"Really knows how to take charge," he chuckled. There were a number of options to satisfy her request about what he could grab and where she could take him. "This is all I got," he said, taking the rag that wasn't even his and tossing it back in Steve's truck. He had no interest in carrying the guy's scent around with him, but hers...? That was another story.

She chuckled softly as well, Steve tended not to like it when she was like this, she guessed he wanted her to be more... something and less strong. "Okay, looks like we're ready." She stepped back toward her truck and smiled warmly at AJ. "You still need to tell me where we're going."

"Straight to hell?" He wasn't sure if he meant her or himself. He came up to the side of her truck and looked it over, memorizing the details as he ran a hand along the bed up to the cab and pulled the door open. It had been a long time, it seemed. "Owned one like this a while back," he said, offering her an approving smile as he got in.

"Ohhhkay.. well you're going to have to give me directions." She smiled and watched him, wondering where he was from, he acted.. well, strange. She got in on the driver's side with a nod and another smile, his comment almost seemed like a compliment. "She does me good.." Del reached to give the dash an affectionate pat before slipping the keys into the ignition and getting it started. "You must be very new.. I haven't heard the boys talking about you.. and they sure love to talk, they are worse than the old bitties in the hair salon. Of course lately the boys have been acting all.. weird. I swear they have a bad case of PMS or something."

Now he was getting somewhere. He gave her a confused look, though he was trying to read more into what she said about the boys at the mill. "Guess I'm not much to talk about. Kinda keep to myself a bit.. you know.. lone wolf," he chuckled. "Never did much like gossip and coming from guys? That's a sickness. So what's got them all weird? Most everyone here seems pretty.. I dunno... dull?"

[Lovely]

"Anyone new is something to talk about around here.. of course someone as good looking as you... mmm mmm." She whistled slightly and shook her head. "Hmm that might be why they haven't been talking about you, they don't want the girls to find out about the new hottie." She teased but was totally genuine in her opinion of him.. if she wasn't with Steve, she'd surely be trying to catch AJ. Of course a little flirting wouldn't hurt.. would it? She licked her lips and shook her head, she was terrible! She started thinking on his last question and her mood shifted to uneasy, worried, confused. "I honestly don't know. I suspect something happened on the boys weekend, but Steve won't talk about at least not to me. He came right to see me when he got back.. it was four in the morning.."

"Not a late night kinda guy, huh? Four a.m., I'm just gettin' started," he said, amused more by the dud she'd been dating. "Maybe he was just scared of the dark, huh? Though I guess that is kinda weird if they're all keyed up about something. Nothing in the news? Full moon, maybe? That makes people a little crazy sometimes."

"I guess." She summed up her reply to most of his comments with those two words, it was sort of like he was insulting Steve with the things he said. "It was just weird is all.. they usually go to the diner for breakfast when they get back and instead he was knocking on my door.. something wasn't right about him.. and he's not scared of the dark." She defended her boyfriend a bit, getting a slight defiant tilt in her chin.

"Hahah, easy. I was kidding. Steve seems to be an okay kinda guy. I mean, I was doing him a favor, right? I like him. I do." AJ leaned on the door, his finger sawing over the patch on his chin. "Does sound like something's got them all spooked, though. Not those bears you were talking about? You want to go about two miles back toward town. There's a small turn out for the forest service. Hard to see it at night, so I guess we better get going."

She let out a heavy sigh and shook her head. "I'm sorry. I guess I get a little fierce and over protective of people I care about. I've been worried about him and.. I shouldn't take it out on you. It just really sucks being shut out.. almost like being lied to with how he won't tell me anything. I hate being lied to." She got the truck in gear and slowly turned it around to get out of the lot so they could head where AJ had directed, it was already getting pretty dark up here. "Maybe it was a bear.. he was kind of banged up, I thought maybe a fight with one of the other boys or they ended up at a bar and got into it with several.. maybe he lost and that's why he won't tell me? I guess I'll never know unless he does fess up to whatever it is." She rambled as she drove, going 'slow' and carefully so she wouldn't miss the turn.

"Turn's up there," he pointed out quietly. "Might never know. Not sure how I see how not telling is the same as lying, though, but okay. Guess we all see things a little different when we're in whatever it is we're in," he said, turning with a strange grin, understanding what it meant to have something terrible to hide. He was beginning to regret what he'd done, seeing how it wore on her. "Tell you what. I'll owe you for the ride home, right? Let me see what this new guy can figure out and I can get you a coffee or something sometime... totally harmless, just a coffee. Wouldn't want Steve or his buds coming after me or anything."

[Lovely]

"It not exactly the same but when he's been asked point blank what's wrong and what happened.. he just says nothing. I'm not blind, you know.. so it's not the same but it still hurts." She took the turn and shook her head a little, glancing toward him with a slight smile. "You don't owe me.. it's the least I can do for you helping Steve out and for listening to me.. whine." She was a little reluctant to just say no but she had a boyfriend and she really shouldn't encourage another guy to come see her.. even if she wanted him to.

"No. I owe you and it's tearing me up to see you torn up over someone being stupid like that. I should make nice with the natives anyway if I'm going to stick around, right? Besides I still gotta finish working on the truck. It can't stay like that forever."

"It's the hazard of caring about people." She smiled again and reached over to gently pat his leg. "I might be making you coffee if that's the case with the truck. Steve lives in an apartment downtown, not much room to park and work on the truck, he'll probably have it towed to my house. We have plenty of room.. I guess I'll be seeing you again, then?"

"Yeah, since this is my stop." He nodded to where the road began going uphill into the woods but bent back toward town. "Can't get there the rest of the way in this old girl in the dark. There's a patch up ahead where you can turn around and get back to the main road, though."

"I feel bad leaving you off to walk in the dark.. at least I got you closer." She smiled a little as she headed to the patch to get the truck turned around and let him off. "Promise not to get eaten up. okay?" She teased him with a little wink.

He laughed. "Del, for you... I promise, but don't feel bad. I grew up in a place just like this. Moon's out, no problem. I can see pretty good in the dark anyway... not enough to work on an engine, but enough to get me home. I'll be fine. And, I bet I'll have something to tell you about steve-o's little secret. Probably makes me a gossip just as bad, but at least I'll fit right in."

"You're going to find out his secret and tell me? That's awesome.. maybe I'll have to steal you as my friend after that.. do you like girls night out?" She teased again, pulling the truck to a stop so he could get out. She kind of didn't want him to go but it was silly to feel that way. "Thank you for promising.. it makes me feel better in an odd way."

"I'm going to guess odd is good," he said, thinking about the way she put it, and gave her a smile before popping the door open. "Just... go easy on the guy. I'm sure he's been through a lot," he said, climbing out. He leaned back in the cab a moment. "I, uh.. don't have a phone or anything, yet. How do I get a hold of you?"

"Oh.. well you can come by the house or stop by work.. the pizza place on main street.. I'll give you my address.. since you'll need it for the truck anyway." She turned on the light in the cab and fished out a pen and piece of paper, a carry out menu from her work. "Here.. come by anytime.. bring a friend.." She laughed softly and held the paper out for him.

The overhead light made him squint a little. He hoped she wasn't looking right at his face at that moment, sure that she would have found the brief red flash of the refraction in his eyes unnerving. "Well, so far, you and Steve... I guess I have work to do, don't I? Pizza sounds great, though, so don't be surprised when I drop in." He took the menu and started to read it, still thinking about food.