Page 21 of Under Rusted Stars

I stare at the cloud of dust as Bodhi speeds away, and tears roll down my cheeks. What the fuck is wrong with me? I could have sworn… Goddamn it, I’m pathetic. He fucking bullied me and feels bad. He doesn’t give a fuck about me. I was fucking mean to him for no goddamn reason and ruined our chances of making amends.

“What the fuck is wrong with me?” I mutter as I get back into my car. As I try to ease back onto the road, the back tires start spinning. I put the car in reverse and try to back up, but I stay in one place. “That’s just fucking wonderful…”

I get out and look around to see if I can spot anything to wedge under the back tires. If I can get something to catch, I can have enough traction to get out of here. All I end up finding are sticks, so I gather as many as I can to place in front of the tires.

Back in the car, I start slow. I start to inch forward little by little, so I stay on the gas. I am so focused on trying to get this car back on the goddamn road that I don’t realize anything is wrong until I hear the engine make a god-awful popping sound before it shuts off and starts billowing smoke from under the hood.

“No, No, No. Please don’t fucking do this,” I groan. “What the fuck is wrong with me today? Am I cursed?”

I get my bag and pop the hood of the car before getting out again. I carefully open the hood, and it looks like a fucking war zone. Through the smoke, I can see that there is a new hole in the engine block that doesn’t belong there.

I have my old phone, but I can’t turn it on. It’s probably not even charged anyway. My disposable is at the cabin because I’m just that lucky. If I keep going in the direction I was driving, I can get to the cabin in about ten miles, but I’ll avoid having to walk through town. Turning around would only be about two miles, but there is no fucking way I am walking through town.

Ten miles it is…

I start walking and try not to think about how far I have to go. It’s going to take me forever, but I’ll have plenty of time to think. I look up at the sky, and the clouds ahead look dark and ominous. Hopefully, I get home before the sky falls.

Chapter Eight

Bodhi

I am sitting on my back deck watching it pour rain. It’s been coming down heavily for a while now. I keep looking over at the cabin, hoping to see Olivia get back soon. I feel like a fucking asshole for driving away. I’m worried that she’s running again.

When thunder rumbles in the sky, I sigh and pick up my phone. I call her parents first because I know they will answer.

“Hey, Bodhi,” June says happily.

“Hey, Mrs. Monroe. Have you seen Olivia around?”

“Not since yesterday. Why?” she asks.

“Just wondering,” I say. “Let me know if you see her.”

I end the call and go to Kate’s contact next. I will know right away if Kate has seen her because she will cuss me for driving away.

“Hey, Bodhi,” she says simply.

“Hey. Have you seen Olivia?”

“No. Rhett said you went after her after she left the station,” she says. “Why? What’s wrong?”

“Nothing. I…”

“Don’t fucking lie to me,” she snaps.

“I’ll fix this,” I say, ending the call as I jump up and go inside. I find my boots before grabbing my keys to go out and look for Olivia.

I start by driving into town and looking for her car. When I don’t see her, I turn down Highway 16 and drive toward where I parted ways with her earlier today.

“Fuck,” I shout when I see that her car is in the same spot, but the hood is up. When I get out, it’s pouring, but I still jog over to see if she is in the car. As I get closer, I can see now that the car is stuck. She wedged some sticks under the back tire to get traction. It looks like she was nearly out. When I walk around to the front of the car, the gaping hole in the block explains it.

Fuck, she walked back…

I go back to the truck, but this time I call Rhett. As the phone rings, I start to assume the worst. By the time he answers, I am fucking terrified. “Hey, man. What’s…”

“I fucked up, man,” I say, fighting back emotion.

“What happened?” he asks. “Where are you?”