Lost on the Road

By: L.Doyle

Allie’s head rested against the window as the car kept going. The car had been going, without a single stop, for what had felt like hours. She was tired, but she never slept in cars. Something inside of her made her uneasy about falling asleep in one place and waking up in another. Allie wanted to sleep right now. She needed to escape.

          He had promised two weeks of fun. He had promised lots of new experiences. It was an experience, being on the road trip, but not one that she was enjoying. Allie’s best friend Cara had been so excited about the trip, but like Allie, she was now disappointed. Cara sat in the seat next to her. She was asleep, or at least she was pretending to sleep.

          On the other side of the glass window, there was nothing to look at. The sun was shining on empty, light green fields that seemed to roll on for forever, with the occasional broken down barn or car at random points reminding her that people actually lived out there. Although there was nothing to look at, her eyes stayed peeled to the emptiness. She did not want to look in front of her, because he, the Driver, would block her view.

          In five days the man who was driving the car had gone from being a nice, although a little bit odd, man to a person that embodied everything that made Allie upset. He had stolen, he had been unnecessarily angry and cold, and above all he had made her cry.

          Allie was not the type of person to breakdown. She had been proud that for almost five years no one had been able to get to her enough to make her come to tears. She was strong, she was a rock, she was able to block things out and recover. This was how she thought of herself, but not necessarily how others thought of her.

          Cara was the real rock. She was used to stressful situations; she was used to high strung people. Allie wasn’t, her life had been very structured and protected until now. Allie had wanted to go home since the third day, which was the day the Driver broke her down. Allie didn’t feel safe, or secure, or in control, like she was used to feeling. Cara wanted to stay on the trip until the end, even if it was just to piss him off.