1.
Those old country roads were barely traveled, barely remembered or kept up. They were as lost as the two driving along were; nose buried into the map in front of her as her fingers curled around the edges of the paper.
"We are so lost, babe." Chuckled in her throat, dark skin glistening in the summer heat even the AC blowing causing her bob-cut hair to flicker and dance.
The guy, he shook his head to her words. "Nah, babe we're right on track."
Hardly, you could feel the disappointment in the girl's scoff in the leather passenger seat. She collapsed the map into her lap, brushing those delicate fingers through her thick, dark hair. Her eyes wandered to the window, farmlands passing them by.
"Ah fuck," The guy exclaimed, loud and it caught the girl's attention.
She shot him a pointed look of concern, "What is it?"
The guy sighed heavily, scratching at his beard that needed a good shave. "We need to find a gas station and get some fuckin' gas apparently."
She looked confused, eyebrows knitting in thought before she parted her lips.
"But...we just got gas about an hour ago?" Questioned as if she didn't believe him, she leaned towards his direction seeing the arrow lowering with each minute.
The guy sighed heavily. "Yeah, I know..."
Thanksgiving was just around the corner, licking at their soles. A trip to his parents halfway across the country whom he hadn't had a chance to visit in a good couple years, wanted to formally introduce them to the girl who had stolen his heart. It seemed so simple and yet complicated, the need for a parent's approval on who you dated because you knew that if your parents didn't like who you were dating then you would dump them quick on the side of the road like the dead cat that the couple had just run over for the hundredth time as it rotted and steamed on the scorching pavement in the heatwave of Southern United States.
Pulled in quick off the path, peeling off the moment they saw it and it seemed like some kind of light in their confusion and annoyance.
An old gas station that one could only hope was still operational.
Slam. Slam.
The car doors thudded upon their exit of the vehicle, dirt and rocks crunching under their feet as the front door of the old station creaked open and an old man with a pipe between his lips peered out.
"H-Hey!" The guy called out to him, waving an arm in the air as the girl came to stand beside him, watching the old man stand there staring at them.
The guy lowered his arm to his side. "Do the pumps work?"
Splat, the old man spit out whatever he was chewing on after plucking the pipe from between his fingertips. He stepped out further onto the porch, thin in frame like somebody who hadn't been fed a healthy diet his entire life. Old dirt caked against his skin, he shuffled towards them.
"Ah yeah, just gotta give em a good kick is all." Southern drawl heavy on his tongue as he fixed the dusty old hat on his head.
The guy took a breath of relief, glancing at the nearby sign to determine the gas price.
Bam.
The old man kicked the side of the gas pump.
Bam.
Bam.
Bam.
The couple heard a ting come from the pump, the lights flickering on just barely enough to notice in the daylight and underneath the dilapidated awning above them.
"Told ya, jus' gotta give em a kick." The old man spit again from his mouth.
The girl looked to the guy and then back again. "Thank you."
As sweet as anything itself she was, always caring and respectful of others around.
"Don't mention it, jus' let me know if it gives ya anymore trouble." The old man waved his hand towards her like he was swatting away her thanks.
The guy dug around his pocket, finding his wallet as he flipped it open and pulled out a shiny credit card.
The old man caught a glimpse, eyes shining in laughter as he chuckled low in his throat, raspy voice singing words.
"Cash, sonny, ain't no city machines 'round here." Shook his head as he began to trek his way back towards the shop, feet dragging against the dirt.
The creaky door came to a thudding close behind him after he entered.
The guy rolled his eyes, grumbling a string of curse words under his breath as he shoved the card back into his wallet and pulled out a couple twenty dollar bills, the girl snatched them from his grasp, smiling up at him.
"I'll go pay, I want to get something to drink anyway." She shrugged.
Compared to the guy, the girl stood at a mere five feet-two inches while he stood at a close six foot-three inches or more. Rugged in his features, bearded with a couple of tattoos inked on his light colored skin. They were that perfect city couple, a spitting image of happiness.
The guy nodded, turning to the gas pump as he flipped open the hatch door on the side of the car and twisted the gas cap off.
The girl dug her hands into the back pockets of her jean shorts, tennis shoes skidding across the dirt grounds while she walked towards the door of the gas station. Those eyes observed her surroundings, always observant and knowing. There was an old car, at least something from the fifties era, underneath an old tarp with a couple of older gas pumps leaned against it. Like a junkyard, the building would look abandoned to anybody else.
She grasped the old metal door handle, wooden door creaking that was barely hanging on its hinges as she walked inside the small station. The old man was nowhere in sight vanishing somewhere inside and the girl headed towards the three coolers on the opposite side. Fan humming as she approached and she tipped her head, looking through the unclean glass at the various drinks the old man had to offer.
Once she settled on it, she gripped the door handle in her hand and opened up the cooler, fan emitting louder as she grabbed a bottle of coke by the neck and closed the door behind her. She took a stroll, briefly looking at the shelves and what they had to offer. It definitely wasn't anything that seemed appetizing to say the least, some old candy bars that were no doubt outdated.
She pursed her lips together, venturing away from the shelves and towards the counter in the corner of the station. It was there that her eyes caught it, for whatever reason as she set the bottle of coke down on the chipped counter top, it caught her attention. An old newspaper rack with weathered papers and running ink. The year is what her eyes saw quicker then anything.
1983.
"Soda pop is two-fifty." The old man appeared almost as quick as he had vanished.
Startled, the girl jumped at his words and clutched at her chest. "Jesus!" She exclaimed.
The old man seemed to find it funny, his mouth twisting up into a half-smile as he chewed on the black shit in his mouth that smelled like old mint and tobacco, he spit in a nearby can.
"Jesus ain't gonna save ya sweetheart." The words seemed bitter, cruel even and they sent a shiver down the girl's spine as she slowly pulled the cash out to pay for the gas and soda.
She slid it across the counter, the old man snatching it up in his bony claws.
"No change." She said quick, picking up her bottle of coke and she turned to head towards the door, only to stop before pushing it open. "Do you happen to know if we're heading the right way to get to Baton Rouge?"
The old man leaned, however brief towards the right, drawing in a rough breath. "Keep on headin' North, turn off left when ya'll get to the four way...ya'll will run into a town but jus' keep on truckin'."
"A town?" She perked up a brow in curiosity.
The old man nodded. "Oh yeah, small town called Duskwood. Ain't much to see so not worth stoppin'." He shrugged.
The girl nodded, smiling quick in his direction. "Thanks again for the gas...and the coke."
The old man didn't seem to appreciate her hospitality much and she wasn't in the mood to stand around and witness him swat her thanks away again so instead she hurried out of the door and back towards their car where the guy was shaking the nozzle for that final drip of gas to flow into the tank. He twisted the gas cap back on and closed the hatch.
"Hey, babe. You find something to drink?" He asked.
She rose the coke up, nodding. "Yeah and the old man said to keep heading North and turn left at the four way stop, guess we'll hit a town."
"A town?" Similar tone the guy held on his tongue as she had, the two of them reaching for the door handles of the car as they pried them open.
The girl took a swig of her coke before nodding again. "It's called Duskwood."
