The odds of locating someone who needed to get to Ohio were slim, but maybe there was someone who could ride with me part of the way—and help with gas money. Maybe they needed to get to St. Louis or somewhere else in Missouri. Hell, at this point, I’d be happy to have someone ride with me to Oklahoma. Anything was better than nothing.
I scanned the papers tacked to the bulletin board, pulling down the ones from people I knew had already left whenever I came across them. The crinkle of paper as I balled them up seemed loud in the quiet room, and like before, I found myself looking over my shoulder when my heart beat faster. I was being stupid. The virus sweeping the country was the only thing I should be really afraid of, and as far as I knew, it hadn’t even made it this far west. It wasn’t like something was going to sneak up and take a big bite of me or anything.
The image of that man in the YouTube video popped into my head.
“Get a grip,” I muttered to myself, trying to ignore the tightening in my gut.
When the postings on the bulletin board got me nowhere, I headed for the stairs, tossing the ball of paper into a trashcan on my way. One floor down, the halls and lobby mimicked the one I’d just left. Quiet and empty and totally devoid of any signs of life, making my already pounding heart beat faster as I scanned the bulletin board. Some of the postings were the same as the ones from upstairs, which I promptly removed, but there were new ones, too. The word Indiana leapt out at me, and I scanned the rest of the note scrawled across the small piece of blue paper.
Looking for a ride to Indiana.
Will pay for gas.
Room 223
- Kiaya Washington
K-i-a-y-a…
I studied the name, rolling the letters around in my head while I tried to figure out how it was pronounced. Key-a-ya? That couldn’t be right. Kay-a? Maybe, but I wasn’t positive. Oh, well. She was probably used to people butchering her name.
I pulled the paper off the bulletin board and headed down the hall. There was a phone number scrawled under the words, but since I was on the second floor anyway, I might as well check it out. If Kiaya was still around, odds were good that she’d be in her room. Everything on campus was closed, and even off campus not much was open. People were taking this shit seriously. Even all the way out here.
The door to room 223 had a couple pieces of blue paper just like the one I’d pulled off the bulletin board taped to it. One was a repeat of the post Kiaya had left in the lobby, but the other was older and had nothing to do with the virus.
Quiet! Studying!!!
She’d underlined the first word three times as if it would force people to obey, and I couldn’t help sighing. This girl sounded like a barrel of fun.
I rapped my knuckles against the door, and the sound echoed down the hall, and that spooky horror movie feeling returned full force. Even as I glanced around to make sure I was still alone, I rolled my eyes. Still, I couldn’t help it. I blamed that damn YouTube video. It had me on edge even though I knew it was a fake. Zombies weren’t real, and they never would be.
The door opened, and I let out a yelp and jumped back.
Laughing at my own stupidity, I put my hand to my heart. “Sorry. I guess I’m just jumpy.”
The girl narrowed her big, brown eyes at me. “Can I help you?”
She was a tad taller than I was, and thin, and very delicate and innocent looking. There wasn’t a stitch of makeup on her face, and her flawless, light brown skin gave off the impression that not a drop of the stuff had ever touched it. She was cute, even if she would have benefited from some eyeliner, and thankfully, nothing about her set off warning bells in my head.
When I said nothing, Kiaya lifted her eyebrows expectantly, and something about the way she pressed her full lips together gave off the impression she was deep in thought as she, in turn, studied me. It was the questions in her dark eyes that finally jolted me out of my stupor, and I shook my head, giving her an apologetic smile.
“Are you Kay-a?” I asked, taking a stab at the name.
“It’s pronounced Ky-ya,” she told me, but didn’t seem all that bothered by my blunder.
“Sorry. I found your note.” I shrugged apologetically as I held the paper up for her to see—as if I thought she might have forgotten she’d written it. “Indiana?”
“Oh.” Kiaya blinked. “I thought I’d put it up too late and missed my chance.”
“Nope,” I said, the P popping out of my mouth and echoing down the hall. “There are a few of us still around.”
“Not many.” She looked past me toward the empty lobby.
“Yeah,” I said, following her gaze.
For a second, we stood in silence, then I shook my head again and waved the note. “Anyway, I live in Ohio. I want to go home, and I have a car, but it’s a long drive. I figured we could help each other out?”
Kiaya nodded, but eyed me like she was trying to make a decision. “I wasn’t going to leave. I figured this whole thing would get sorted out pretty fast, and having the dorm to myself would give me a chance to get ahead in my classes, but now…” She swallowed and glanced past me again, and that feeling from before returned, raising the hair on my arms. “The news reports are getting scary.”
“I know,” I said around the lump of fear in my throat.
Once again, that damn YouTube video popped into my head. I had a feeling it would be playing on repeat in my dreams tonight, which was going to suck. Like I wasn’t already freaked out enough, I had to dream about zombies. Great.
“You have papers?” I asked, wanting to get down to business.
Kiaya nodded, and her dark, wavy hair, which was pulled into a ponytail high on her head, bobbed. “Yeah.”
“Me too.” I mimicked the gesture, unsure of what else to do. She obviously wasn’t much of a talker and really wasn’t giving me much to work with. “I’d want to head out soon. Not tonight, but maybe tomorrow? I need to go to the bank and pack some things, and maybe stock up on snacks for the trip. What do you think?”
Again, Kiaya nodded even as she pressed her lips together, considering her options. “Yeah. Okay.”
She didn’t sound very sure.
“You do want to go, right?”
She gave a small, non-committal shrug. “It’s not like there’s much of a reason to stay here.”
She looked down the empty hall again, but this time I avoided following her gaze. I was freaking myself out too much, and I needed to get a grip.
“Then tomorrow will be good?” I prompted.
“Yeah,” was all she said. Again.
Holy shit. Over twenty hours in a car with her was going to be annoying.
I blew out a long breath so I didn’t sound irritated when I said, “Good. Meet me in the lobby tomorrow morning? Let’s say seven. I want to get on the road early.”
Kiaya only nodded in response.
This time, I didn’t hold in my sigh.
“See you then,” I said as I turned.
I’d only taken two steps when she called out, “Wait!”
The word echoed through the empty hall, and I had to suck in a deep breath to try to calm my pounding heart before turning. It didn’t work, but I looked back at her anyway.
Kiaya was focused on me. “What’s your name?”
“Oh.” I laughed at my own forgetfulness and grabbed my braid, waving it at her to try and lighten the mood. “Sorry, blonde moment. I’m Rowan. Rowan Summers.”
For the first time, Kiaya smiled. “Thanks, Rowan.”
“No problem,” I said, waving over my shoulder as I headed off.
I had a travel companion, which was good—as annoying as I suspected she was going to be. Not that it mattered. We’d drive to Indiana together, I’d drop her off, and that would be the end of it. It wasn’t like we were going to be life-long friends or anything.
2
With class having been canceled weeks ago, it had been a while since I’d had to drag my ass out of bed early in the morning, and when my
alarm went off at six o’clock, it took a few minutes to clear my groggy brain enough to figure out exactly why I’d decided not to sleep in.
Oh, yeah. I was going home today.
The realization was enough to force me to move even if my body wasn’t thrilled by the action. Like I’d thought, I’d spent the entire night tossing and turning as images of zombies floated through my head, and as a result, I didn’t feel nearly as rested as I should have, considering a road trip was in my future.
Starbucks was going to be a necessity this morning.
I’d gone to the ATM yesterday like I’d promised Mom and had even stopped at one of the few stores still open to grab some snacks for the road, then packed everything I needed. It was all in my pink, hardcover suitcase and neatly organized. The only thing I still needed to pack were my toiletries once I was showered and dressed. Then I’d be ready to go.
The hot water helped my brain wake up, so by the time I was standing in front of the mirror with my long blonde hair dripping down my back, I felt more refreshed. I was excited, too. If everything went well, I’d be home by sometime tomorrow afternoon. I couldn’t wait.
I thought about Kiaya as I applied a thin, black line to my eyelid—which really made my blue irises pop—wondering if I’d caught her during an off moment or if she never wore makeup. I honestly couldn’t remember the last time I’d left the house without at least a little on—definitely not since coming to the University of Phoenix—and all my friends were pretty much the same. Even on those mornings when I rolled out of bed and dragged myself to class in my flannel pajama pants, my hair in a messy bun on top of my head, I made sure to put a little on so I looked good. You never knew when you were going to run into Mr. Perfect, after all.
Of course, even as I applied my makeup, I had to admit it wasn’t exactly a necessity on a day like this. It wasn’t like I was going to meet the man of my dreams. It was a cross-country road trip during a major viral epidemic, not The Bachelor.
Once I was ready and had loaded the rest of my things into my suitcase, I did one last quick inventory of my room. My cell phone charger was packed, as was the money I’d gotten yesterday. I was pretty sure I’d remembered everything else I would need, but I also knew I’d be able to replace anything I forgot once I was home. One quick trip to Meijer was all it would take.
“This is it,” I said to myself even as guilt twisted my insides.
Mom was going to be pissed.
My suitcase wasn’t an issue at first—it had wheels, after all—but I groaned when I reached the stairs. It was insanely heavy, and I was on the third floor. An elevator would have been nice. Since that wasn’t an option, I headed down, dragging it behind me. It thumped against each step, the thuds echoing in the stairwell and through the silent building until I had the urge to run. My dreams from the night before returned, making my heart pound harder, but I told myself I was freaking out for nothing. The scariest thing facing me right now was the possibility of a boring road trip.
It was a little before seven in the morning when I made it to the lobby. Kiaya was already waiting. She was sitting in the chair closest to the front door, a red duffle bag at her feet that couldn’t hold more than two days’ worth of clothes and a textbook in her lap. Yellow highlighter gripped in her hand, she studied the page intently, not even looking up when I plopped my suitcase down and huffed, and I found myself grinding my teeth. Already I was irritated with her, and we hadn’t even gotten in the car. What would I do for twenty-plus hours if she refused to interact with me? Play the alphabet game by myself? No, thanks. Money and safety weren’t the only reasons I’d wanted a travel companion. Having someone to talk to would make the drive go a hell of a lot faster.
I opened my mouth, ready to lay out my expectations for this trip, when something scraped against the floor at my back. My nightmares about flesh-eating monsters fresh in my mind, I spun around, automatically lifting my hands to ward off any attack I might face.
A guy, who was already a good six feet away from me, jumped back and lifted his hands. “Whoa.”
Seeing that he wasn’t about to eat my face off, I dropped my arms to my sides, chuckling at my own stupidity. “Sorry. You scared the shit out of me.”
The thud of a book shutting drew my attention back to Kiaya, and I turned sideways so I could see both her and the guy who’d scared the shit out of me at the same time.
She stood, arms crossed and the textbook hugged tightly to her chest. “This is Kyle. He needs a ride, too.”
Kiaya had all my attention now.
“I’m sorry? What do you mean, ‘he needs a ride’?”
“Exactly what I said.” She blinked like she wasn’t sure what my problem was, and I noticed that like the night before, she wasn’t wearing makeup. “He needs a ride to St. Louis.”
“You offered him a ride? Without asking me?”
All Kiaya did was shrug. “I didn’t know where your room was.”
“And you couldn’t have asked last night when we talked?”
“I didn’t know him then,” she replied, her voice emotionless and her expression giving nothing away.
Now I was really confused.
“Explain,” I said, trying to keep my voice even.
Finally, Kiaya showed some emotion; too bad it was an impatient sigh. Seriously? Was she losing patience with me? I wasn’t the one who’d sprung an extra person on her at barely seven o’clock in the morning.
“There were posts on the university’s Facebook page from people who needed rides, so last night I went through them. I just wanted to make sure anyone who needed to get out of here could. I saw Kyle’s post,” she nodded to the guy, “and sent him a message to see if he was still around. He was, so I figured we could help.”
Okay, that was kind of a considerate thing to do, but it still seemed a little strange, considering it wasn’t her car.
I turned to face Kyle, studying him. He looked young, probably only a freshman, and was medium height and average looking. There wasn’t much to the kid—he was all arms and legs even if he wasn’t that tall—and he looked harmless enough with those big, brown eyes and sandy hair and forgettable face. Like the younger kid who lived down the street you waved to whenever you saw him even though you could never remember his name.
“St. Louis?” I asked, despite the fact that Kiaya had already told me.
Kyle’s head bobbed once. “Yeah. Or really, just outside St. Louis.”
Maybe he’d be able to keep me company on this trip since I didn’t have high hopes for Kiaya. “You have papers?”
Kyle gave another head bob.
“Money to chip in?”
More bobbing.
Great. Looked like he was going to be a bust as well.
“Okay, then,” I said with a sigh, already imagining the hours of silence stretching out in front of me. At least I’d be able to grab a nap when I wasn’t driving. “Let’s get this show on the road.”
Kyle gave me a relieved smile that lit up his eyes, making him less forgettable. “Thanks.”
“No problem.” I grabbed the handle of my suitcase, glad I could wheel it now that I was downstairs. “I’m Rowan, by the way.”
“Nice to meet you, Rowan.” The kid’s smile grew. “I was starting to think I was going to get stuck here.”
Kyle followed me to the door, jogging to catch up like he was afraid I’d leave him behind, but Kiaya seemed to be moving at a snail’s pace. She tucked her textbook into her duffle bag before zipping it, and had just slung it over her shoulder and started following us when Kyle and I stepped outside.
Despite fall being on the way, the Arizona morning was warm and inviting. It was one thing I’d loved about going to school here, and while I was anxious to get home and see my parents, I was already dreading the cool, Ohio weather. I was a summer girl, which was why I planned to move somewhere warmer once I graduated. A bomb I hadn’t yet dropped on my parents.
“Kiaya said you’re from Ohio,” Kyle
said as we walked side by side, heading to the student parking lot.
“Yup. North of Dayton in Troy. It’s a smaller town, but cute.” It wasn’t a lie even if I did hate the cold. I loved my hometown.
“Never been to Ohio,” he said, sounding thoughtful.
“I’m sure it’s not that different from Missouri,” I replied.
Kyle cracked a smile as he nodded to the sandy ground. “Unlike here?”
“Exactly,” I said.
Feet scraped against the ground behind us, and I looked back to find Kiaya following but keeping her distance. I wasn’t sure if she was stuck up or just shy, but either way, I was suddenly very glad she’d invited Kyle. Despite my earlier trepidation, his warm smile made him seem like the perfect traveling companion.
Thank God.
My black Honda Civic came into view—my parents had bought it for me when I turned sixteen—and I clicked the button on my key fob, popping the trunk.
Kyle’s smile grew. “It’s lucky you have a car, but driving all the way from Ohio must have sucked.”
“It was okay,” I said, shrugging as I lugged my suitcase into the trunk. “My mom drove with me and flew home after I got settled in. This is the first year we did it, and it took a lot of convincing—she wanted me to fly again—but I’m glad. Especially now.”
“It was good timing.” Kyle dropped his own bag into the trunk next to mine—a small, black backpack.
These two were light travelers.
I waited for Kiaya to follow suit, but she kept her bag clutched close to her body like she thought I might speed off with her belongings. As if I wanted a cheap red duffle bag and a textbook for a class that might never meet again.
The thought made me swallow, and I pushed it away.
“Okay,” I said almost to myself as I slammed the trunk.
Kiaya took the back, which I was grateful for, and I slid in behind the wheel while Kyle got cozy in the passenger seat. I’d filled the gas tank the night before—I’d visited three closed gas stations before finding one that was open—which meant the only thing standing between us and the open road was some caffeine.
Far Series (Book 1): Far From Home Page 2
