Against All Odds

by Ashley Lowe

  “What the fuck, Val?” Ali yells, shoving me back. “Don’t push me around!” I fall onto my knees on the filthy floor. Fantastic. I’m already gross as it is.

  “No! I didn’t mean to push you. Listen! The guy from the SUV is out there. I just saw him walk by this door. Be quiet,” I tell her. I’ll be honest. I’m freaking out right now. “I’m going to see what’s going on through the slats in the door.” Usually, Ali is the brave one of us. She’s always been the one to stand up and fight for me. Since the SUV ran us off the road, our roles have been slightly reversed. I have no choice but to toughen up. To be honest, I am halfway enjoying it a little. I get to take care of my damsel in distress.

  “Val, be careful,” she says as she climbs onto the disgusting toilet. I hear the stall shut and lock behind me as I kneel on the vile floor and put my eyes to the openings between the boards. My hands stick to the grime that’s built up over time. I’m pretty sure this bathroom hasn’t seen a mop or bleach in a few decades.

  “He’s out on the platform by the bench. It looks like he has a friend this time,” I whisper back to Ali. She’s peeping over the stall door at me. Even under stress she’s absolutely gorgeous. Her bright blue eyes twinkle in the fluorescent lighting from the bathroom ceiling. Why do I have to be the brave one right now? I can’t seem to get my emotions in order.

  I break the need to stare back at Ali and listen for more. The man pulls out his phone and dials a number. The person on the other end answers and the man begins to speak, “Hey, Tom.” I wish we didn’t have to hear the conversation one-sided. I want to know if that’s actually Tom and I want to know what he is saying. Then again, I can only imagine how it’s going. I think I’d rather stay out of it.

  “He’s talking to Tom,” I silently mouth back to Ali. Ali covers her mouth with her bronzed hand and the tears start rolling. Her face goes pale instantly. It’s as if the life has completely drained from her body. Her soul went right down the drain with the water in the toilet. I hate seeing her like this. I just want to hold her. I want to tell her everything is going to be okay.

  “Yeah, we’re at the train station outside of Lexington. No, it doesn’t look like they’ve been here. Of course I checked the entire station. What? No. We’re standing on the platform now,” he says nervously to Tom on the other end of the phone, his fingers fiddling with something in his palm. “The train is pulling into the station now.”

  This guy is trembling. His hands shake and his speech slurs and stutters as he tries to spit out the words. I’d be that terrified of Tom, too, if we were the ones talking right now. I’d probably do my normal and hurl as soon as I opened my mouth. I’m such a freaking wimp when it comes to confrontation. I embarrass myself sometimes.

  “Ali,” I snap and try to get her attention. “Ali, the train’s coming. We’re going to have to run for it. We can’t afford to miss it.”

  “Oh, shit,” Ali whispers back to me. “What’re we going to do?”

  “Listen, as soon as they start walking away, we’re going to have to go.”

  “Okay. Val,” she says, “Do you think we’re going to make it?”

  “We need to at least try. We have no choice,” I tell her, insisting that we need to get ready to bolt.

  “Okay, Tom, we’re heading out now,” the man says to the phone. He motions for the other guy to follow him out of the station.

  Just as they turn down the platform, heading for the exit, the train stops in its intended space. The driver of the SUV holds the exit door open for his partner-in-crime. Just as he hangs up his phone, we make a run for the train door. The man turns around and spots us as we look back, already on the train.

  “Ali, get in!” I scream at her, blocking the doorway with my small frame. All I can think of is protecting Ali from getting hurt, again. There’s no way in Hell I’m going to let him touch her. I’m not very big, but I will do whatever it takes.

  The train starts pulling off and the men run as fast as they can, dropping the phone and the cups they were carrying around the station. The second man—the unfamiliar one—trips over a bench and lands face first on the pavement. The guy that drove the SUV into us stops for a second and looks back, analyzing the damage that his friend may have caused in his clumsy wake. He must have figured that he was fine, and starts running after the doorway where I’m standing.

  Speeding up, the door of the train slips away from the end of the platform and the man dives to try and latch on. I close my eyes waiting for him to take me by the leg or my pants, but he never touches me. I squint open my eyes to find him on his hands and knees pounding the pavement in frustration. I breathe in relief. We made it onto the train.

  I climb up into the train’s car and find Ali sitting in a booth huddled up to the window. As soon as she sees me she stands up and wraps her arms around my neck. “I thought you weren’t going to make it.”

  “I’m fine. He saw us, but we made it,” I say, smoothing her hair down the middle of her back. “We made it.”

  We both sit on opposite sides in the red booth. Ali lays her head on the table between us and looks out the window. I push my forehead onto the glass and watch as the trees swiftly pass by. This is a little more peaceful than lying on the bathroom floor trying not to be caught. She lets out a sigh and breathes relief. She delicately whispers to herself, “We made it.”

  Before too long, I can hear the slow, steady in and out of Ali’s breath. She’s fallen asleep. I smile and think to myself, “I can’t believe we made it.”

  CHAPTER 12

  Who the Hell is Mrs. Espinoza?