by Mitch Goth
The drive away from the hotel was a quick one. There was hardly any traffic at this time of night, especially on these thin back streets that Ben was taking. Rain figured he was trying to shake any tails, although every time she peered out the rearview mirror she didn't see any tails, but perhaps that was the point.
Rain spent her time staring out the window. She looked at all the streetlamps and building lights they passed and didn't see anything other than light. She couldn't help but remember how beautiful every light looked when she was on Delicate Rain, how every sensation was significant, how everything brought her joy. As much as she didn't want to, Rain wished she had a pill of her own right now.
Her gaze shifted away from the window and towards the glove compartment where Ben hid the bag away. She couldn't stop herself from opening it up to look at the bag. A small smile appeared on her as she absorbed the sight in front of her. Two thousand pills, two thousand perfect nights waiting to be had.
"Quite somethin' isn't it," Ben laughed, noticing her staring at the bag.
"They're really...orange," she replied, not shifting her eyes.
"They are really orange," he nodded, "they're also really expensive. And worth every penny. To hell with this Cadillac, I might have to buy a Mercedes or Ferrari or somethin' after this."
"This pill is the best thing that you'll ever sell," Rain chuckled to herself. "Its something else for sure."
"Don't get addicted," Ben instructed. "I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I knew I ruined your life by getting you hooked on this stuff."
"Don't worry about me, Ben. As soon as I'm done doing whatever it is I'm doing here I'll get out of your hair and away from where this stuff is going."
"You know, did you ever think about what I said at the coffee shop?" he wondering, hoping the answer wasn't no.
"A little, I guess," Rain shrugged. "But I just don't think I can go home right now. Like I told you, I can't really go home and have everything go smoothly on my return. I'll go to jail, have a criminal record, all that shit. It'll be far better for me out here right now, and probably forever. God knows what my parents would do if I just appeared back home."
"Probably hug you and praise God you're still alive," Ben pointed out. "Not many kids in your shoes are that lucky."
"I suppose," Rain sighed in guilt. "But still, life will go better for me out here, I just feel it. Home still isn't an option for me. I'm sure that's not what you wanted to hear."
"Well, tell me this, if you're not going home, where do you expect to go? There's not a lot of places that accept runaway teenagers with open arms."
"I honestly have no idea where I'm gonna go next," Rain admitted. "But wherever I do go, I think will send my family a letter once I'm on the move, just to let them know that I'm okay and not dead or anything."
"Well, at least you took some of my advice," Ben said with a subtle smile.
"But, wherever it is that I choose to go, I can't exactly leave tonight, or even tomorrow," Rain pointed out. "Apparently I've got a bit of a job to do around here before I can leave anywhere."
"Good point," Ben agreed. "Vin would be pissed if you disappeared on us right now."
"And that's the last thing anybody wants," Rain chuckled. Even though she played off her statement as comical, she knew it was true, and she knew Ben knew it too. As calm and collected Vin came across, she saw something in him that didn't quite correlate with the rest of his personality and demeanor. Even now she couldn't pin point it, but she had a feeling she knew what was wrong. The man looked oddly soulless, like some sort of sociopath. A younger, less cannibalistic Hannibal Lecter, and that was the last person she wanted to cross in any way.
18
