I Picked Up a Hitchhiker

The day after graduating high school seemed to be pure bliss. Jarod could have done anything she ever wanted, absolutely anything. She could have chosen to run to the ocean and swim in the water in no clothes. She could have gotten a job, or a tattoo. Hell, she could have had a bonfire with the graduating class.

But instead, she picked up a hitchhiker.

Yeah, it sounds strange and dangerous, but this guy looked desperate for a ride. No shirt on, sweat dripping down the sides of his face, shoes ratted and torn. He didn't carry much with him besides a bag with some clothes in it. His arms were inked with heavy tattoos, and he had this look in his eyes that told Jarod that he was something else.

She remembered slamming her foot on the brakes and telling the man to jump in because she would give him a ride to wherever he needed to go. He looked at her and said, "Wherever you're goin'." Jarod really wasn't going anywhere. She was going home. Maybe he could use a shower and some new pants, but other than that, she thought she couldn't do much for him.

"I'm going home. You want to come with?"

"At least buy me dinner first." He smiled cheekily. "Nah, I'm just kidding. Would you mind if I washed my clothes, maybe take a shower at your place? I'll be out of your hair as soon as possible."

"Sure." Jarod said, turning the radio down quickly. He didn't look like the type of guy who would appreciate sugar coated pop songs. "Where are you really headed?"

The man looked around her car before gazing out of the window at cars passing by. Jarod was a crazy driver, and sue sped up and slowed down quite a few times before he chuckled under his breath. "I know it'll sound stupid, but I'm going across the country."

"That doesn't sound stupid at all." Jarod said, turning down the street towards her house. Jarod had moved out of her parents house when she was 17 and she lived in a house she inherited from her grandfather. "Sounds interesting, actually."

"Yeah. But it's a lonely road. My friends are pussies—" He paused and threw his hand over his mouth. Jarod giggled.

"It's all right. It's not like I don't cuss."

"Sorry." He apologized. "Anyways, my friends said we would get tired of each other or somethin' stupid like that. I just want to do it once so I know what it feels like, y'know?"

"Yeah." Jarod said. "That's a beautiful idea. Where are you from?"

"Huntington Beach." He said. "Not too far from here."

"Some of my friends live there." Jarod shrugged, pulling into her driveway. "And your name?"

He looked over at her with bright blue eyes full of confidence and moxie. "Jimmy." He reached his hand out for hers. Jarod took his hand in hers and smiled.

"Jarod."

Little did they know that when they took each others hand, it was the beginning of an adventure as partners in crime.

~*~

Jimmy lay on Jarod's couch without much emotion on his face while he tapped a pair of drumsticks along his bare chest. Jarod managed to find a few pairs of her brother's pants (her brother visits and leaves clothes a lot) that fit him. He was an awfully tall person, so the pants were a bit short, but he appreciated them nonetheless. After eating sandwiches Jarod made and guzzling down a few root beers, he just laid on her couch, waiting for his clothes to be finished in the dryer.

"How old are you, Jarod?" He asked through a few taps of his drumsticks. Jarod was sidetracked while staring at the welts forming across his chest.

"18. Almost 19 in a month. Erm, doesn't that hurt?"

"Jesus, you're fucking young. How do you have your own house?"

"Inheritance." She replied gently. But Jimmy ignored her first question and just answered her with a smile.

"You're pretty lucky. Got a lot of money?"

"Yeah." Jarod took a sip of Coke. Jimmy's legs rocked together, keeping himself awkwardly occupied on the couch. He had a question to ask her, but he had this inkling that she wasn't the type of girl to do spontaneous things. Maybe she did pick him up as a hitchhiker, but that wasn't too spontaneous. California had a lot of hitchhikers.

So Jimmy sat up and stared at Jarod with wide, sparkling eyes. "Say... Jarod. How would you like to hear a crazy, stupid idea? A crazy, stupid wonderful idea?"

"Shoot." Jarod nodded. Jimmy kept his excitement hidden, but she could see this sparkle in his eyes that just kind of said something, something through their silence. Before he even opened his mouth, she knew this was going to be the start of an adventure with this hitchhiker unlike any other.

"How would you like to come across the country with me?" His eyebrows wiggled slightly, and that lip piercing of his (as ridiculous as it seemed) looked like it was shining 500 times brighter than before. Jarod looked around her home as if there was another Jarod he could be asking, but it was just him and her, sitting alone in the living room. The only sound that really came was from the television in the kitchen, and it played the most awkward cartoon sounds ever.

Jarod nodded, setting her Coke down on the ground below her. Jimmy stared at her intently, his eyes twinkling and his pupils growing in excitement. Jarod hesitated slightly. "I... I don't see why not."

Jimmy smiled before falling back onto the couch. He stared up at the ceiling, studying whatever was on there; cracks, dust, dirt and whatever else was up there. That smile on his face just warmed Jarod's little heart. She wondered how his friends could even consider sending him on such a trek by himself. He didn't seem like a person Jarod could get tired of, even in times of trouble or trust. "When do you want to leave?" He asked abruptly.

"Tomorrow. We'll go buy some clothes before we leave." She said before giggling under her breath. "Well, clothes for you."

"It's all right. I don't have too much money on me anyways. Just some stuff to stop by laundromats and shit."

"I can pay." Jarod shrugged, taking Jimmy's plate off of the floor next to him. "Not like I'm poor or anything."