And I Will Give You Every Part of Me

Julia

This was one of those unfaithful days when your car decides to bitch out on you in the middle of the highway, with the scorching heat of the sun frying you to your early grave. The engines messed up again and this is the third time I had to change the battery this month. I was never good at mechanical stuffs; it annoyed the hell out of me.

“Maddie, can you come get me please? I’m stuck in the highway again.”

A group of bikers were in town again. They rode through the dusty main road like they owned it. Texas wasn’t really the ideal place to live in. You kind of have to tough to get through the day here, but I manage.

“Hold on.” Maddie replied on the other side of the line. “I’ll be there in 5 minutes”
And the line went dead.

After waiting and waiting under the heat of the sun, Maddie finally arrived. She had her bitch face on which was a sign that she had fought with her boyfriend again, or some bad news came up. “Did something happen?” I asked, popping the hood. Smoke came out immediately. Maddie grabbed a bottle of water from her trunk and started pouring it inside the radiator.

“Yes.” She replied, slamming the hood shut. “Life fucking happened.”

I frowned at her. “What? What do you mean?”

“Ugh, it’s nothing. It’s just my family, God. They annoy the shit out of me.” She exclaimed, shoving the empty bottle back in her trunk. “First, my little sister gets pregnant and now this! God, I’ve done so much to get out of the hell hole and now I’m being dragged back.” She sat down on the dusty roadside. I sat beside her and wrapped my arm around her shoulder.

“Oh come on, it isn’t that bad. I think it would nice if you could visit your family once in a while.” I comforted her. She looked at me, her pissed off face had faded. And she smiled.

“You think so?”

“Yeah, I mean how bad can Arizona be? Plus I’ve always wanted to see the Grand Canyons.” I replied. She let out a laugh, followed by a deep sigh.

“You’re coming? With me?” she asked, with her wide eyes. I nodded at her in reply and we both laughed.

-&&&-

We set ourselves up for long road trip back to Maddie’s hometown. She was still pissed about her family dragging back because of the family reunion. Maddie hated that place big time, but I never really asked why. She’d only say that, that place was full of nightmares. We brought enough things that could last for a week or so, she said it wasn’t going to be a quick stay there so we might as well prepare ourselves.

Maddie’s family is a huge group of people, including her cousins, Aunts, Uncles and grandparents. I’ve always wondered why she hated all of them, and I never dared to ask her until today.

“What exactly is up with you and your family?” I asked.

She shook her head and laughed. “I don’t really know. I just woke up one day realizing how much I hate them for controlling my life, for telling what I should and shouldn’t do.”

“That’s how families are Mad; you just got to be tougher.” I replied.

Maddie smiled at me again, and then turned her attention back to the road.

I remember the first I met her. Maddie, she was a mess when I bumped into her at a local diner in Texas. Her hair was dishevelled and her make-up melted on her face, making her look like a horror clown. She was alone and crying while she ate her breakfast, until I came up to her and offered my handkerchief. In less than day she told me her life story, and then I invited her to room with me in my apartment. We were inseparable from then on.

The trip to Arizona was long and tiring. Apart from the dusty roads similar to the roads in Texas, we also encountered a dead raccoon on the roadside. Regardless of the bad things that happened to us on our way there, we still had fun. Well, sort of.

“Welcome to the Grand Canyon State” the green sign flashed in front of us as we entered Phoenix. The town was different from where I had lived since I was a kid. The people were nicer, and more welcoming. We stopped by a diner in Phoenix called Cady’s and I was entirely surprised by how many people knew Maddie.

“Wow, were you some kind of child superstar here back then?” I joked. I earned myself a slap in the arm from Maddie.

She laughed. “No, shut up. It’s because my parents are business people, which is why they know a lot of people.”

“So you’re rich?” I asked.

She shook her head, laughing. “No, well yeah. But no, my parents are rich. Not me.”

Well, whaddyaknow? My best friend’s a child of probably a millionaire and she still decided to run away from home. I looked at her with my eyebrow raised. “What the hell is wrong with you?”

Our conversation was cut off when a tall, about 5”8, skinny guy approached us. He had a dark long hair and the most beautiful Brown eyes I’ve ever seen. He was looking at Maddie, but she was too busy talking to notice him. I nudged her elbow and she stopped.

“What?” and the guy caught her attention. A huge smile formed her lips and she literally jumped out of her seat. “Pat!” she exclaimed, hugging him tightly. The guy—I mean, Pat hugged her back and asked her how she was. After a minute or two, they bid each other goodbye and agreed to catch up later.

She had the biggest smile on her face when she returned to her seat. “I’m guessing his name’s Pat.” I stated.

She nodded in reply. “You’re going to love him; he is the sweetest guy you’ll ever meet!”
“He’s your boyfriend?” I asked, confused.

Well he did look like a guy Maddie would date. For one, he looks like he’s in a band. And Maddie loves guys in bands, it’s like her kryptonite.

“No! We’re just really good friends.” She replied, running her hand though her hair. That smile on her face hasn’t faded.

I let out a soft laugh. “Oh, but I thought you hated this place.” I said, trying to get her to tell me the truth that she actually loved this place to death.

“Yeah, the place and I’m putting emphasize on the place.” She said, raising her hand and making a quote sign with her fingers. “I didn’t say I hated the people.” She continued.

“Oh, alright. Well, we better going. It’s getting dark.” I replied.

She agreed and we headed on to her old home.