Crossroads

“So, is there anywhere you can stay?” Asked Robert.

Esther was sat in the front seat with John resting against the window beside her. She nervously played with her fingers as she glanced around the Van. She was fascinated with the gadgets the van possessed, especially the stereo. Every time she flicked through the songs, she was spooked by the modern sounds and it confused her to the point that she asked out loud: {i]What is this?{/i]

The men behind her began to complain because she kept changing the songs and she finally left it on Papercut by Linkin Park. Robert asked her his question once again.

“Excuse me?” she said quietly.

“Is there anywhere you can stay?” He asked.

“Erm… no.”

“Well, you can’t come to mine because the guys will be crowding up the place but at John’s, there’s just him and his band mates. Maybe you can stay at his,”

“My chaperon would flip out if she heard about this,” she mumbled to herself.

“Chaperon? You really believe you are from 1940’s, don’t you?” Robert laughed, glancing forwards to look at John who was finally waking up again. “Maybe you were hit by a car, or the men in black got to you.”

“Men in black?”

“Yeah. Dodgy people really,”

John coughed loudly into his hand and Esther flinched a little to the side. “Still feeling sick?”

“Yes,” he grumbled.

“We’ll stop at a nearby diner,”

They passed through a tunnel filled with orange lights which vanished behind them and Esther was strangely fascinated with them. Her jade eyes watched them with amusement but when a large truck zoomed past, she sat back quickly and accidently grabbed John’s hand. They both were shocked that they were holding hands but it didn’t last long as Esther yanked her hand away. John chuckled and rested his head back on the dashboard.

“Ok… stop at the nearest place I can violate with vomit-“John grumbled until he found himself covering his mouth his hand.

“There’s a bar over there-“said Robert and the men in back began to cheer.

The van pulled into the car park and John fell out as it pulled to a stop. He hit the ground hard and rolled onto his back; Esther climbed out and tried her hardest to run to his aid. She wouldn’t have helped a random stranger, fearing what they could do to a vulnerable person she was, but he had charm to him- a charm she couldn’t quite explain.

He climbed to his knees and with Esther holding him by the arm he got up to his feet.
The bar was an old creaking building with dusty thin glass windows, a red flickering sign saying Derek’s Bar, and many heavy biker’s bikes and rustic red, blue, brown trucks parked outside, side by side. The group didn’t fit in at a bar like this but John couldn’t quite care, being a step away from passing out whilst throwing up at the same time.

Crashing through the rigid doors, John blanked all the faces that stared at him for his loud entrance and ran towards the toilet sign, falling through the doors and rushing into a cubicle. Meanwhile, whilst he was puking the last of his guts, Esther stood awkwardly on her own in the empty area around the doors as Robert and his friends ordered more drinks.

She had never been to a place which was so filthy filled of dark brown colours and with men her father would disapprove of. In fact he wouldn’t approve of the place full stop. Heavy drinking, heavy music, and possible violence amongst the drunk, it was the perfect place to rebel against her peers but she felt weak without the people that kept her on a leash.

A man playing pool took up the chance to take advantage of Esther; he approached her with a coy smile.

“Hey, girl, how you doin’?” he asked, standing a little too close for her liking.

She swallowed and looked around for a pair of eyes which would come to save her but even Robert was out of sight; her heart beat pounded out of control and her eyes darted everywhere. Keep calm, he hasn’t touched you yet. His hand rested on her arm.

“Can I buy you a drink?” he asked.

She shrugged his arm off her. “No, you can’t.”

She stormed around him and headed towards the toilets when he grabbed her arm.

“Don’t walk away from me,” he said, trying to sound relaxed and inviting.

She clenched her fists and yanked her arm away. “Don’t touch me,”

As she walked towards the bathrooms, she intended to walk into the Ladies loos but ended up in the gents, almost gagging to the sound of John still throwing up.

“Erm… John, are you ok?” She asked, peering at the doors, guessing that second door in was where he was.

She slowly opened the door and found John sat on the floor, his back against the wall. He looked vulnerable and very ill and all she wanted was to hug him- he was too cute to be illegal. She knelt down beside him and he smiled.

“So, Esther… right?” he laughed, though it was a weak laugh.

“Yes.”

“This is a crappy way to get to know each other, hey?” he said, struggling to stand to up.

“A bit.” She sighed.

He stepped around her, walked to the sinks and washed his hands and face. Ester slowly walked out of the cubicle, standing not far from him.

“So, you’re supposed to be staying with me?” he asked as she shook off the water from his hands.

“Yes, if that is fine for you? It’s just until I can… well, I don’t know. Figure out what happened.”

“Yeah… why the hell were you out there?” he laughed, turning round and leaning against the sink.

“I don’t really remember much. I just remember bulbs, red curtains and a gorgeous face,” she sighed.

“Oh, damn. You got a boyfriend. That sucks.”

“Boyfriend? No, no. At least… I don’t think so.”

“You’ve probably got amnesia.”

“Pardon?”

“You probably got hit by a car, if you can’t remember anything.”

He approached her and she stepped back until her back slammed into the door of the cubicle. John chuckled and lifted his hand up to her.

“C’mon,” he sighed as she cautiously took hold of it. “Guess I’m going to take you back to mine.”