Love Finds You

When my mother said that I was going to be living with my grandmother from now on I knew that it would mean that I was going to have to leave my precious city behind. New York was a place of new trends and the latest technology. Just thinking about how I was going to have to suffer through anything less than The Big Apple made me sick.

I had tried looking on the brighter side of things by telling myself that there was still going to be a Starbucks in walking distances and that the strips there might be less extravagant but at least there would be a Gucci store or something. I had been riding on that one shred of hope that the place I was destined to end up in was going to be somewhat livable.

That was what got me through the five hour train ride and a three hour bus trip there. The train ride had been okay for the first half hour until the seat had started to hurt my back. When I got off of the train and onto the bus I practically kissed the stairs as I made my way in. About five minutes into the bus ride I was wishing that I had stayed on the damn train.

The seats on the bus weren’t as bad as the train because the paved road was smoother to travel on then rickety old tracks. The problem with the bus was that I was the only other person on it besides the driver. For someone that was used to crowded people shoving their elbows into your side, this vacant place gave off an eerie sense. I wanted to shove my head phones into my ears and drown away the silence but my iPod had died on the train because I had been playing music and games nonstop, now I wish I had saved it.

On a creepy and lonely bus ride you would expect it to be cold but with the hot summer air blasting through the windows it was like a furnace in here. Sweat was dripping down my brow and my long brown hair was sticking to the back of my neck. In an attempt to keep myself cool I stripped off my designer jacket and black leggings, leaving me clothed in a simple white sundress.

The sundress was the only thing that I owned that wasn’t labeled with a high quality designer in fact the dress was handmade by my grandmother. She had made it for my mother when she had left for a job and New York and my mother thought that it would be fitting for me to wear it on my way back here. The fabric of the dress was soft from being warn so much by my mother and the part where the fabric touched the top of my knees was frayed.

Personally I hated this dress. It was old, worn, and totally not my style but my single mother had insisted in it and for a daughter that had caused her nothing but trouble it was the least I could do. The smile she had on her face when she had seen me wearing this dress was enough to break my heart. Ever since the incident my mother could barely look at me much less smile. It had been that smile that had finally made me agree to packing up my life in New York and moving out to Kentucky.

“Final stop.” The driver called out to me. I looked up at him as if for the first time. He was a heavier set man wearing a faded blue uniform and looked to be in his late thirties. I never said a single word to him when I got on the bus and I wasn’t planning on starting now.

I slung my jack and leggings over my arm and picked up my Louis Vuitton bag. The bag was the only form of luggage that I had brought with me because my mother had sent the rest over a few days ago. I picked up the slightly heavy thing and waddled my way off of the bus. I didn’t think to thank the sweaty bus driver for taking me here because it wasn’t what New Yorkers did.

I stumbled a few steps forward looking for a bench to set my things down on but saw nothing. My nose crinkled in annoyance as I searched for a clean spot to put my things down. When nothing came to view I let out a little curse and turned back to the bus driver.

“Is there no bench?” I asked angrily.

The bus driver stared at me for a moment with his hand on the door handle. I started to think that he was an oaf or something when he continued to and then he tossed his head back and let out a hearty laugh. “A bench?”

His laughed a little longer before closing the doors. My mouth hung open as the man continued to laugh inside of the bus before driving away. I hadn’t realized that I was on a dirt road until the dirt that the bus had kicked up flew into my mouth.

I let out a little gag before wiping my tongue off with my hand. “Disgusting.”

My gaze snapped back to the now far away bus and I moved my items to my other hand so that I could flip him the bird. I knew very well that the man wouldn’t see it but that didn’t stop me from continuing to do it until the bus was no more than a dot.

With an annoyed sigh I flipped my hair over my shoulder and finally took in my surroundings. In front of me laid and large fresh green field of what might have been green beans and beyond that I saw the beginnings of a forest. A frown formed on my face as my eyes traveled from the field and down the dirt road which I had just come from. I turned my body slightly and peered down the gravely strip. When I saw nothing but dirt roads and greens fields I felt an icy chill shiver down my spine.

Frightened I looked behind me to see nothing but a set of thick woods with a small dirt trail leading into it. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

I spun around on my white sandals and looked back at the green bean field, in hopes that this was all a joke. There was no building or paved street in sight, no street lamps or sidewalks, no shopping malls, or even a damn car. I yanked out my cell phone from my bra and lifted it up into the air trying desperately to get a signal. When that didn’t happen either I cursed a few choice words and threw my phone to the ground. There was no way that my grandmother lived in a place like this. There was no way that anybody could live in a place so cut off from civilization, I mean really no phone service!

I was about to start cursing up a storm when a deep voice crept up behind me. “Ya’ wouldn’t happen to be waiting for someone would ya’?”

I spun around on my heels to see a man standing in the shadowed part of the forest. His grey eyes leered at me much like a predicator hunting for its prey and I shuddered at the thought of being captured. For a moment there was nothing I could do other than take in his hard demeanor. His stern shoulders were masked underneath his loosely fitted plaid shirt and his sleek biceps glistened with sweat and dirt. The only reason I was able to see any of this was because his sleeves were lopped off.

Fear gripped my throat and my feet wavered as I took a step backwards. “My boyfriend and his pals are coming to get me. They’re about two minutes out, they’ll be here soon.”

I had managed to tell the lie without stuttering and was quite proud of that. Truthfully I didn’t have a boyfriend or know anybody from this hick place, including my grandmother. I had no clue whether or not she was going to get here in time to save me from this creep or if she was only going to get here after I had been raped in murdered.

The man smiled wickedly as he stepped out of the darkness that consumed the forest. His shaggy brown hair clung around his cheeks in a menacing manner. “Oh really?”

I nodded my head nervously. “Yeah.”

Something gleamed in his sharp green eyes. “Well then I’d guess I’d better hurry.”

My fingers gripped onto the strap of my bag so tightly that blood froze in my fingers. My breath was sucked into a scream but the scream was lodged in my throat. Visions of that night replayed over and over in my head as the horrible man advanced. Logic told me to scream, to drop my bag and run, but my body was so frozen that I could barely catch my breath.

In one foul swoop the devious man tossed back his head and let out a hearty laugh. “Ya’ didn’t actually think that I was gonna snatch ya’ up did ya’ doll face?”

I felt my brows knit together. “What?”

He gave a shake of his head before running a hand through his thick hair. “Ya’ grandma sent me here to pick ya’ up.”

“What?” I snapped angrily.

His smile grew. “She’s got held up back at the farm so she sent me here to get’cha.”

Flabbergasted and a bit angry from the whole thing had me stammering. “But I t-thought that you were-

“Was what? Some low life that was gonna snatch ya’ up and rape ya’? Sorry doll face but I like my women willing.” He snorted taking a few steps closer to me. “Besides if I was going to snatch ya’ up ya’ wouldn’t be scared.” He winked and snatched my bag from me.

My mouth hung open in disgust. “You’re a pig.”

He smiled broadly. “Nah just country Doll Face.”

I glared at the stupid hick. “My names not Doll Face.”

“I know but it sure as hell sounds better.” He snickered and flipped my bag over his shoulder before giving me his back. “Now hurry it up or we’ll be late for supper.”

I glared at the man as he walked away. I was still if’y on the whole situation because my mother had told me that I would be meeting my grandmother at the stop…not some trashy, rude, perverted redneck. Following him back into those shady woods seemed like a huge ass no-no to me so I planted my feet firmly on the ground and crossed my arms over my chest.

“I’m not going anywhere with you. I have no clue who the hell you are!”

The man stopped walking and let out a sigh before looking over his shoulder at me. The smile had dropped from his face and now the man just looked plain bored and a bit annoyed. “I get that city girls are weary of everybody that wonders into their paths and all but here in the country everybody knows everybody. People in these parts are trusting and kind. You’d do well to remember that.”

The way he had gone on about it made me feel ashamed that I had acted the way I had but then I realized that he still hadn’t given me any clue as to who he was. My glare snapped back into place. “You didn’t answer me and I won’t ask again. Who the hell are you?”

“Names Gabe.” He snapped back. “I work for ya’ grandma on the farm.”