Paradise

After leaving the beach, Remi followed the guy into his white van and sat quietly as he pulled out of the parking lot and onto the streets. She looked out the window, resting her elbow on the arm rest and wiped away a tear that had streamed down her cheek. The guy was smart to not strike up a conversation at that moment; he had his right hand on the wheel while his left arm was outstretched out the window.

It was nearly 10 o’clock and the streets he had taken were quite empty. The guy made a few turns until he pulled into a really nice looking gas station. He parked in a spot a few feet away from the door to avoid the bright florescent lighting. It was still dark enough to see the stars and I guess that’s what he wanted.

He cut the engine and unbuckled his belt.

Remi didn’t look his way. She just stared out the window, looking at the types of people that walked in and out of the convenience store. There were the typical old men, old women who dressed as if they were still in their 20’s, and the young kids who had nothing better to do.

“So… do you want anything,” he asked.

Remi broke out of her trance and sat up straight, wiping her eyes. She looked over to the guy and opened her mouth to say, “Just a large diet Coke. Maybe some gummy bears?”

The guy grinned and pushed the door open. “Large diet Coke and a bag of gummy bears coming right up. I’ll be back.”

She nodded. It’s not like she was going to go anywhere. Actually, she didn’t want to leave the van. Remi watched him walk in front of the van and into the store. He still had on a black beanie that covered up much of his head and hid most of his hair. She wasn’t even sure what color his hair was. Blonde and straight? Brown and curly? Black and short? From what she could tell, he was rather tall and lanky. Narrow hips, long legs, and broad shoulders. Was he attractive?

Oh, the night was still young.

Remi looked around the van. The back seats were filthy and there were crumpled out McDonald’s, Burger King, and In-n-Out wrappers everywhere. She saw guitars in the trunk and wondered if the guy could play. From what she could tell, and smell, unfortunately, this van belonged to a bunch of guys. Amateur musicians, probably.

She chuckled to herself before she heard the driver door open. The guy leaned forward and handed Remi her large diet Coke and a big bag of gummy bears before getting back into the van.

“Thanks,” she said softly, placing the bag of candy on her lap.

After he shut the door, he turned to Remi and smiled. “Ah, no problem.”

Placing his own drink in the nearly broken cup holder, he reached for the keys and inserted it into the ignition. Remi took a sip of her diet Coke and rolled down her window.

“Where are we going now?”

The guy opened a bag of Cool Ranch Doritos and in between his munching, he replied, “Where do you want to go, Remi?”

She shrugged before taking another sip.

“Actually, I find it a bit creepy. You know my name, but I don’t know yours. Don’t you think that’s a bit sketchy?” Remi raised a brow at the guy and placed her drink in between her thighs. She reached for her gummy bears and tore it open.

He laughed and licked his fingers before leaning back in the driver’s seat. “Harry.”

Remi raised her brow even higher.

“Harry. My name is Harry.” The way he said his name sounded different. Like he was speaking perfect English and then once he said his own name a different sound came out of his mouth.

“You said that differently,” Remi pointed out, popping a gummy bear into her mouth.

He nodded. “I’m British.”

“So you enjoy having conversations in an American accent?”

“Not usually, but I mean, I am here… in America. California, to be exact. It’s a laugh speaking without my own accent. I just wanted to do something different,” he said while reaching for his drink. Before inserting the straw into his mouth, he smirked and continued, “Sorry you had to find out this way.”

Remi shook her head and chuckled softly. “So you lied to me? Wow, some friend you are,” she joked.

Harry pulled off his beanie, revealing his curly brown hair and Remi’s eyes immediately stared up at his messy curls. “So we’re friends?” He laughed and ran his free hand through his hair. Tossing his beanie towards the back seat, Harry stood up, back hunched, and walked towards the seats. Remi twisted her body and stared at the guy.

“What are you doing?” She asked, bringing her straw up to her lips.

Harry sat at one end, with his back against the wall of the van and his legs stretched out over the seats. He looked at Remi with a wide smile and continued eating his Doritos. “I’m just munching,” he said in an American accent.

Remi rolled her eyes. “Please, just talk in your British accent. You’re going to confuse me.”

“Whatever the lady wants, the lady gets,” replied Harry, chuckling quietly afterwards. Bringing the corner of the bag up to his mouth, he took in the leftover crumbs before crumpling the bag and tossing it into the very back of the van.

“British or not, you’re such a typical guy,” Remi said, popping another gummy bear into her mouth. Harry laughed and licked his fingertips before gazing over at Remi. She looked back at him and crinkled her eyebrows. After swallowing the gummy bear, she asked, “What?”

He shook his head and folded his hands over his lap. “Nothing…” Remi’s lips pulled up into a half-smirk before turning away from Harry. She was now looking forward watching people walk in and out of the gas station. The same kind of people showed up and she couldn’t help but examine what they bought for themselves.

A twelve pack of beer, chips, Arizona Iced Tear, Skittles, blue raspberry Slushies, Hot Cheetos, anti-inch cream… their purchases were very unexpected.

“Come over here,” Harry said softly, causing Remi to look back at him once again. There he sat, looking comfortable as ever. His back still resting against the side of the van, his legs still outstretched, a grin on his face.

She shook her head. “I’m fine here,” she replied.

“I didn’t ask you if you want to come back here. I told you to.”

“So you’re demanding me?” Remi asked, tilting her head to the side. Harry nodded and she rolled her eyes before getting up and hunching her back. She walked to the back seat and Harry’s long legs swung off the side so Remi had room to sit. Crossing her leg over the other, she looked at Harry and smiled. “Happy?”

“Yes, I am,” he replied, unfolding his hands and crossing his arms against his chest.

Remi looked over at the digital clock on that was just underneath the vents. It read 11:45 pm.

Did an hour and a half seriously just pass? Remi was surprised, but it wasn’t like she was in a rush to leave. She didn’t want to go home; she just wanted to stay in this crappy white van with out without Harry because honestly, it made her feel much better.

“So what’s the story?”

Remi looked at Harry. “What story?”

He sat up and brought up one leg onto the seat, resting his arm around it. “You know, the story? What happened to you on the beach? You seemed pretty scared…”

“I wasn’t scared. I was angry, alright?” Remi replied rather bitterly. She wasn’t in the mood to talk about what happened because once she told the truth about her “friends” Harry would probably give her some “advice” like everyone else. It was an endless cycle that Remi did not like being part of.

Harry ran a hand through his hair. “Well I was pretty concerned back there, and I’m still concerned now. Besides, you said you would tell me.”

Remi glared at Harry. “So this was your plan? You take me in your van, drive me away from the scene, buy me food and hope to get my story out of me? I don’t even know you, Harry!”

After that, Remi reached for the latch on the side door and pulled it open, letting the door slide off to the side. She got up and grabbed her diet Coke and jumped out of the van. Turning to look back at Harry, she tilted her head to the side and said, “I never, ever tell my story to people I just met. Got it?” Harry just stared at her before she turned on her heel. Quickly, Harry got up and stuck his head of the van.

“Where are you going, Remi?” He shouted.

Remi didn’t bother stopping or looking back. She walked on until she was about 50 feet from the van before she shouted over her shoulder. “I’m going home.”

When she was finally away from the gas station and out of Harry’s eye, Remi walked along the dark sidewalk, passing by a few street lights. She took a sip of her nearly done diet Coke before tossing the Styrofoam cup into a trash bin. The residential streets were empty, considering the fact it was nearly or just passed midnight. She crossed her arms against her chest and turned a few corners.

There was a noise coming from behind Remi as well as lights. She began to walk a little faster, hoping they weren’t going to follow. Remi swallowed and licked her lips as she paced herself, keeping her eyes set forward at the upcoming corner. The lights were getting closer and closer and she shut her eyes, hoping it wasn’t that group of kids she called “friends”.

“Leave me alone,” she said to herself. “Leave me alone…”

“Remi!”

She opened her eyes and stopped in her tracks. She turned to face the road, just waiting for the crappy white van to pull up. When she saw Harry’s face out the window, she shook her head. “So you’re following me?”

When Harry didn’t reply, Remi, again, shook her head and continued walking away from him. He called after her, “Hey!” Harry began driving up closely and slowly near Remi. “Get in. Let me drive you home!”

“I’m perfectly fine walking home, Harry,” she replied over her shoulder.

Harry shouted over the noise from the oncoming line of cars. “That was a demand!”

Remi looked at Harry, who was still driving right beside her. “I don’t care. Leave me alone.”

The curly haired guy groaned before saying, “Fine. Just take this,” he tossed a crumpled up piece of paper at Remi, hitting her head lightly and watching as it fell to the ground. She stopped walking and Harry stepped on the brake.

“I don’t want your trash, Harry!”

“It’s not trash.”

Remi bent down and picked it up. “It’s your trash.”

Harry shook his head, annoyed. “It’s not my god damn trash, Remi. Open it up, you’ll see it’s my number. If you ever need anything, call me. I know we just met, but you’ve already got me caring about you.”

She looked down at the piece of crumpled up paper and began to unfold it, then smoothed it out to see his number scribbled in pen. After hearing what he said, she looked up at him. “Well don’t. You’re just wasting your time.”

“You really think so?” He asked, and Remi nodded. “Fine. Then, forget I ever gave you my number. Don’t ever call me if you need anything because I won’t care. Is that better?”

Harry stared at Remi, who only looked down at the ground with her arms crossed, her hand still holding onto the piece of paper. He licked his lips and sighed. “I’m in town for a week. If you need to escape, let me know. I’ll wait for you.”

And then Remi watched as Harry drove off into the darkness. His van’s engine becoming inaudible and the lights becoming dim and then finally disappearing when he turned a corner. The brunette looked down at his number and folded the paper, stuffing it into her pocket and continued her journey back to the place that was supposed to make her feel safe, but didn’t.