Authors: Angela N. Blount

Tags: #Fiction, #Romance, #General, #Psychology, #Interpersonal Relations

Once Upon a Road Trip (56 page)

BOOK: Once Upon a Road Trip

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“You’re not going to end up moving to Dixieland, are you?” Elsie looked at her with some mixture of worry and disbelief.

Angie glanced to the other girl and formed a half smile. “I will if I need to.”

“Ugh,” Elsie’s nose crinkled in mock-disdain. “When did you turn into a romantic idealist?”

Angie chuckled. “Maybe I always have been. I just needed a good enough reason to admit it.”

The phone rang in the kitchen and Angie rocked to her feet, sensing herself divided between eagerness and apprehension. She looked over her shoulder once she’d gotten halfway to the kitchen. “If that’s him, you might want to head on home. We can do more catching up later.”

“Oh, I see how it is.” Elsie crossed her arms, wearing an offended look.

Angie wasn’t sure how seriously to take her friend, but as she fetched the phone, she decided not to think about it. She doubted her ability to deal with more than one endangered relationship at a time.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

“Alright, I’m home now,” Vince said. His claim was corroborated by the sound of a car door closing in the background. “Will you please just tell me what’s wrong?”

Angie paced the floor of her bedroom, staring down at the path she’d worn in the deep blue carpet as she held the phone to her ear. She had put off anything but light conversation until she was sure that Vince was no longer driving. It was one less thing for her to worry about. “I will. Tell me when you get to your room.”

“I’m there now,” he said, on the heels of a short pause. He sounded nearly as uneasy as she felt.

“Just…sit down and listen, okay?” she said. “I promise I’ll try to tell you everything, but you have to let me get it out.”

Please, let him believe me.

“I’m sitting.”

Taking her own direction, Angie eased across her bed and sat with her back pressed to the wall as she began to fill in the gaps of the previous two days. She started with the argument on the morning she and Scott had left D.C., tediously explaining the reasoning behind the stop near Indianapolis and the shared hotel room. Vince made a throaty sound on occasion, but didn’t interrupt her telling.

When she finally made it to the part about waking up to being assaulted, her breath became quick and shallow. Resurfacing panic fluttered along the fringe of her mind. The description of the event poured out of her, faltering partway through. Before she could recollect herself to continue, Vince interjected.

“He raped you!?!” The roiling anger in his tone reverberated through the phone’s receiver.

Angie was stunned to hear the word she hadn’t allowed herself to form. That one awful word, her mind had refused to accept until that moment. “No.” She heard herself murmur in a detached voice. “But…almost. I suppose.” She wondered if Scott’s lack of success meant she should feel any less violated. “I hit him—really hard.” She went on, conveying the remaining details of that night.

Vince’s breath came low and ragged on the other end of the line. “You…didn’t call the police?”

A crushing sensation engulfed Angie’s heart. She’d confided everything in him, and now she was going to lose him. Naivety had never cost her so dearly. “Maybe I should have. I don’t know.” Her eyes stung. She didn’t bother to stop the tears from flowing. “He told me he did it in his sleep.”

“Bull$&*%!” Vince roared. “He knew exactly what he was trying to get away with.”

“You’re probably right.” Angie cringed, though she sensed his hostility was directed toward Scott alone. “But if I reported him, it would just be my word against his. They wouldn’t believe me after I put myself in that kind of…situation. They’d think—”

“It’s not your fault.” Vince broke in, tone softening.

“But, at least part of it is!” she cried, pulling her knees up until she could set her weary forehead against them. “He was my friend…I should have known better. I should have known -him- better. I never meant to hurt him or lead him on—” She gasped, losing control of her voice.

“Angel,” Vince’s voice came again, gentle and commanding. “There’s no excuse for it. He tried to take what didn’t belong to him. You can’t hold yourself responsible for that.”

Angie paused, thankful for his willingness to overlook her idiocy. She didn’t feel remotely deserving of it. “I just...I feel like I failed. I should have set a better example. I should have done so many things differently,” she said, shame clawing its way into her chest. Part of her knew her distress wasn’t rational — but it was there, regardless. “What if…he goes off to college and hurts another girl because I made him so frustrated?” she choked out.

“Stop. Listen to me,” Vince said, his tone slow and purposeful. “Please...please don’t cry, babe. You didn’t fail at anything—Scott did. He should have protected you. Even if that meant protecting you from himself.” Vince paused and then emphasized, “He failed—not you.”

“I’m sorry,” Angie whispered, biting her knee to muffle a sob. The conviction in Vince’s voice resonated with her as much as the words themselves. Together, they seemed to cut through the weighty veil of guilt. She felt both liberated, and somehow shielded by what he was trying to convey. It rang like truth.

How did he know to tell me that
? she wondered in amazement.
How could he know that’s exactly what I needed?

“You have nothing to be sorry for,” Vince said. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry I wasn’t there with you. I would have killed him.” His voice grew dangerously definite.

Angie believed him. Every word.

“Then, I’m glad you weren’t there. You’d be in prison right now,” she said, dragging in a steadying breath. As she tuned in to his breathing to gauge his emotional state, she heard the rapid clicking of a keyboard somewhere in the background. “What are you doing?”

“I’m looking up plane tickets,” Vince answered, factual in tone. “I can be there before Scott gets into town. If he tries to so much as get near you again, I’m taking a baseball bat to his kneecaps.”

“That’s really not necessary,” Angie protested, unsure whether she should be flattered or appalled. Her heart was leaning toward flattered. “He’ll be with Elsie the whole time. And besides, I don’t want you flying up here all bent on violence. When you do come up…I want it to be so you can meet my parents.” Even as she said it, she realized how much she meant it.

Vince fell silent at length. “You want me to meet them?” He sounded caught off-guard.

“Of course I do.” Angie wiped at her damp cheeks with her free palm, feeling herself lighten. “But I want you to plan it out so you don’t get yourself in trouble at work or school. And you might want to wait a couple of weeks, that way we can work around my last semester and space out our visits,” she said, deliberating aloud. “We could alternate. I’ll save up some money and fly down over Thanksgiving—”

“You’re smiling,” Vince said, his voice regaining much of its usual calm and warmth.

“Yes.” She closed her eyes, picturing his face and the pleased expression she knew he wore. A calm sense of assurance settled over her. “I think we can make this work, if you’re still up for it.”

The silence on Vince’s end extended long enough to cause her concern. When he spoke again, it was with great care. “No matter the time, no matter the place, I’ll always be there for you. I’ll be waiting. Even though I’m 20 hours away—I don’t care if I’m 200 hours away. My heart and soul are there with you. So just keep smiling, babe.” His words came rhythmic and laden with certainty. “I love you.”

Angie felt the overspill of tears return, but this time for a very different reason. She left them untouched to slide down her face and fall against her knees. “Vince?”

“Yeah, Angel?”

“I love you, too.”

Epilogue

October 2
,

It’s been almost two months since my expedition into the real world came to an end. Looking back on it, I’m not sure I accomplished what I set out to do. Bad things happened. Amazing things happened. I hurt, and I healed. For a little while I was brave. I didn’t find myself all at once or anything so simple, but I did find a few pieces of me along the way…jagged, mixed-up pieces that are starting to fit together and form a shape I hadn’t expected. I also found a few things I didn’t know I was looking for. And ultimately, I think I’ve decided how I’m going to start the next chapter in my life.

It’s amazing how much has changed in just a few months. I’m stronger now; and so is my faith. Hopefully I’m a little wiser too, but that’s up for debate. I still don’t know what I want to do with myself career-wise, but I think I’m finally okay with that. What I do isn’t who I am; I’ve figured that much out at least. As for ‘finding myself’…well, I suspect that’s something I’ll be doing for the rest of my life. And I’m okay with that too. I may not know exactly where I’m going, but I’m pretty sure I’ve found a traveling companion for the rest of my life’s journey. Okay, so maybe ‘found’ isn’t quite the right word for it. He kind of…followed me home.

I’m sitting at the airport right now, waiting for Vince’s plane to de-board. If I were any more excited someone would probably have to call security on me. Suffice it to say, we’re doing well in spite of the distance. Most nights we talk for hours and end up falling asleep on the phone. Yeah, we’re that sappy. I guess it’s strange I’ve gotten to know someone and their personality so completely without being able to see them in person. But in a way, I think we have a huge advantage. We’ve already discussed everything that’s remotely important to us and hashed out our differences in perspective and background; all without the distractions that most couples face. It hasn’t been easy and we’ve still got a long way to go…but it’s been more than worth it.

So, it looks like the end of my first big adventure is turning into the beginning of a new one. The plot of my life is still being written. And fortunately, I’m just a co-author. I’m pretty sure it’s more interesting this way.

Mileage Log Total: 6,832 mi.

Bonus Tally: 1 awesome boyfriend, a dash of personal growth, and one heck of a story to tell one day.

~Ang

Acknowledgments

Innumerable thanks to God for keeping me alive, giving me purpose, and loving me in spite of myself.

Thanks also to my RWA sisters (the HOD, MCRW, and Southern Magic chapters) for the years of encouragement, critiquing, and camaraderie.

I want to thank Katherine “Kitten” DeVoe and Patience Holloway, my sprightly sisters in spirit. You’ve helped me walk this path in more ways than I could imagine.

Many thanks to Courtney Wichtendahl, for your OCD-induced excellence and most especially for your friendship over the years.

Thank you to the illustrious C.J. Redwine, for your query-ninja skills, relentless support, and all-around awesomeness.

Thanks to very my first critique partner, Elizabeth Vershowske. To Ian Cavanaugh, for your invaluable insights and analysis, to Michelle Gullixon for the honest feedback and unwavering loyalty, to Robin Roberts for being my “extra mommy.” Thank you to my “name dude” John Denart for the unsolicited belief in me, to Danielle Barnum for her phenomenal photography skills, and to Mollie Fischer--my courageous butt-double.

Thanks to my precious and precocious beta-readers: Anna, Kelly, Jon-Michael, Lana, and Tatya.

Also, a big thank you to my parents--for bringing me into this world and fostering the conviction that I could somehow affect it for the better.

Finally, I’d like to thank all of my most enduring friends who choose to overlook my daydreaming, glazed looks, and sudden impulse to suspend conversation so I can write down a thought before it’s lost to the void of my ADD-addled mind.

Book Club Discussion Questions

1. How would you describe your personal experience with this book? Were you engaged immediately, or did it take you a while to “get into it?”

2. Describe the main character, Angeli — personality, motivations, self-perception.

3. Does Angeli change by the end of the book? Does she grow or mature?

4. Why might the author have chosen to tell her story the way she did?

5. What main ideas/themes does the author explore?

6. Are any of the events in the book relevant to your own life?

7. Was there a specific passage, quote, or scene that elicited a strong reaction from you — good or bad? Share the passage and its effect.

8. Did you find the ending satisfying? If so, why? If not, why not?

9. If you could ask the author a question, what would you ask? Have you read other books by this author? If so, how does this book compare? If not, does this book inspire you to read others?