Chapter 14: Driving Away
The lug nuts were finally off, the flat tire rolled away into the grass like a discarded toy, and the spare was bolted into place. My hands were stained dark with grease and brake dust, my shoulders aching from the strain of lifting the heavy rubber without proper leverage.
I climbed back into the cab of the Silverado, slamming the heavy door shut behind me. The interior smelled of old upholstery, damp wool, and the dust of a hundred forgotten miles. I turned the ignition key. The engine coughed twice, sputtered, and then caught, settling into its familiar, rattling idle that shook the dashboard plastic.
The tow truck driver gave me a curt nod, hopped back into his cab, and pulled his flatbed away from the curb, leaving me alone in the empty drop-off lane.
I put the truck into gear, my foot heavy on the clutch. The transmission groaned as I pulled away from the curb, easing past the front office windows where the morning's panic had finally dissolved into the quiet routine of an ordinary afternoon. Nobody looked out at me. The world inside the school had moved on, and it was time for me to do the same.
Driving down the ridge road, the engine hummed a steady, rhythmic vibration through the floorboards. The sun was breaking through the gray overcast, casting long, pale beams of light across the asphalt and the dry fields bordering the highway. For the first time in months, I didn't check the rearview mirror every ten seconds to see if someone was behind me. There was no blue van, no tailing car, no invisible threat lurking just around the next bend.
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There was only the road, the hum of an old engine, and the quiet realization that I had survived the worst part of my own undoing. When I reached Sarah's apartment complex twenty minutes later, I parked the truck near the visitor spaces, turned off the ignition, and sat in the silence for a long moment. My phone buzzed in my pocket—a text from Sarah: She's finishing her homework. Come up when you're ready.
I wiped my greasy hands on my jeans, pushed the door open, and stepped out onto the sidewalk, ready to face whatever came next.
