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I’m met with a head shake and a sneer at the first two trucks I approach. The drivers don’t even open their doors or roll down their windows so I can plead my case to them. The fact that I’m dressed in this baggy hoodie with my hair hidden in my beanie probably isn’t helping, not when there are several other women with a lot more on display. I can only imagine what a hot mess I look like after the long, hard sprint from my house to get here.
After attempting to hitch a ride from a few other truckers, all of whom turn me down or straight up laugh at me, I catch sight of a red and white eighteen-wheeler pulling out of their parking spot. I take off after it, jumping in front of it and waving my arms above me to get the driver’s attention. They slam their brakes just in time to avoid running me over.
The driver’s side door swings open hard enough to crack against the side and bounce back. A massive mountain of a man jumps out, and he looks mean and pissed as hell.
Oh shit! I don’t know if I can do this.
For a second, I lose my courage and stumble backward as the man stomps toward me. He’s even bigger and scarier up close as he glares down at me, muttering and cursing under his breath.
I’m about to tuck tail and run away when I remember my mantra—whatever it takes. I’ll do whatever it takes to get out of here, including agreeing to whatever this snarling bull of a man wants from me in return for letting me hitch.
With a murderous look on his face, he barks out, “What the hell do you think you’re doing, girl? You could’ve gotten yourself killed running in front of me like that! Get the fuck out of here if you know what’s good for you.” His voice is deep and rumbly, and my legs go weak as I try to steel myself against the weight of his command.
Shaking with nerves and adrenaline, I find my courage again and beg, “Please, please take me with you. I’ll do anything you want, anything at all. Just take me with you, please!”
His mouth twists, and he looks at me with utter contempt and disgust. “I’m not looking for no company, especially when you look like you should be at home giggling about boys instead of out here trying to sell yourself. I don’t want a damn thing you’re offering.” He turns back to his truck and shouts over his shoulder, “Now get out of my way.”
“Please!” I scream. “I have to get out of here. If you don’t want company, then I’ll just keep quiet. You won’t even know I’m there, I promise. You just have to take me with you.”
He stops with his back still turned, and hope surges through me that he may have changed his mind. Half turning, he stares off to the side, silently debating, I guess.
“How old are you?”
“I’m eighteen,” I tell him.
He snorts at that, and I can tell he doesn’t believe me. He shakes his head again and stomps back to his door. “Get out of here and go back home, girl.” He doesn’t sound as menacing as before. More pitying than angry now.
I can work with that.
I sink to my knees and put on my biggest, saddest puppy-dog eyes. It’s never worked before, not when I was begging Dad to stop hurting me or Mom, but I have to try.
“Please, please, please. I can’t go back home, and I have nowhere else to go. Everyone else has turned me down, and I’m running out of time.”
My growing fear that I’ll never find a ride out of here has tears spilling down my cheeks. My chance at freedom is quickly slipping out of my grasp. Any second now, a police cruiser could creep by, catch me, and take me home. Everyone Dad works with knows who I am. They’d never turn their back if they saw me. My stomach bottoms out when I think of the brutal punishment I’ll get if that happens.
My tears fall faster and faster as he stops with his hand on the door, ready to climb back in. He gives me a long look, clearly torn about what he’s going to do. Finally, he shouts angrily, “Goddamnit!” He blows out a breath and says, “Alright, get in.”
“Thank you!” I yell as I stumble to my feet, overwhelmed with relief and shock that he changed his mind. Using all my remaining strength to yank open the heavy passenger door, I jump and pull myself up into the seat, then slam the door closed.
He looks over at me from the driver’s seat and shakes his head, cursing under his breath, though I don’t know if it’s at me or himself. “Seatbelt,” he grits out as he puts the truck in gear.
I scramble to buckle in after throwing my bag at my feet. I can finally catch my breath, and I find myself slowly relaxing as he pulls out of his parking spot. That is until I look out the window and spot a cruiser parked at a gas pump. I slump low in my seat, turning my face away from the window. I hope and pray that whoever the officer is hasn’t seen me.
My energy is depleted after the stress of escaping, but I have to stay alert. I know it’s a big risk that this guy could be dangerous. He’s a stranger—a huge, intimidating one at that. As grateful as I am to him for changing his mind, I’m still scared, wondering if he’ll decide to test my promise to do anything he wants.
I study the guy as he pulls the truck out onto the highway, thankfully pointed in the opposite direction of my house. He has dark hair cropped close to his scalp and a wild, bushy beard. I can’t see what color his eyes are since it’s so dark out, but I can see that they’re narrowed, his mouth pressed into a thin, angry line. He’s wearing a loose, unbuttoned, dark flannel over a basic black T-shirt that’s stretched taut across his chest and stomach, dark jeans that hug his long, thick thighs, and black scuffed work boots.
Overall, it’s a look, one that suits him well.
So different from Dad with his pressed uniform and ultra-shiny black boots.
The stranger is also way bigger than I am at five-foot-one and 130 pounds, and I silently gulp at the realization that there’s no way I’d be able to fight him off if he were to attack me. I just have to hope he’s not as big of a monster as Dad is. Hope the universe didn’t pull me out of the frying pan just to dump me in the fire.
Wyatt
What the hell have I gotten myself into?
I’ve never let a lot lizard in my truck before. Never even been tempted to. I may have just made the biggest mistake of my life, letting this girl hitch a ride with me. I don’t believe for a second she’s as old as she says she is, yet I still let her get in, and now I’m counting all the ways this could land me on the wrong side of the law with her in tow.
