"Yeah."
"Good." He breathed in deeply. "You idiot! Why didn't you lay off the gas, hit the brake, or turn? Anything?" He gestured to an area mostly free from trees. "You high?"
"No. The joint and acid tab are still in my backpack. Look, I didn't mean for it to happen."
I expected him to call me a liar. I could have turned or slammed every pedal, but I froze and damaged his beautiful car. Instead, he glared.
"No, you didn't mean it." He had no smile. "I'm driving."
I kept quiet and didn't mention how I wanted him to drive in the first place. A long metallic screech greeted the key turn. Again, he breathed out slowly. "Of course. Let's go, hitchhiker."
We climbed up the slope and trudged along the empty asphalt road. Something was off but what? It might have been Todd since I wrecked his car and had no money to pay for repairs. Although, I could stay in town and do odd jobs.
It sounded logical, but so did returning his wallet and look how that turned out.
"Okay, what's wrong?" he asked.
"I didn't say anything."
"I canfeelyou moping."
"I'm notmoping, but there's something off. Maybe the road?"
"Well, there's no white convertible driving along it."
"Man! I'm sorry, okay? I really am, and I tried to tell you, butyouinsisted I get behind the wheel."
"You hitchhike across the country, go to those bars, and live by your own rules, doing exactly whatyouwant. Now, I'm supposed to believe you ignore the world but only listen to me? Really?"
There was something to that, but hetoldme to drive. I didn't have to obey, but it felt like something I should do.
"There's nobody on this road, Todd. Isn't it weird?"
"Hardly anyone drives it, but you wanted to take the 'Road Not Taken,' so congratulations! We're on a road nobody takes."
I sniffed. "There's no recent exhaust fumes." I pointed ahead and behind. "It's a long straightaway in both directions, and there's nobody!"
He didn't argue, but his soft murmur said I was right.
After ten minutes of silent walking, we discovered why. The old wooden bridge had partially collapsed, curving down. Carefully looking down the ravine revealed a splintered tree that must have fallen on it before sliding off. Any car driving by would have finished the bridge's destruction and died.
Todd's face lost all color as he glanced at the highway. "Grab big branches, anything leafy and visible."
I did as suggested. Anyone coming this way would slow down once they noticed the natural blockade. I hung some high, so drivers approaching from the other side would see.
"We would have crashed into the ravine," said Todd.
We headed down into the ravine. He seemed as agile as me, not needing the vines and branches for support. On the other side was an official 'Bridge out' sign. There must have been a mate and maybe the wind blew it away.
He was beyond frustrating and so wrong about nearly everything, but there was a caring soul before me.
"Your first thought when I crashed was to see if I were hurt. And you were worried about people you didn't know, so you put the branches to make sure they'd be okay."
His face softened. "Thank you."
"Your father must be proud of you."
The smile instantly disappeared. "Let's go." We hurried along the highway for a few minutes. "It curves away from town and wouldn't be an issue in a car, but we'll get there late." He pointed to the forest.
