My eyes widen. “Am I allowed to use this?”
He shrugs. “Seems like an emergency to me.”
I thank him and dial Ella’s number, feeling hopeful but still pretty pessimistic. But it rings, and then I hear her sweet voice and I can’t believe it worked.
“Hello?” she says, sounding surprised. No doubt because she doesn’t recognize this number.
“Ella! It’s me.”
“Oh my God, Ethan!” Her voice cracks and I can hear her sobs. “Where are you?”
“I’m at a small gas station in the middle of nowhere. Where are you?”
She snorts. “I’m also at a small gas station in the middle of nowhere. But I don’t see you.”
“Are you safe?”
“Yeah … pretty much. I was alone but then this family with a motorhome arrived and they’re pretty nice. They let me use their restroom and wash my face and they had food, too.”
“That’s good,” I say, yawning. I guess after the adrenaline of finding her wore off, my body has sunk back into exhausted mode. “Maybe we should get some sleep and find each other in the morning. I don’t want us to pass out while driving.”
“Yeah…” she says. “That’s a good idea. I’ll sleep in my car. How did you get a hold of me? I’ve been trying to call you all day.”
“Someone let me borrow their sat phone,” I explain. “Try to find out where you are in the morning, like street signs or a town or something, and I’ll call you and then plot out a route so we can find each other.”
“Sounds good,” she says. “I can’t wait. I hate this.”
“Me too, baby. Get some sleep. I’ll call you in the morning. I love you.”
“I love you,” she says with a sigh.
It’s just after one in the morning, but I call my parents anyway. Mom answers on the first ring, sounding like she’s been staying up to make sure I’m okay. She and Dad arrived at the hotel hours ago. I’m so mad at myself for not leaving at the same time, because then Ella and I wouldn’t be in this mess. I tell my mom we’re fine and promise that we’ll be safe. Then I give the phone back to its owner.
“You hungry?” he asks as he tucks the phone back into his pocket. He gestures to the small convenient store behind him. “Help yourself to some food. It’s on the house.”
“Thanks so much,” I say. I have some snacks in my truck, but the store has fresh fruit and I’m craving some of that.
I also grab a map and find out that I’m in a little down that’s forty five miles away from De Sota. It’d be just over an hours’ drive in normal conditions. There’s still not much traffic on these back roads, so maybe Ella and I can get to the hotel in time for brunch. Then this nightmare will be over.
The woman with the kids gives me an extra blanket she’d packed when they evacuated their home this morning. I thank her and use it to cuddle up in the back seat of my truck. I’ve made out back here with Ella a few times, but being here alone is not fun. It’s too small and uncomfortable and lonely.
I lie on my back and look at the stars through the window and think about my girl, who is doing the same thing in her car. I hope she’s safe there. I wish I would have taken her with me.
I won’t be able to live with myself if anything bad happens to her.
