Sarah’s Journey

Lit Up — December Prompt

Sarah stuffed the money, birth certificate and diploma in the side zippered pocket of her backpack. The safe deposit box lid closed with a hollow thunk and she stepped out of the small room signaling to the bank lady, letting her know she was finished. Jake met Sarah in the lobby and laid his arm across her shoulders in that possessive way he had.

“You get all your money and papers?”

“Yes.” A sidelong glance at his tight jaw told her he was in a hurry, and they strode to where he’d parked his father’s pickup. She scooted in from the driver’s side, leaving just enough room for Jake to slide in next to her — the way she knew he liked. Before pulling the truck onto the street, he squeezed Sarah’s thigh, and his hand rested on her leg as he drove. The backpack lay on the seat beside her.

Jake parked the truck on icy slush in front of her house and turned to look at her. “Think your old man’s home?”

“Don’t call him that. No, Stan’s still at work. Ma should be here, though.”

Jake rolled his eyes. “Yeah, okay. Well, I’ll meet you there tomorrow. Bus leaves at four, right?” He ran a finger back and forth across Sarah’s cheek and dipped his head so she’d look at him. “You ready to get away from this mess?” His eyes swept over her head to look at the house. “And …” Jake lifted her chin and smirked, “being together?” Dark brows moved in a suggestive gesture.

Sarah clutched her backpack and reached for the door handle. “Yeah, Jake.” She turned to look at him again. “You know, there’s a blizzard coming in. You think the bus will be able to leave?”

“Oh, yeah. Nothing will stop us, babe.”

Sarah walked into the house and up to her room, tossed the backpack on the floor, and sat on the bed.

“Sarah, is that you? Home from work already?”

“Yes, it’s me, Mom. I, uh, got off work early.”

The boss received her sudden notice the previous day. He’d told her he was surprised because, for the last year, she’d been asking for as many hours as he could give her.

Leaning against the bedroom doorway, her mom said, “Your dad will be home soon, I’ve got a meatloaf in the oven since that’s one of his favorites.”

“Ma, don’t call Stan my dad. And as far as dinner goes, he’ll just tell you something’s wrong with it the way he always does. You shouldn’t let him get away with insulting you.”

“Oh, honey, he doesn’t mean it when he talks that way. You know his job is stressful. We need to be understanding.”

Sarah got to her feet. “Come on, I’ll help you finish dinner.”

“What did you do all day, Mona? You sure as hell didn’t spend very much time on this meatloaf.” Stan shook his head and took another bite from the fork fisted in his hand. “And you, missy, I hear you slacked off and got home from work early today. What’s up with that?”

Sarah met Stan’s direct look with an uncharacteristic glare. “We were slow today. I came home and helped Mom.”

Stan lowered his gaze first but said, “She needs a lot more help than what you can give her. Right Mona?”

Ducking her head, her mom continued eating without answering. Sarah stood, rinsed her plate, and walked upstairs.

She hugged her friend close. “Thanks so much for the ride, Darla. You don’t know how much I’m going to miss you.”

“Oh, Sarah, promise me you’ll be happy.” Darla’s eyes squeezed shut and she swiped away a tear. “You and Jake get in touch once you’re settled.”

Sarah got out of the car and reached into the back seat for her suitcase and backpack. As Darla drove from the bus terminal lot, Sarah watched dark, heavy clouds circle and swoop over snow-capped mountain peaks. The impending storm made her feel a looming dread, and she told herself to remember what she was doing and why. The biting wind snatched strands of hair from the clip at the nape of her neck.

People milled around the terminal as Sarah got in line to purchase her ticket.

“Where to, miss?”

She stepped to the ticket counter. “I’m going to Los Angeles on the four o’clock.” Her gaze moved over the crowd. “There seem to be a lot of people here today.”

The man looked up from his computer screen. “Many are leaving a day earlier than they’d planned. You know, because of the blizzard. Your bus might leave early to get ahead of the storm, so listen to the announcements.” He slid her ticket across the counter.

Sarah hauled her luggage to the nearest bench and sat. As her phone trilled, she dug it out of her pocket and saw Jake’s name displayed on the screen.

“Are you there yet?”

“Yes, I got to the terminal a couple of hours early because of the weather. Where are you?”

“I’m helping a friend but I’ll be there by four. Since I’m running behind, buy my ticket, will ya?”

“Four? But Jake, that’s kind of late.”

A pause. Then, “Hey, missy, I’ll be there, okay? I’m doing this for you, so don’t start nagging.”

She flinched.

Anxiety prickled the back of her neck. “Sure Jake. See you then.” Bags hoisted, she walked back to the counter.

“I need to buy another ticket.”

“All right. Tell me again where you’re going?”

“Actually, I need to exchange the one to L.A. for one to Seattle.”

“Okay, sure. You’re just in time. That bus is loading and will be pulling out in twenty minutes.”

The smile she gave the ticket agent illuminated her pretty face.

“Perfect.”

This story first appeared in Silver Pen’s Youth Imagination