Finders Keepers

CHAPTER-9

‘Lesson number one – you don’t take your eyes off the road for a second.’

‘You hear me? Not a second. You blink for a wink too long and it’s over, all right. Now drive.’

‘Don’t take your eyes off the road for a second.’ The thick mustache-ed instructor had drilled in this phrase inside Andrew’s head like a jackhammer positioned on a concrete wall. Ever since those forty minutes, Andrew had never been able to forget the man’s gruff voice.

‘Don’t take your eyes off the road for a second.’

A millisecond should have been fine though, that’s what he had thought. Having turned on the corner about 30 seconds earlier, something on the car's floor had caught his eye. Andrew was a careful driver, he was always focused, but the shiny object glinting in his eye blinded him for a beat too long. The next few seconds flashed by, and as his tires screeched against the tarmac, Andrew’s heart leaped into his throat.

It had all happened so fast. She didn’t know how her ears had missed the sound, but her peripheral vision had come to the rescue. Finding herself on the ground once more, Sarah’s eyes kept switching between her trembling legs and the tires they had almost come under.

“Shit! Are you okay?”

Sarah had felt her heartbeat traverse the course of her entire body, quaking in places she didn’t know they could, but the moment she sighted the owner of the nervous query, her heart sank.

When Andrew spotted his almost-victim, he experienced what he thought to be whiplash. He hadn’t expected to hit someone on that morning, but he definitely wasn’t counting on that someone to be Sarah Thomas.

Grabbing onto the car door to keep his nervous gait stable, Andrew continued to stare at Sarah absent-mindedly, unsure about his next move. Squirming under his gaze, Sarah tried to get up but fell right back, yelping as she held onto her ankle.

Snapping back to reality, Andrew rushed to her side, supporting her weight as he guided her to the passenger seat.

“I’m so so sorry. Are you okay?”

“You almost ran me over. What do you think?”, chest heaving, Sarah wobbled, her grip on Andrew tightening as she felt her balance shaking.

“I know I know. I’m so sorry. I don’t know what happened. I really hope you didn’t get hurt severely”, Andrew helped her sit before running to the back, bringing out his first-aid kit.

Although she didn’t say anything out loud, Sarah silently hoped her injury wasn’t serious too; getting admitted in a hospital wasn’t a part of the plan.

Taking her hands in his, Andrew blew at her asphalt scratched palms. A few of her fingers were embedded with what looked like glass he assumed was from the broken phone screen she had had a vice’s grip on. Her face was ashen and her whole body shivering. She must have held onto it in fear, the fear he had caused.

Careful while applying antiseptic, Andrew suggested they visit the emergency room anyway and Sarah nearly shouted at him,” No!”

Andrew was tender while dealing with her, so when she witnessed the shock on his face, she felt bad and spoke in a low voice, adamance still evident, ”No, I’m not going to the hospital”.

“Okay, no hospital then”, though still worried, Andrew decided to move according to Sarah, it was her body and she ought to know what was best for her. He felt extremely guilty and didn't wish to hurt her any further. Additionally, she was looking even more on edge than normal and had barely met his eyes. He wasn't going to risk pushing her buttons any further.

Once he was done, Sarah murmured a ‘thank you’ and began to step out, but before Andrew could stop her, the pain in her ankle shoved her right back into place.

“Woah Woah. You’re not going anywhere. I almost killed you right now. Tell me where you want to go, I’ll drop you”.

“N-uh”, Sarah couldn’t decide where to pay attention to; the turning of her stomach or the stabbing pain in her leg. Encountering Andrew was a very bad place to begin with, she couldn’t have him know where she was going. No one could know.

Wringing her fingers, she fell back further into the seat in an attempt to escape Andrew’s eyes. And when he held onto her hands again, she felt her cheeks heat up. He was being considerate, warning her about her finger's injuries. The concept of being touched felt alien to her somehow, so she didn't even look at him.

Why’d his eyes have to be so inquisitive? It felt like he knew everything he needed to know with just a quick scan, and that made Sarah all the more uneasy.

Avoiding his anticipating gaze, Sarah focused on the backseat of Andrew’s car, particularly the numerous packed boxes stacked on top of each other.

“You going somewhere?”

Still holding her hands, Andrew nodded, ”Boston”.

He had noticed the quick raise of her brow, almost as if she was incredulous, and after turning her gears for a good minute, she spoke, ”Alright, treat me to breakfast then. The place will be my choice.”

“Huh?”

“You almost killed me right now. Breakfast’s the least you can do.”

Andrew’s skepticism grew deeper when Sarah crossed her arms, hoping to emit an aura of confidence, but the way her bottom lip quivered and her eyes shook, he knew she was scared.

Scratching his brow, he thought for a minute, ”Okay. As you wish”.

Mirroring Sarah’s smile, he jogged over to the driver’s side, pocketing Sarah’s discarded phone.

The fog ensued from the earlier panic had cleared, but Andrew’s doubts had only increased. Now that she was in the car with him, Andrew began to realize just how strange the circumstances they had met under were.

He didn’t know what Sarah had been doing in a neighborhood she clearly didn’t belong in so early in the morning, and when his eyes landed on the two heavy looking backpacks she was clutching, his frown deepened.

She hadn’t spoken a word for the first half hour, biting her nails as she looked out of the window. It seemed as though she didn’t want to occupy any space in the car, teetering off the edge of the seat, her legs stuck together like glue.

Shaking her head violently when Andrew began to pull into a McDonalds, Sarah had grabbed onto his arm, “I don’t like McDs”.

He hadn’t objected, only nodded along. The only way he was getting Sarah to speak was going to be on her own terms, and Andrew had been made aware of the fact.

An hour later, when she finally agreed to pull into a diner, Andrew felt a punch in his gut. They were way out of town, and something was very very wrong.

Refusing the menu, Sarah spoke in a single breath, ”Whatever’s the fastest please”. Attempting to conceal her surprise, the waitress turned towards Andrew with a tight smile. Flustered, he stumbled on his words,” Um.. an omelet with some toast please”.

Hesitant to meet his eyes, Sarah stared at the waitress as she walked away, fingers playing with the cutlery.

“You know you can’t avoid talking to me forever right?”

Andrew rested his chin on his hands, his stance, imploring. Inhaling deeply, Sarah shrugged,” That’s a bummer. I was

counting on that”.

Chuckling, he reached for the cutlery Sarah had been playing with, “Sorry, it’s just that the noise is..”, he ground his teeth and Sarah apologized.

“Sorry, I was just..”

He waved his hand,” No, I get it. It’s just the noise is disturbing. I’m sorry. But since you’re talking now, mind telling me what’s happening?”

Feigning ignorance, Sarah shot him a blank look.

Running a hand through his hair, Andrew let out an exasperated sigh,” Sarah we’re forty-five minutes out of San Francisco and at some weird diner very close to a highway. Not to mention you look like you’re going on a freaking vacation two days before graduation”, he replaced his face in his hand,” What exact kind of a fool do you think I am?”

Sarah was surprisingly quick to respond, ”What is this? 21 questions?”

“It wouldn’t be if you don’t answer.”

Throwing her arms up in the air, Sarah stretched,” I’m visiting a friend”.

Raising his brow, Andrew chortled,” Two days before graduation?”

“You’re going to Boston.”

“ For college.”

“Yeah let’s not even get started on that”, the waitress approaching their table caught Sarah’s eyes and she swiftly stood up, albeit, her mobility was restricted by her ankle.

“ I don’t need to sit here and be grilled by you. Thanks for the ride, enjoy college.”

Andrew, who in Sarah’s opinion was annoyingly composed, didn’t even turn to face her as he spoke, ”Aren’t you forgetting something though?”

Huffing, Sarah turned,” What?”

The teal phone-cover she was accustomed to seeing in her own hand looked odd in Andrew’s. Her eyes widened in horror with realization, blood boiling upon his visible smirk.

“ Your phone.”