When the call came in her gut said don't answer it. She was overthinking though. Like always.

Answer it her mind said. It's your boyfriend. Girlfriend's don't ignore their boyfriend's call.

She was driving though. That could be an excuse. But she'd have to answer eventually. She couldn't drive forever. Not even technically. Eventually she'd run out of 

gas

.

She was driving west. Where to? She had no clue. If she could have it her way, the country would keep expanding so that she could drive forever. Stopping only to sleep, fill up the tank, and once in a while getting an oil change or new tires.

Driving out west like this was crazy. Her head knew that. But in her gut she felt vindicated. There had been others who had done something like this. Randomly ran away from life. In the car she was alone... but in this action she wasn't.

Calculating... how long could she do this... ignore Alan's calls, not tell him what she's doing... without causing something irreversible. A day maybe.

One day would be a reasonable absence. She might even text a quick message before too late in the evening saying that she just felt the urge to go on an impromptu road trip. That she didn't know exactly why but that she needed some time to herself. That she'd explain later.

Because right now 

Imogen Howe

 couldn't explain. Not to Alan and not to herself. All she could do was drive.