A big bodied
GMC
pulled up. Alan couldn't believe his eyes. That maniac drove all the way from New York. for a moment he felt guilt for complaining too much. The guilt was quickly washed away. his friend cared enough that he drove all the way here.
What would they do next? It was obvious. Drive west in a that gas guzzler without a purpose. But the plan had no legs. It was absurd. The last known location was some where in the middle of nowhere out in Kansas. That was when the location stopped sending.
"What are we going to do?"
"Drive." Aaron said without taking his sunglasses off.
"Where?"
"Kansas."
"And then what?"
"We'll talk to some people. Hit up the locals."
"This is insane, Aaron. This will not work."
"You were complaining. Are you going to stop complaining?"
"Well--"
"So shut up. Let's do something about it. Come on get in the damn car."
They drove west a few hours without stopping. The tank had been full when Aaron arrived. He must've stopped at a gas station right before coming to Alan's. He never asked for gas money. Nothing. Just kept real quiet. Eating a lot of beef jerky. Sunglasses on the entire time. The music was
LCD Soundsystem
.
Alan didn't say much. Didn't know if Aaron even wanted to listen to him anymore. So kept his mouth shut. He had been texting him nonstop about this Imogen thing the past few days. Now that they were sitting here together in person, he didn't have much to say.
Night fell sooner than expected. They ate dinner at a Denny's somewhere. There had been light when they pulled into that parking lot. They didn't eat long but by the time they got out it was dark.
There was no plan. Alan assumed they would stop at a hotel along the way. The thought kind of made him feel like shit. Uncomfortable. He hated staying at shitty hotels. But there was no nice hotels around.
"Should we stop somewhere for the night soon?" Alan asked meek.
"Why?"
"Aren't you tried? you've been driving for a while now."
"I think I could drive for ever."
Alan didn't know what to make of that. Was he on something?
"Do you want to sleep?" Aaron asked. He no longer had his sunglasses on. "If you want to sleep. Then sleep." He motioned with his hand towards Alan.
He wasn't tired enough to fall asleep just yet. But he closed his eyes and reclined his chair. There was no music anymore. Just the hum of the engine. The sound of the wheel on concrete. And Aaron's regular, deep breath. This Alan felt like he was listening to through the phone. Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. Exhale.