Ride or Ruin

Arrival

The drive to Colorado was long and exhausting. We took turns driving, only stopping for food and bathroom breaks. After spending hours passing through wooded mountains and rocky canyons, we finally reached the sleepy town. I hadn't called Oak Ridge home since I was a teen. My mother had taken me and my brother and moved us shortly after my father passed away and we never returned. The town looked exactly how I remembered.

Only one main roadway passed through the center with a few small businesses, a run-down gas station, and a market filled with the surrounding farms' produce. The closest town was almost an hour away and the city was four hours away, making shopping or medical emergencies difficult, especially during bad weather when the roads would close down for weeks on end.

It was just after sun down when we arrived. We parked in front of the only motel in town, a decent U-shaped building with a courtyard in the middle. I had reserved a room over the phone and went to the front desk to check in, only to find the door was locked. I peered inside and sure enough everything was dark. I knocked a few times before pulling out my phone to call. I could hear the phone ringing inside the office but nobody came.

Lily was leaning against the car, picking at her nails. She looked so rebellious in her leather jacket and jeans, her make-up sharp even after the long drive and her short, wavy pixie cut. It was a stark contrast to the town's quaint vibe.

"Nobody's here. How am I supposed to get in my room?" I asked, hoping she would know some secret power of producing a key. I received a shrug instead. "I told you, you should just stay with me. Staying here is a waste of money."

I sighed, having already had this argument, "Lily, your mom hates me. I don't want that to be the first experience I have here."

"She doesn't hate you, she hates your family. Theres a difference! Plus you'll be with me and you love me." She put on her best grin.

"And what choice do you have right now? Obviously, no one is coming back tonight."

Looking around in the darkness, the silhouettes of the surrounding mountains beginning to fade, I realized she was right. "Lets at least find somewhere to use the bathroom. I've had to pee for the last hour and you live too far for me to hold it." She started laughing at me.

"Well, the only place open out here is the biker bar, so unless you want to pee outside, we can go there." My mother had always warned me to stay away from that bar, especially at night. My brother, Olly, had snuck out one night when he was sixteen and showed up the next morning with a black eye. He wouldn't tell me what happened but I knew well enough to stay away.

My nervousness must've shown on my face because Lily pulled my arm towards the car saying, "Come on, it's not that bad. We can grab a drink while we're there too!" I moaned and followed.

I had been to bars around Seattle but small town biker bars were a lot more intimate. It made me think of a saloon as we parked on the dirt lot behind the bar. Motorcycles were parked in a line out front and I could hear rock music before I made it out of the car. A handful of people were outside smoking and they gave me odd, judgmental glances as I passed by. I suddenly felt very out of place and very over-dressed. I had chosen a mid-thigh sundress for the long drive, my honey blonde hair cascading down around my bare shoulders. I even had a frilly headband in my hair. I looked too innocent for this place, not even Lily's choice of punk rock attire could save me.

I rushed in quickly and went straight for the bartender. "What can I get you?" The woman was older with shoulder-length frizzy hair, a black tank top with a big skull plastered on the front of it, and tattoos up to her neck. My voice squeaked out as a small mouse, "Bathroom?" The room was full of similar-looking folk, all tattooed and wearing black or leather. The bartender nodded towards the back.

I had already lost Lily, just a quick trip to the restroom and I would hide out in the car until she came looking for me. The room was quite large compared to how it looked from the outside. Every wall had seating, there were pool tables and a stage and in one corner, a large mechanical bull.

This was not the kind of place I belonged in. The faces here were hard and wreaked of whiskey. The band had taken a break and I tried making my way around stumbling men towards the corner I was directed to when I was bumped into by a drunkard. I stumbled and was about to fall when a hand gripped around my waist, steadying me.

As I peered at my savior, our eyes locked. The piercing pale blue entranced me and he smirked in a territorial way that made me feel like I had just been claimed.