Betrayed, but New Love Found

Making A Friend

Holly

Holly blew out a breath and looked around the room to make sure she didn’t leave anything behind. It was going to take her two or three days, probably longer if she wanted to make a scenic trip out of it. It was a one thousand-seven hundred and seventy-five-mile drive from Dallas, Texas, to Whitefish, Montana. She had looked the area up, it looked really picturesque. Lots of colorful trees and lakes. Deer, moose, bears, foxes and horses.

Satisfied that she wasn’t leaving anything behind, she left the room and checked out of the hotel. When she got in her truck, she sat there for a minute and allowed herself to mourn her life here in Dallas, Texas. Her birth certificate said she was born here, she’s lived here her whole life, she’s loved and lost here. Tears fell from her face and she sobbed. After five minutes, she got herself together, took a deep breath, started her truck and drove out of the hotel parking lot. She stopped at a McDonald's and got breakfast and coffee, something she hadn’t done in years, not since she married Kyle. He hated fast food. Eating it made her feel rebellious, and she liked that.

For the first two hours, she videoed some of the scenery and talked to the camera about her plans. She then found a radio station and sang along with the radio until she had the urge to pee, and she pulled into a LOVES gas station.

As she walked in she saw a young girl around sixteen or seventeen hanging out by the door. She was thin, a little taller than she was herself, maybe five-five. She had her blonde hair in a ponytail, and she wore a black shirt and some worn blue jeans. She heard the girl ask people for some extra change. She remembered those days and felt a pang hit her heart.

When she was done using the bathroom. She bought five lunchables, three beef sticks, three bottles of water and a cute plush turtle.

She walked over to the girl who was now sitting at the corner of the gas station with her backpack and sat next to her. The girl looked at her, startled with wide blue eyes.

“Hi,” Holly said.

“Hi,” she said in a soft voice.

“What’s your name?” Holly asked as she pulled out two lunchables and handed her one. It was the kind with a small Butterfinger candy bar and a Capri Sun.

The girl took it with a thankful smile and ripped open the box. Holly could tell the girl was hungry by the way she dove into the food.

“Angie. Thank you for this.”

Holly nodded. “I’m Holly. It’s nice to meet you.”

Angie smiled at her. They sat in silence for a little while.

“How old are you Angie?”

“I just turned eighteen last month. Been hitchhiking from California. I was in the system. Once you turn eighteen, they kick you out of whatever home you’ve been in and if you don’t have a job to help you out, you’re sh*t out of luck,” she said bitterly.

Holly nodded, she remembered.

“Yeah, I’ve been there,” she said.

Angie looked at her in shock. She eyed Holly and Holly imagined she saw a woman with good skin, healthy, obviously has some money since she wasn’t on the streets.

“You were in the system?” Angie asked.

“Since I was ten. My parents died in a car accident. Went from home to home until they kicked me out at eighteen. I was homeless for a couple of months until I met a kind old lady that took me in. She helped me get some online classes going, taught me how to cook, paint, knit, crochet, and mend my clothes. I got my degree in fine art and a certificate in bookkeeping. I didn't really do anything with them, because I married when I turned twenty-three to a rich man. He loved me and I loved him, until he thought I betrayed him. He divorced me without listening to me. Called me a wh*re and gold digger and now I am on an adventure to a town called Whitefish, Montana.”

“Wait, this just happened to you?”

“Yeah, two days ago.”

“So, you’re homeless too?” she asked with a small smile.

“Well, no. That little old lady I told you about, when she died she left me a house. That’s why I am going to Montana. Wanna come?”

Angie’s mouth popped open and Holly chuckled.

“You want me to come with you? You’re just going to invite me, just like that? I could be a serial killer.”

Holly laughed, because she had a similar conversation with Emma Jean.

“Are you?” she asked, chuckling.

Angie smiled. “No.”

“Well then, as I see it, you have two options. You can come with me on my grand adventure, or I could give you this bag of supplies, that has three lunchables left, three water bottles and three beef sticks. Oh, and this cute turtle plushy you can use as a pillow.”

Holly waited as the girl debated. She could see the wheels turning in her head.

“What the hell. I didn’t have any plans today. Might as well make my way north with you.”

“Excellent. I hope you like to sing, because I do, and I have a horrible voice,” Holly said.

“Well, I love to sing, and my voice is excellent.”

Holly smiled at the girl. They made their way to Holly’s truck and they both got in. They talked some more as Holly drove. Holly learned that Angie was in the foster system her whole life too. She was told her mother had been a junkie and her father was in prison for life. Her file said she was put in the system when she was six months old because none of her extended family wanted to take care of her.

“I can’t blame them. I was born addicted to her*in. I was in the hospital for months, according to my records. No one wanted to take the her*in baby. Who knew what kind of mental issues I would have growing up. Turns out I don’t have any. Well, I do talk to myself and answer myself, so maybe that one.”

Holly laughed, “Then we both have the same mental issues.” That made Angie laugh.

They drove for another four hours when Holly noticed Angie rubbing her stomach.

“Are you hungry?” she asked her.

Angie nodded, “I also have cramps. My period is due any day now.”

“I have some Midol in my purse.”

“You’d let me go through your purse?” Angie asked, shocked.

“Sure, I trust you. If you wanted to rob me, you would have done it when I left you in my running vehicle while I ran into the last gas station we were at to pee. I didn’t even think about you being in my truck with all my possessions alone. You have an honest face and I feel you’re an honest person.”

Holly saw tears spring into Angie’s eyes.

“Thank you. You don’t know how much that means to me.”

“Trust me, I do,” Holly said.

After Angie got the Midol out and swallowed them, Holly pulled into an Applebees.

“This town is cute. Where are we?” Angie asked her.

Holly looked up from her phone.

“Lawton, Oklahoma,” she said.

“I wonder what’s to do here?” Angie asked out loud.

The waitress walked up and heard her.

“Hi, I’m Molly. There’s some stuff to do here if you like museums. There are some stores that sell some Native American jewelry and clothes and blankets. I got my ring from Mary’s Curious Goods. There’s lots of stuff to look at there. There are also many lakes nearby.”

They thanked her and ordered their food.

“Want to stay here today? Do some shopping, look around. It’s warm out for the end of Novemeber?” Holly asked.

She watched Angie look down at her hands and bite her lip.

“Angie. I know it’s hard to take some handouts when offered. But we’re friends now, right?”

Angie nodded.

“Okay, let me foot the bill for this trip. You can pay me back by staying with me in Whitefish and helping me with the house. I don’t know what it looks like. It could be run down. I’m going to need all the help I can get.”

“Okay, deal,” Angie said, smiling now.

Holly smiled back at Angie. She really wanted a friendship with the girl. They had so much in common. And she felt like she could pay back Emma Jean in spirit by helping a young girl in need. Really it was almost fate, the way they ran into each other. There had been three other gas stations when she first stopped. She chose the farthest one. So yeah, Holly liked to believe it was fate that made them meet. Maybe a little help from Emma Jean from beyond the grave.