Once Loved, Twice Marked

Unexpected Help

I finally made it to the area where the road I was on merged into the highway. I had finished the food I bought already and it helped in boosting my energy a little bit. I could hear traffic ahead and I stopped to ponder my next move. There was a cluster of trees to the right side of the highway I was on but it had been smaller than I anticipated. I could stay within their meager coverage but I wouldn’t be able to shift. The likelihood of someone seeing me was too high and I was worried that if someone spotted me either in my wolf or human form they would contact the police.

I was still debating on what to do a few minutes later when the sound of a large semi coming to a halt behind me caused me to jump and spin around. I glanced over at the tree line. It would be going back in the wrong direction, but I could hide safely in there. If I ran far enough I could follow side roads while avoiding the highway. It would take longer but I would be covered. During my mental musing, the driver-side door of the truck opened, and out hopped a short, middle-aged man. I started backing away as he approached, eyeing him warily. He held his hands up in a surrendering gesture and stopped near the front of his truck.

“My apologies little missy, but I saw you standing here all alone and I stopped to see if you needed any assistance.” I gave him a quick once over. He was actually shorter than I was and with me being only 5’4 that was saying something. He had gray hair, glasses, and a slight potbelly. It surprised me that he was wearing tan slacks with a button-up and suspenders. I had seen movies with truck drivers in it and this was the exact opposite of what I expected. I must have taken too long in my mental ramblings because he started talking again. “I know that it seems a bit forward for me to say this but you really shouldn’t be out here. There are plenty of bad people that would try to take advantage of a young girl traveling alone. Please, if you would permit me I would like to give you a ride to the nearest town.” I laughed at his words.

“A bit suspicious to offer a ride after you just got done telling me about all the dangerous people who would want to take advantage of me.” He smiled in agreement and shrugged, his hands still in the air in a gesture of peace.

“I have three daughters miss, my youngest is about your age, and seeing you out here made me think of her. I know it’s silly and with everything happening in the world nowadays you have no right to trust me, but I would feel better giving you a ride. I can’t in good conscience leave you on the side of the road without at least trying to help.” I mulled over his words for a moment. He didn’t look like a serial killer but that didn’t mean anything. I took an inconspicuous deep breath in. He smelled like tobacco and mint. It wasn’t an unpleasant smell and I didn’t get any bad vibes coming off him. It would certainly be a whole lot easier riding in a vehicle. I would save a lot of time and be able to rest my body for a bit. Hitchhiking was stupid and dangerous, but I was a shifter. Even though my healing and strength weren’t up to par they would help me if the situation turned sour. I knew that time was of the essence and this solved the issue of trying to hide in the trees while following the highway or traveling the thicker part of the forest while following the back roads. I had no idea where my uncle was and if he had been alerted to the location of the truck yet. I didn’t think he could find me but I wanted to get as far away from him and whoever he had tracking me as fast as I could. Decision made I nodded and made my way to the passenger side of the truck, opening the door and climbing in without a word. The older man seemed relieved as he got back into the driver seat and buckled up. He pulled the truck off the shoulder of the road and got onto the merge lane for the highway. We rode in companionable silence for several minutes before he spoke up.

“If you don’t mind me asking what’s your name, little lady?”

“Lily” the answer was automatic, but I withheld my last name on purpose. He didn’t seem to mind though.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you my name is Jay. You mind me asking where you’re headed?” I gave him a weary look. I didn’t want to tell him my destination but it would be nice to be able to get a ride as close as possible.

“I have some family in Pennsylvania that I am trying to get to.” He nodded thoughtfully.

“I can take you to as far as Denver, Colorado since we are already on I70 but I have to take I25 down into New Mexico to drop off my cargo.” I nodded. It wasn’t as far as I had hoped but it was almost to the border of Colorado and Kansas, a whole state away from my current location.

“Is there a bus stop in Denver?”

“Yeah, a few of them I think. You should be able to get a bus to Pennsylvania from there” I nodded, feeling a profound sense of relief. I should be able to avoid my uncle until I reached my parent's pack and once there I had no doubt they would shelter me.

We continued for the next few hours with Jay doing most of the talking. He seemed to understand I didn’t like to talk about myself much and filled the silence by telling me about his family. He was 68, slightly older than I had originally thought, and had a long-term wife of 48 years. They had three children, all girls he said. The two oldest were in college and the youngest was going to turn 18 in a couple of months and about to graduate high school. He had been correct that his youngest was about the same age as me. It didn’t seem to bother him that they had started a family later in life. A lot of their younger years had been spent traveling and enjoying disposable income. Having children had settled his wife and him down and while they had prepared for most of the financial ramifications, there was still a lot of extra expenses they hadn’t quite planned for. Jay was a good man who wanted the best for his kids and so he had taken up this job as a CDL driver after he retired from his accounting job. He said it gave him the freedom to travel again while he provided the best life for his family. I listened to him ramble on with a heavy feeling in my chest. Hearing Jay talk about his family brought up the memories of my parents. I had a loving family once and I didn't know if I would ever have that again. My aunt and uncle hadn’t even tried to show me any sort of affection. Up until my uncle had tried to force me to…. I shuddered, not wanting to finish that thought I focused on the truck stop we were pulling into.

“Let’s go get some dinner.” Jay parked and hopped out gesturing for me to follow. I did with some slight hesitation. I had expected us to travel straight through. The truck stop had a 24/7 diner attached to it and as soon as the smell hit me my mouth watered in anticipation. I wasn’t stupid enough to turn down a hot meal and my body had already burned through the calories from the meager snacks at the gas station. The inside of the diner had a retro look to it. I would have enjoyed it under normal circumstances but as my eyes traveled around the small space I felt a small sense of unease. There were about eight other men in the diner. Their eyes boreholes in the back of our heads as we walked to the corner of the diner, choosing a booth as far away from the others as possible.

“Don’t worry” I looked over at Jay and he gave me a reassuring smile “I’ve been to plenty of hole-in-the-wall places like this and most of the customers are good people, just a little rough around the edges.” I would have felt comforted by his words if that nagging part of my senses didn’t keep insisting something was off. I opened my mouth to object when a gruff, raspy voice cut in from our left.

“What can I get you, folks?” The owner of the voice was an ancient-looking woman in a peach and white waitress uniform with dark red lipstick and heavy makeup covering her face. I could smell the cigarette smoke permeating off her and figured her rough voice was probably due to at least a pack-a-day habit. She looked like she had a rough life and I found myself imagining what it would be like to waitress at a place like this. I could very well end up in a similar situation soon. Jay jumped in to cover the fact that I had been rendered temporarily mute. He placed his order then looked at me expectantly. I hesitated, I only had a little over $160 left and I wasn’t even sure that would be enough to get the bus ticket. Jay must’ve guessed my concerns because he spoke up. “Get whatever you like Lily it’ll be my treat.”

“Thank you, well in that case..” I looked down at the menu and picked off a few items. I was grateful for the meager dinner and breakfast selections on the menu. I always had such a hard time picking what I wanted but right now I was too hungry to really care. 

 Jays' eyes went wide when I placed my order. I had the grand slam breakfast with an extra order of onion rings and two extra orders of sausage. He laughed outright while watching me eat. His own short stack of pancakes and coffee seeming meager in comparison.

“Where in the world do you put that little lady?” I paused to look up, momentarily thrown by his question. I shrugged and turned my attention back to the food in front of me. We ate in comfortable silence and at the end of the meal Jay went to pay the check while I used the restroom. I met Jay on the way out.

“Go wait by the truck, I’m going to use the bathroom then I’ll be out.” I nodded and went to head out the door. I had made it around the back of the gas station where the big rig parking is when the sound of a voice stopped me in my tracks.

“Where do you think you are going, little red riding hood?”