THE RAIN hadn't stopped pelting down against the windscreen. Nor did the irrational fear that the car which had been driving at a distance behind Tommy for the last few hours was his Brother trailing him. Relief only fixed through him when he saw the car take one of the exits to another town. Tommy did as Ben said and kept driving through the night, he didn't slow because of the rain but kept to his course. He couldn't swallow the sick feeling that all of this was another pointless pursuit for a few months of some sort of safety. His BrotherBrother would eventually track him, would eventually run him out of the town.
Though Tommy had never hidden in such a secluded place before, he had never thought that a small town was his safest bet. There were only ever so many places to hide, unlike a big city where he could sleep among the homeless or jump between dodgy motels. A small town like Winchester would either become a sanctuary or a prison. The location would, for the most part, be off of Jonathan's grid. Until now, he had been chasing Tommy through the larger cities. There would be no reason for Tommy to hide out in a place like this, and for the first time, he had an advantage over his Brother. Winchester was practically unheard of. Ben's Father brought the house to cover up the affair he was having with his mistress and would lend it to him over the Summer. However, the house had been uninhabited for the most part after Ben found out the real reason for it.
Winchester was a small coastal town with miles of dense woodland from west to east, and to the north was the sea. If you didn't know Winchester existed, it would be easy to pass without realizing a town even remained there. Some homes were owned as holiday getaways in the Summer, the beach and the mountains made for a scenic holiday of swimming, sunbathing, and hiking. Other than that, Winchester's small permanent population seemed to be relatively harmless, according to Ben. Most of the men worked at a mine a few miles west of town, and the small cafes, diners, and shops kept the rest busy. Tommy had stolen enough money from the family fund to keep him comfortable that he didn't need to get a job. Still, maybe he'd find the mechanics workshop in the town and offer a helping hand if they let him. It had been a long time since Tommy had been in a shop. Maybe if he could stay in Winchester for a while, it would be okay to get his hands on some motors instead of secluding himself behind the walls of Ben's summer home.
Tommy didn't like the feeling of optimism that coursed through his veins. It was a stupid thing for someone like him in the situation that he was in to feel any sort of hope for a future that he knew he couldn't have. As far as he was concerned, he was nothing. Tommy would always be nothing. Though as he drove past the town sign that read WELCOME TO WINCHESTER, Township in 5km. — He welcomed a relieved sigh, the air which carried into his lungs almost hurt as if he'd been holding his breath for the entire 13-hour drive. He didn't know how he managed to drive for those hours — only stopping once for a bathroom break and without falling asleep behind the wheel. Tommy brought it down to fear of being caught again, that adrenaline heated his bloodstream enough to keep him actively awake and alert for the whole drive.
As he continued along the secluded road, he noticed a girl walking backward with her thumb extended outward, Tommy chuffed in disbelief. He doubted that many cars came this way very often, maybe the miners, but he highly doubted any of them would be leaving the mines at 1:30 pm. Tommy didn't really want to stop. Natural instinct told him to floor it past her and act like he didn't see the girl who was drenched from the rain, bravely trying to hitchhike to her destination. Tommy sighed all too dramatically and slowed his truck down just ahead of her. He locked the doors and rolled down the passenger side window enough so that she could see him, and he could see her. He watched her jog up to the car through the rearview mirror.
"Are you alright? Do you need a ride somewhere?" Tommy called through the window, talking loud enough that his voice wasn't muffled by the rain that was now getting even heavier.
"Heading into Winchester?" She asked back, obviously cautious. Tommy didn't like the idea of inviting a stranger into his car either, but he forced himself to snuff down the unease that twisted in his stomach.
"Yeah, I get if you don't want a ride, but the rain is—," the girl didn't let Tommy finish.
"It's fine, but if you try to kill me on the way, just know that I know self-defense, and I'll put an end to that real quick," She warned, a smirk playing across her bluish lips. Tommy returned that with a hint of a smile and unlocked the doors for her to jump in. He leaned over to the backseat and grabbed one of his towels, handing it over to her.
"Don't worry, I'm not really in the murdering mood today," Tommy exclaimed as he pulled back onto the road. The girl chuckled as she ran the towel through her long and tangled Mousey brown hair.
"Good because I'm not really in the ball-kicking mood today," she teased back, letting out an exaggerated sigh of relief when Tommy blasted the heat up in the car for her.
"So, what brings you all the way out here then?" She asked, leaning her chin against her knee that she has propped up on the seat. She couldn't have been much older than Tommy, maybe even the same age, and she was definitely a pretty girl. Her hazel eyes were exceptionally captivating under her long lashes. Her skin was a sun-kissed olive tone despite it being the middle of Autumn, and she had a soft flicker of freckles across her nose and cheeks.
"Change of scenery for a while, I'm staying at my friend Ben's beach house. Can I ask why you are all the way out here in the rain by yourself?" Tommy changed the subject as soon as possible, hardly wanting to dwell on why he was here precisely. Tommy was a good liar. He trusted himself to come up with a good enough back story for the reason he was in Winchester, but sticking on the subject meant more opportunity for him to accidentally slip up.
"My idiotic Brother and his idiotic best friend made a bet with me that I couldn't make it from the mines back home by 4. Jokes on them because I'm about to pocket $200 thanks to you," She grinned mischievously. Tommy couldn't help but think that beneath that grin was a tornado ready to plow through the whole town of Winchester, that everyone who lived there must know this girl's name. He thought that even if she lived elsewhere, people would know her based purely on her wit and the confident way she carries herself.
"I'm glad to be of some assistance," Tommy answered, tapping his thumb against the wheel in tune to the radio's beat.
"Do you have a name?"
"Tomas Wilson, I go by Tommy, though."
"Well, it's nice to meet you, Tommy, I'm Sasha Hartford. If there is anything I can do to repay you for the kind rescue, let me know," she said with that same confidence that Tommy only wished he could muster. He'd grown up in the shadow of his Brother. In the shadow of an empire that was never meant for him. He wished he could have the ease and blissful naivety of someone like Sasha. He could tell that she didn't grow up in her Brother's shadow, more like she grew up equal to him, something that made Tommy's stomach twist uncomfortably.
"Actually, I need to get the keys to the house from someone named Howard Steer, do you know where I could find him?" Tommy takes her up on her offer, he'd rather not talk to any more of the townspeople than necessary today. Sasha groaned in annoyance as if Tommy had just asked the most condescending question of her.
"Oh that old dingbat, yeah he'll actually be at the shop where the two idiots are working. If you drop me off there, I can claim my $200 bucks, and you can get the keys, two birds with one stone, right?" Tommy glanced over to make sure she wasn't snorting pure caffeine powder in his passenger seat. How someone could have so much energy when they were obviously freezing and had just been walking through the rain was beyond him. Still, he decided not to question it further.
"Right."
They continued idle chitchat for the rest of the short drive into town, Tommy let Sasha do most of the talking. She talked about the town, the people, herself, her family. Tommy didn't mind that the silence was filled with her voice, Sasha filled in the gaps that Ben left bare about the town. Tommy found out that she had just recently turned 20 years old last month, making her a year older than he was. She had two brothers, one was her twin named Harry, and the other was only a year older than her named Mason. It was Mason and his best friend Nicky who made a bet with her, and who was about to lose a nice amount of cash. Her brothers, which Tommy came to realize included Nicky too—all worked with Howard Steer at his mechanics shop. Tommy instantly decided that he wouldn't apply for a position there. He didn't like hanging around with people near his age, nor did he think he could tolerate it for very long.
Sasha also told him how her Mother owned the local diner on Main Street, and Sasha worked there for the first half of the week and worked at the library for the other half. She never mentioned her Father, which Tommy took as him being a deadbeat, runaway, or dead. Sasha asked him the odd question that he filled in vaguely with lies. She asked him where he was originally from, and he said Seattle. She wondered why he was moving out to somewhere like Winchester when he was only nineteen and could be going to college, he said that his parents were going through a rough divorce and he didn't quite know what career path he wanted to go into. She didn't probe too much. For that, Tommy was thankful, it made the drive faster...
Though, he wished it didn't, not with what awaited him.
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