Page 3 of Blood Ties

“Alright, let’s roll.” Knox turns the truck on.

The engine roars to life, and with it the radio — and the scream of death metal floods the cramped cabin.

Felix jumps beneath me, and I laugh despite myself.

My gaze meets Knox’s in the rearview mirror, and he smirks at me around his cigarette.

Warmth flutters in my chest, and I can’t seem to break away from his gaze until he turns his attention back to the road.

He rolls down the window to exhale smoke into the night air, and I lean my head back against Felix and let my eyes flutter shut, enjoying the breeze.

*

T HE DRIVE FEELS AWFULLY short compared to the trek we made on foot.

Barely any time seems to pass before the truck rolls to a stop, and I lift my head to see Felix’s poor car waiting right where we left it.

It looks so sad and lonely along this stretch of empty highway.

Despite my distaste for the thing, I feel a flicker of melancholy; it’s taken our friend group on dozens of long rides like this weekend’s road trip.

“Let me take a look, make sure it don’t just need a jump or somethin’ before we tow it back to the shop,” Knox says. He shuts off the truck, pockets his keys, and climbs out. Felix sets me aside to follow, loath to leave his baby in a stranger’s hands. He hovers anxiously as Knox opens up the hood.

In the absence of Knox’s metal music, the silence feels heavy in the truck cabin. I glance over at May and Caleb. She’s fallen asleep on his lap, her blonde head leaning against the window.

“You two look awfully cozy,” I tease in a whisper.

“Shut up,” Caleb mutters, blushing furiously.

I grin. But my amusement fades as I look out the window. The night is deep and quiet out here. Even the moon is muted behind hazy clouds. I can barely see Knox and Felix out with the car, though their phone lights bob in the darkness.

It makes me uneasy, again, thinking of how alone we are out here. I check my cellphone; still no service.

After a few minutes of sitting in the quiet, listening to May’s soft breathing in her sleep and fighting to keep my own eyes open, I realize the darkness outside is unbroken.

I’ve lost sight of the cellphone lights.

Felix and Knox must have gone to the back of the car, or around the side where I can’t see them.

.. but something itches at the edge of my senses.

I don’t like this. I suddenly regret letting Felix walk out there alone with a stranger.

A glance at Caleb and May confirms they’re both sound asleep.

I could wake them up, but... they’ll still be within screaming distance if something happens.

Which it won’t. I don’t know why that thought occurred to me.

I fight a shiver, even though the night is warm, and climb out of the driver’s side door.

Once I’m standing alongside the dark road, the silence presses down on me. I can’t seem to step away from the relative safety of the truck.

“Felix?” I call out.

The desert night swallows my voice, tamping it down to a whisper. It’s quiet out here. So quiet, so still.

There’s a heart-stopping moment of no response. Then, a light peeks out from around the back of the car. “Ry?”

I let out a breath as I hear Felix’s familiar voice, and walk over to join him. He and Knox are standing near the bumper. Felix is leaning one arm against the back window, while Knox stands with his arms folded over his chest. I glance between the two of them, but it doesn’t seem tense, so I relax.

“What’s the verdict on the car?” I ask, standing next to Felix. I hug myself as a breeze rustles over the desert sands around us.

“I can fix it,” Knox says, and my heart surges, only to drop again as he follows up with a, “But.” He sighs, shifts on his feet. “Not with what I’ve got on hand. I’ll have to head into town for some parts, and everything’s gonna be closed till morning.”

“Shit.” I glance at Felix, who looks torn between relief and worry — because his baby is fixable, but we’re still stuck for the night, I imagine. We can still make the festival as long as we leave early tomorrow, but it puts us in an awkward spot. “Is there a hotel nearby?” I ask Knox.

“Here?” Knox huffs a laugh. “Nah. Ain’t nobody ever lookin’ to stay here. The closest is an hour’s drive away. And it’s a toss-up whether there’s someone at the front desk to let you in at this time of night.”

Shit. I almost take out my phone and search to confirm it, but there’s still no service here. Double shit. “So... what then?” I look at Felix. “We sleep in the car?”

“Well...” Knox tilts his head from side to side. “Could do. But... cops around here are liable to get overzealous when it comes to strangers. They might give you a little trouble.”

“They can’t arrest us, though, can they? It’s legal to sleep in the car here?”

“Sure,” Knox agrees. “They might insist on giving y’all a shake-down, though. To make sure you’re not vagrants or nothin’.”

My stomach does an uncomfortable flip, and Felix and I exchange a glance.

Knox is probably right — the officers could get one whiff of the lingering alcohol on our breath and use it as an excuse to search the vehicle.

And... well. We’re headed to a music festival.

Of course we have drugs. Caleb alone is carrying enough to get us all thrown into a cell, especially if the cops are overzealous , as Knox says.

Uneasy silence hangs between us. Knox clears his throat.

“‘Course, there’s one other option,” he says. Slowly, almost reluctantly.

“Which is?” I already feel like I won’t like it.

“Y’all could come to my place for the night.

” He scratches his scarred cheek. His gaze shifts between the two of us, assessing.

“It’s no five-star hotel, but I’ve got some couches to offer up.

I’ll tow the car over, you can sleep in there if it’s more comfortable.

In the morning, I’ll bring you into town. ”

I glance sideways at Felix, who is frowning thoughtfully at the ground.

My instinct is to say no. Hell no. We barely know this man.

We’re out in the middle of nowhere, with no cellphone service.

No one knows where we are. Under normal circumstances, I’d never do something so risky.

But what choice do we have? It’s that or stay in the car, and risk getting arrested if a cop happens upon us.

If it was just me alone, or me and May, I’d fight to find some other way, any other way, rather than going home with a strange man. But we’ve got the boys, too. There’s four of us and one of him. Surely Knox wouldn’t risk pulling anything sketchy, even if he wanted to.

“That’s mighty kind of you,” Felix says, before the silence can linger for too long. He waits, with a subtle glance in my direction, and I know he’s waiting for me to step in if I have a problem with this.

Despite my reservations, I bite my tongue. Felix turns to Knox, and our fate is sealed.

“I’d hate to be an imposition, but if you really think it wouldn’t be too much trouble... we don’t have a lot of other options right now,” Felix says.

Knox only grins. “‘Course,” he says. “You’re more than welcome.”