Highway to Nowhere-Short Story

The last thing she put on was her lip gloss, it was strawberry flavored. She tossed her hair one more time as she stood in front of the mirror. She wasn’t perfect and knew it, her mother made sure that she knew it too. No matter how much make up she wore, designer clothes she wore or style her hair was, she wasn’t perfect but she was going to try her best to be.

She had walked a long, hard road in her life for someone as young as twenty three. She was alone on this path but she liked it that way, made things easier to deal with and easier to walk away. Every once and a while some one crossed paths with her but normally they just got in her way so she left them behind like she left everything behind.

After gathering her things from the bathroom of the small motel room she turned to leave but stopped in the doorway. She lent against the door frame and crossed her arms in front of her. She looked at the bed where Eric was still laying, fast asleep. She had met him the night before at the bar down the street. She had come out of the restroom and she had caught his eye. After waving her over he bought her a drink and they talked. One thing led to another and they ended up at the motel signed in under his name. She watched as his muscular back went up and down as he breathed. She didn’t normally smile but he made her happy for some reason.

She quietly walked passed a chair where she threw a small bag that was in her hand into a larger green duffel bag. Walking to the night stand she grabbed the hair tie that she threw the night before and pulled her long blond hair back into a tight ponytail then stole one of Eric’s cigarettes. She sat back in the chair and took a long drag. Honestly she hated smoking but every once and a while she wanted one in between her slender fingers. She tapped her thumb and her ring finger together as she thought about what she wanted to do.

Normally she would just pack up and leave like she always did. She considered herself a little more of a modern nomad. Last thing she wanted was to be living with a group of people surviving off of twigs and berries, but it also helped that she had a trust fund she could access. Staying in run down motels and driving a piece of shit car was all on her own free will. She left home willingly rather then going to college. She couldn’t stand her parents fighting all the time so she didn’t want to stick around there but going away to some Ivy League school wasn’t in her deck of cards either, so one day she woke up, packed herself a couple bags and hit the road. She drove from state to state, taking in all the sights and expanding her knowledge of American history.

It wasn’t until now she actually thought about someone other then herself. She liked Eric, it had only been a few hours that they had known one another but she liked him and he wasn’t that bad in between the sheets either. She smiled to herself as she raised her cigarette to her mouth for one last drag. She pushed it into the ashtray and got up from the chair, grabbing her bag and throwing it over her left shoulder. She walked to the side table, grabbed her car keys, threw down fifty three dollars even to pay for the room and left a note that she had written just after her shower, just in case she left.

Maybe we’ll meet up again...someday. Love Mia

She closed the door behind her, not knowing what would be waiting for her once she drove off.