Chapter 3

"Can we turn your crap music off now?" Kasem's voice complained from the front seat.

Dave scoffed, "Excuse me? Crap? There's nothing like a sunset and some good country."

"'Good' and 'country' shouldn't be used in the same sentence." Nessa snickered.

Kasem changed the channel after everyone laughed, "That's a majority vote."

Coasting down the winding, wooded road the group of friends eagerly chatted to each other about what they planned on doing in Pine Falls. Nessa had done a little research and supposedly Pine Falls had a diner known for their massive pancakes and nostalgic atmosphere.

"You know, they have hiking trails that loop up by the old occult mansion in the forest." Kate mentioned from the back seat. "I'm going first thing when we set up our tents."

Dave laughed, "Absolutely not. It's going to be dark by then- why would you want to risk getting lost?"

Kate pouted, knowing he had a good point. She was known for her recklessness and inability to completely think things through before acting on her feelings. Luckily, all her friends tend to reel her back in when she gets overly excited.

"We might not even get into the campsite tonight at the rate we're going," Kasem rolled his eyes, "Dave is driving like an absolute grandma."

"Hey hey, I'm going the speed limit- I don't want a ticket in freaking Colorado." Dave gripped the wheel, "Besides, this thing could grenade if I'm not careful!"

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After swinging by a local grocery store for some quick supplies, the group was on their final half hour of their trip. Everyone was sleepy at this point, the excitement starting to wear off as the sun started to droop in the sky. Heads started pulling back and soft snores could be heard occasionally.

*putt putt* "Oh shit, come on." *putt putt whiiirrrr* "Son of a bitch!!" Dave whacked the steering wheel in frustration.

"What the hell happened?!" Adanna exclaimed, still rubbing sleep from her eyes.

Dave slammed the car door in response, unlocking the lid and digging around inside. Kasem peeked at the dash.

"Battery is probably dead. There's no electricity in the car."

Everyone piled out of the car and went next to Dave. Suddenly everyone was talking at once, slightly panicked because they had officially passed the last cell tower about 2 miles ago. And the last sign of civilization about 10 miles before that.

Adanna looked up further down the road, noticing a sign about 50 feet in front of them. In old, worn out letters wrote, 'Welcome to Pine Falls.' She grinned and went to the trunk to grab her carry on. She looked at her bickering friends in slight irritation.

"Guys…" Her words were lost on deaf ears. "GUYS!" Everyone stopped to look at her, slightly confused.

"Jesus Christ Adanna, no need to yell." Kate cringed.

"Well, stop bickering, and look!" She pointed to the sign ahead of them. "I'm going to walk into town, which should be about a mile past the sign. We'll be able to grab a room at the Inn and hopefully, a mechanic is somewhere around there."

Dave tossed the keys to Kasem, "I'm going with, you guys stay here. Maybe someone would be kind enough to flat tow this pile of garbage back."

Kasem dug into his pocket and handed Adanna a shiny Visa. "Put the hotel rooms on this."

"Thanks Kasem." Adanna smiled gently.

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"Soooo…" Dave complained as they trudged down the long road, "How much longer do you think until we hit civilization?"

Adanna snorted, "I don't know man, maybe never."

"Yikes, sassy today I see."

She stayed quiet after that, focusing on the road ahead of them. She really didn't want to talk about or even think about their current situation. This was supposed to be her vacation after a hard year of balancing her health and school, instead she's here awkwardly walking alone with the man that has an incurable crush on her.

"Why do you hate me?"

Dave's words sliced through the air. Adanna looked back at him in surprise. Hate him? Where the hell was he getting this from?

"I have no idea what you're talking about, Dave. What makes you think I hate you?"

"You never talk to me anymore. I admitted my feelings for you and you just completely clammed up." Dave looked confused.

Adanna put her hand to her forehead, "Alright, we're going to do this here, now?"

Dave grabbed her wrist and looked her directly in the eyes. That was her answer. Yes now, and yes here. She realized she had been almost stringing Dave along, never giving him a completely straight forward answer.

"Dave I-" Adanna's voice caught. She loved him, his whole person, but she could not stop for even one minute from focusing on what she wants out of life. "I like you so much, but you need to understand- my future means everything to me. I've worked insanely hard here and in South Africa to create something for myself."

He stared at her, "...no distractions…" he muttered.

Her face softened, "No distractions." He released her hand and booped her nose.

"It's okay, you're worth the wait." And with that he pointedly continued walking.

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