It was just me and my little car now, and I would have to leave it parked here at my house. It was a junk heap anyway, and whenever the weather was cold, I found it hard to start. The registration on it was about to expire, and the tire tread had worn down considerably. I probably shouldn’t have been driving it.
I rose, washing my face and started to systematically cut my long hair. Finally grasping the strands of my new hair, it was shorter than I wanted it to be, but it aged me in a way that didn’t freak me out. I did look older and more sophisticated.
There was one last touch I had to do to make sure nobody would recognize who I was. I opened the hair dye packet and laid out the instructions as I sighed to myself in the mirror. I didn’t have a comb to part the sections of my hair like the diagram said I would have to pick apart my strands and place the hair dye there. Inhaling deeply, I knew I was about to be a brunette for the last time. Now I was about to turn into a blonde. I fingered the dye through my hair and let it sit for over thirty minutes as I inhaled the scent of chemicals.
I rinsed out the potent cocktail hoping that all of my hair would remain intact and sure enough it did. The result was some sort of color between a dirty and ash blonde. In the mirror, I saw a new Delphia. Older, wiser, more conditioned for the real world… minus the naivety. I nodded back at her as I blow-dried my new locks. Nothing like Angie’s golden strands, but I was happy enough with it.
I made myself a cup of coffee and drained it, letting the brown liquid keep me awake. Time slipped through my fingers and the moment of the hour came for me to leave Holbeck. I would call my parents after my arrival in Cutover, when I settled into a motel room. I would let them know when I arrived safely. By then, they wouldn’t be able to do anything as it would be too late for them to scramble and try and look for me.
Extreme sadness washed over me as I now called for a taxi to take me to the Greyhound station.
Tick tock. Tick tock. The clock to me looked as if it was running on its own time, and I wanted to take the second hand and push it forward myself.
Sitting silently in the dark, I waited for the taxi to whisk me away to the Holbeck depot where I would catch the Greyhound. A trace of a teardrop poured onto my skin, my fingers wiped it away. No place for tears now, only time to move through the night in stealth mode.
A beep at the front door delivered a shot of adrenaline to my heart as I nervously grabbed my things and looked around my apartment, feeling a little bit of excitement at the new start and a ball of fear.
“Bye, apartment. I’m going to miss you, plants.” My plan was to get my mother to come by and water them once I delivered the blow that I was in another city. The article was coming out and I would be miles away so Rocky couldn’t come for me. I hoped the cops delivered what Angie told me they would.
The taxi driver was a little impatient as I dragged my items out of the door with a struggle. The night air was cool and its chill made me wake up.
“Sorry, I’m here, just these bags are a little heavy is all,” I apologized.
“No problem, let me help you with that.” The man took the suitcase off my hands as I looked up at the streetlights and the quiet houses in my neighborhood. Everything in my body felt like it was beating out loud.
The taxi driver broke into my nostalgic moment, “You’re getting on the road early. You got somewhere to be?”
“Yep. A whole new city. Time for a change.” I pulled my dark blue hoodie up over my head and sat inside the taxi.
“Fair enough. I changed cities when I was thirty, and I loved it. Best change I ever made. I met my wife, and here I am in Holbeck city. Shame you gotta leave it.”
The taxi driver’s idle chatter was good for me. Him talking stopped my mind from icing over with the huge decision I’d just made. “Maybe, maybe not. I’m not saying I will never be back, just now I have to go for a while. I’m young, so it’s better if I do it now,” I replied.
“That’s true. My cousin used to travel all around the world and he thought that’s what he was going to do for the rest of his life, but he ended up coming back to the same place that he started in. We always come back home,” he mused.
“Maybe we do. I’ll have to wait and see.” My head turned out the window. Holbeck looked different at night. Peaceful and more sleepy than it already was. The depot showed up in front of me; the Greyhound bus was waiting there, with the driver standing outside smoking his cigarette.
“Here’s our stop. I wish you good luck. That’s 15 bucks. Maybe I’ll see you around one day.”
I crushed the cash into his hand as I got out of the car and tried not to bump my head on the roof.
The taxi driver popped the trunk, dropped my suitcase down on the ground, and handed me my overnight bag.
My legs were trembling as I picked up all my belongings and walked over to the Greyhound where other people were loading their stuff into the underside of the bus.
“Gotcha ticket with you, little lady?” the Greyhound driver asked me as his moist eyes shone back at me.
I shivered as I reached into my purse. “Yeah, I got it here.” I reached in and pulled out my ticket as my heart stampeded through my chest. I was going to have to do something to slow that down.
He ripped off part of the ticket and handed it back to me. “Here you go Ma’am, you’re free to board when you’re ready. We’re going to be leaving in the next ten minutes. If you need to go to the bathroom or anything like that, now would be the time to do it.”
“Thanks,” I replied as I looked at the brick toilet block and decided to pass on it. I got on the bus and looked into the faces that were already on the bus. A few people were in their places already as I found a window seat right in the middle. I pressed my face against the glass and waited for the driver to take off.
I saw a shadow… The hulk of a man.
No way. No way. I covered my face a little further and pushed away the thought that Rocky had followed me to the bus station.
Closing my eyes, I caressed my temple with two fingers.
“My god, what have I done?” I muttered to myself.