The hot water burns away the sin of last night. Jack and sex while I was in that mood probably wasn’t the smartest idea. The pain is fucking real rattling around in my head. I didn’t kick Lou out of bed last night. I simply rolled over and let sleep take over.

I didn’t have it in my heart to kick her out. The girl is broken. Does it make me a sick bastard that I’m not even interested in knowing her story? It’s not because I’m heartless, but more I have enough skeletons in my own damn closet. The closet that’s been locked for years and the same exact one I’m returning to.

“Hey.”

I whip my wet hair out of my eyes to see Lou stepping into the shower naked. I’m now certain she’s precisely the type of girl I could love. Her broken soul weeps from her gorgeous body.

“Hey.” She looks down shyly, not making eye contact.

“Morning.” Using my finger, I force her to look up at me.

She has tears streaming down her face. It shatters me.

“Take me with you.”

This time her words are clear and sharp. My knees buckle. I don’t want to take her. I don’t have time for this. There’s no way I can say yes. She must spot the hesitance in my facial features.

“Just take me with you. Drop me off anywhere far, far, far away from here. I promise I’ll get out of your car and you can dump me off. I need out of this place.”

I slowly nod digesting her information. “You want out?”

“Please.”

Shit, she doesn’t even know my fucking name and she’s ready to hop in a car with me to travel the lonely highway. What has happened to this girl? I guess something dark and horrible if she’s willing to risk her life with me.

“Please.” Her palms lower down my chest as she sinks to her knees. She has my dick in her mouth working it up and down before I realize what’s going on.

“No. No. No, Lou.” I pull her up to me, crushing her to my chest. “You don’t have to do that.”

She wails in my chest. “Please take me away from here.”

“I’m heading to Nashville, Lou. I’ll take you. You can pick a place on the map between here and there.”

She melts in to my body. I wait until she’s found her legs before I exit the shower. Toweling off, my heart hurts for the broken woman in the shower. Last night was a huge mistake. I should’ve known better, but I was in full-on selfish prick mode.

I slip on all my clothes then tie up my damp hair in a man bun. I smile, remembering how Izzy loves trying to braid it. She squeals and then makes me wear it the rest of the day. It typically ends up looking like a rat’s mess on the top of my head. I want that in my life. I’m not sure I’ll make it all the way back to Nashville.

* * *

Lou is the perfect travel partner. She remains quiet on her side of the car. It shocked the hell out of me when she didn’t even want to go home to get a bag or any belongings. She tried to refuse me buying breakfast and lunch, but I didn’t let her. Hell, I have enough cash on me to send her with a handful when she chooses her location.

“Going to drive through the night.”

Lou only nods at my response. She still hasn’t asked my first name or why I have to drive through the evening. Peaches called, and my mom has been asking more and more for me. Makes me feel like a guilty dick for stopping one night and picking up Lou. But sometimes life has bigger plans.

The old rock songs keep going through the night hours. My eyelids never grow heavy as the miles tick by. The anxiety becomes thick nearing the state of Tennessee. The biggest haunting ghost of my past was leaving my mom. It was her one request and the only way I could get her out of the house.

The sun rising over the horizon blinds me to a point where I can barely keep my eyes open, and it’s not because they’re tired. It’s the light from the sun piercing my eyeballs. Only four hours out from Nashville and my reality creeps in slowly.

When the car engine shuts off, Lou rustles around in the passenger seat. She wipes the sleep from her eyes staying curled up in a tiny ball. I watch as she slowly stretches out realizing we’re stopped at a gas station.

“Gonna fill up.”

“Where are we?”

“About four hours out of Nashville.”

She nods. Standing up, I stretch out my arms and then my neck before pulling out my wallet. I snag my debit card, toss the wallet on the seat, and then begin to fuel up. My sexy beast was damn near empty sucking up the gasoline.

“Want anything?” I duck in the car to tuck my debit card back in my wallet.

She shakes her head side to side. Lou rolled back into her shell the farther we’ve driven from her hometown. I thought it would’ve been the opposite. But what the fuck do I know? I throw my wallet back on the seat. We have enough snacks and travel food to last a whole month. I didn’t know what she’d like, so I pretty much grabbed everything in sight before we hit the road back in her hometown.

I take a quick piss and walk back out to the car. She’s gone. I wait for a few minutes, stretching my legs. When I grow irritated and realize she’s had plenty of time to piss, I crawl back into the car. Maybe she picked this town?

My heart sinks when I notice my wallet is gone, and so is Lou. The joke is on me.

“At least she left this.” I pick up my dark colored debit card that blended into my dark leather seats.

I shift around quickly in my seat to see that my doll—the one Izzy sent with me—is still there.

“Fuck.” I slam the steering wheel. “Unbelievable.”

At least she didn’t get away with my one reminder of the only place I’ve ever called home. Everything inside me yearns to turn around and go back to Izzy to play unicorn princess games and forget my past. But I know it’s not even an option at this point.

I don’t even have it in me to process the whole fucked-up situation with being so near to the one place that holds all my ghosts. My identification was in that wallet, but more importantly, pictures of Izzy. I slam my fist into the steering wheel pissed off at myself. Steal the cash. Fuck, take my debit and credit cards, but leave behind the important shit.