Free Ditched by Amity Hope

chasing after the “maybes” . Those “maybes” that I would probably never know the answer to.
    Maybe it all happened for a reason I was never going to understand. I wasn’t sure I could live with that. Then again, maybe I wasn’t going to have a choice. Sometimes, there are things that can’t be explained away, no matter how badly you want them to be.
    “Holly.” My name emerged from his mouth sounding like a sigh.
    I swiped at my face, realizing I was crying again.
    “Sorry,” I sniffled. “It’s not just Collin, or cancelling the wedding. It’s everything. What am I going to do now?”
    “You’re going to get on with your life,” he said simply.
    “Right,” I said around a sniffle. It was a simple solution for a complex problem.             
    “ I’m sorry. That was a completely jackass thing to bring up.” He tapped on the brakes and the car began to slow. “I know it’s really none of my business but it just never made sense to me. We have our whole lives ahead of us. I just never saw the point of rushing into something like that. If it’s meant to be, it’ll be. So why rush things along? Why not take your time and enjoy it?” he asked as he pulled over.
    I glanced around. The only things in sight were the never ending fields and a body of water that might be a poor excuse for a lake.
    “What are you doing?” I asked. He’d come to a complete stop on the shoulder.
    “Hop out, switch me places,” he commanded. “I made you cry. The least I can do is let you drive my car.”
    He didn’t give me a chance to protest. Not that I wanted to. I just thought it might be the polite thing to do. He jumped out and I followed, scurrying around to the other side.
    “H op in,” he said as he held the driver’s door open for me.
    The look on his face was reminiscent of Mrs. Cooper’s the first time she left her infant alone with me back in my babysitting days.
    “You don’t have to,” I finally managed. As far as protests went, it wasn’t very convincing.
    He seemed to think it over. He looked at his car and back at me.
    “Just,” he took a deep breath, “be careful.”
    I spent a few seconds readjusting everything while I waited for him to get in. I smiled as he grimaced.
    “Don’t go over the speed limit,” he instructed as I eased back onto the road.
    “Yes sir,” I said. In no time, I realized why he gave me the warning. The car took off way faster than I expected it to. “Nice!” I said in appreciation.
    “Yeah, I know,” he muttered.
    I reached over, ready to give his knee a reassuring pat. He caught my wrist before I reached him.
    “Both hands on the wheel, Holly. Both hands on the wheel.”
    He set my hand back down on the wheel, where it apparently belonged.
    “Got it.”
    “And eyes on the road.”
    “Max! I’ve been driving a car longer than you have!”
    “By two months!”
    “Well, you’re kind of taking all of the fun out of it. I mean, come on.” I motioned to the highway ahead of us. There was nothing. And it seemed to go on forever. “Relax.”
    He leaned back in his seat. “I’ll relax if you will.”
    I smiled over at him, feeling more relaxed already.
    I was done with Collin. Done.
    Done talking.
    Done t hinking.
    D one dwelling.
    Done m oping.
    Done with all of it.
    Even though I knew it wasn’t going to be the easy way, it was the only way.
    The more distance Max and I put between us and Chamberlain, the more miles that passed by, the firmer my resolve grew. That wasn’t to say I was over Collin. I wasn’t.
    But I was done with Collin.
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     

 
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    Chapter 7
    It was our second full day, and therefore our last day, on the road. We’d stayed in another small hotel in Washington , near the southern border. I’d managed to stay on my side of the bed. I had also managed to completely keep my tears away. I