Free Streetlights Like Fireworks by David Pandolfe Page B

twice. Unless your guitar was just
popular with criminals for some reason.”
    A good point, definitely. Still, I’d assumed she’d just
gotten bored and decided to take a joy ride using the Victor thing as an
excuse. Why does she even want to keep trying to return the guitar to the woman
I saw? Again, I think of the compass. The weight of it in my hand, those
seemingly random images. Yes, a feeling. I don’t have anywhere near the level
of “intuition” Lauren possesses, but I definitely get flashes of my own.
Obviously, since that’s why we’re riding along together in the first place.
    I look out at people walking along the sidewalk, most of
them hauling beach gear of some sort. Behind the houses passing by, sunlight
flickers on rolling waves and I smell salt in the air. We’ve left the darkness
behind.
    Part of me wants to keep going and part wants to bail.
How could what we’re doing matter this much? I ask myself which feelings to
trust—the fear that I’m going to get into even more trouble or the curiosity I
don’t want to deny. I think back to what I definitely knew when we entered
Victor’s apartment. I should have listened to my instincts. This time I do.
    “How far is Charlotte?”
    “So, you made up your mind,” Lauren says.
    “But why are you—”
    “That’s not the issue. I’m not in any hurry to get home,
if that’s what you’re worried about.”
    “Okay, Charlotte,” I say. “Why the hell not?”
    “Cool. By the way, how are you set for cash? We’re going
to need some gas soon.”
    With all that’s happened, that aspect hasn’t even entered
my mind. But it’s more than a fair question. After all, Lauren sprung me from
hell on her dime. I take out my wallet and check to be sure. “About sixty.”
    It’s the same every year. My parents launch me out of
their lives with eighty dollars so I have money to spend at the camp store. Not
that there’s much worth buying.
     “I’ve got some money but we won’t be able to get back,
that’s for sure,” Lauren says. “You sure that’s all you have?”
    “Yeah, that’s it.”
    Lauren thinks for a moment, then nods. “That sucks, but
there it is. We better turn this ship around. Look, it’s cool,” she adds.
“Probably just means it wasn’t meant to be.”
    Of course, there is the credit card but my parents would
kill me. “I do have a credit card,” I say.
    “Seriously, you have a credit card?”
    “Well, it’s my parents’ card, really. I mean, it’s for
emergencies only.”
    “What do you call this?”
    “Not sure.” Phrases like “irrational behavior” and
“completely irresponsible” come to mind, but not exactly “emergency.”
    “Maybe this is an emergency. Just not one your parents
would understand,” Lauren says. “I see no issues.”
    ~~~
    We roll toward Charlotte at sunset, all those towering
buildings reflecting light, everything different and new. We have the windows rolled
down and the air blows against my face, warm and moist and full of southern
summer. While, technically, we really aren’t all that far from Richmond it
still feels like we’re a thousand miles away.
    “What are you smiling about?” Lauren says.
    “I can’t believe we’re actually doing this.”
    “To be honest, that thought occurred to me too. But, what
the hell, right?”
    “Exactly, what the hell,” I say, wondering if Susan
Walker is the woman from my flashes and what I’ll say to her. How can I explain
why we decided to go looking for her? “Hi, I keep seeing you inside my head,”
seems a strange way to start a conversation. Still, there has to be a reason
behind those flashes. I’ve tried to ignore my experiences in the past but the
fact is I’ve been right every time I felt something strongly. And if I’m honest
with myself, those have always been more than just feelings. I’ve always known .
    Suddenly, Lauren pulls off the highway and the city
skyline sinks out of view as she descends the off-ramp.