Road Trip with a Nerd - Stephanie Street Page 0,7

could use some space. I didn’t understand what was happening. I hadn’t meant to make him angry or take out my frustrations on him. He hadn’t done anything wrong.

Shame filled me when I thought about how I’d been behaving since I’d gotten into Grant’s truck, before then, even. It wasn’t his fault his truck didn’t measure up to my lofty standards. All he’d done since finding me in the hotel lobby was be kind to me. And how had I repaid him? By being a spoiled brat. Well, I thought as I opened the door to the rest area, only I had control over how I treated Grant. And I promised myself from that point on, I’d just be grateful for the favor he was doing me and not complain.

Even though it was hot.

And there was no radio.

At least we had cold water. And I could listen to music on my phone.

After finishing in the bathroom, I walked out into the common area between the men’s and women’s restrooms, determined to talk to Grant and apologize. Hopefully, the rest of our trip back to Indiana wouldn’t be so awkward.

“Hey, pretty girl. Got any spare change?”

Grant

I watched from the corner of my eye as Mallory made her way into the building at the rest stop, thankful for a few minutes to myself. Solitude. If anyone ever made a monument to me, the title would say, Grant Baker, a portrait in isolation.

It wasn’t that I liked being alone. It was just easier. Case in point, Mallory. An hour and a half in the cab of my truck and already she hated me. My computer never hated me. Games didn’t hate me. People were a mystery. And girls especially. I didn’t have any siblings, just a whole bunch of cousins. But I was hardly ever forced to spend time with them. My parents had given up on forcing me to endure family functions beyond the occasional meal.

Maybe I was destined to be alone, never forming any lasting relationships. What a depressing thought.

I stayed by the monument until my nerves had somewhat calmed before heading back to my truck. I should probably use the restroom, and we definitely needed some water in the cab of the truck. Too bad the cooler was too big to fit in the space between Mallory and me on the seat.

Back near the truck, I was surprised to see Mallory was still in the building. I’d been at the monument for some time. Definitely long enough for her to use the bathroom and come back out.

A shiver of alarm snaked down my spine. What if something happened to her? I quickened my step to a jog while glancing around the parking lot. My truck was still the only vehicle in front of the building. However, I’d missed a mountain bike, heavily loaded with fraying bags, leaning up against a brick ledge.

“Mallory!” I called out, my heart in my throat. What if something happened to her? Sprinting now, I reached for the door and wrenched it open. “Mallory!”

“Grant!” Her voice was muffled, coming from behind a divider filled with brochures and maps in one corner of the space between restrooms. I raced toward the sound, rounding the divider, stopping short at the sight of her.

A man held her from behind with his dirty hand over her mouth, contrasting starkly against her fresh skin. Mallory gripped his arm with both of her hands, trying to pull it away. His other arm wrapped around her waist, trapping her against his body.

“Just turn around and go away,” the man said, exposing his teeth amid a mass of hair and debris. He was so dirty. And he had his hands on Mallory!

I shook my head slowly while searching him for any visible weapons. As far as I could tell, he didn’t have anything other than his self with which to harm her.

It was enough.

“Not going to happen, man. Let her go.” I finally let myself meet Mallory’s terror-filled eyes. She couldn’t speak, but I felt her beseeching me to do something. I was not going to let this guy hurt her. Hopefully, she could see that in my eyes.

The man grinned, laughing maniacally. Many of his teeth were missing. Those he had were brown and rotting. It made me sick he had his hands on Mallory. So, what could I do?

“Let her go,” I said again, but he just gripped her tighter, pulling her to one side. Bingo. I didn’t have a lot of