Page 25 of All Roads Lead to You

“Yes, Dad.”

“This is going to be a long fucking trip,” he mumbled. “You’re in charge of the map and putting on some music. I’ve spent months making mixed tapes for this trip.”

“Rad,” I said, digging in the box holding the maps, and pulled out the one for Virginia.

As soon as we pulled out of the driveway, waving to our parents, another sense of sadness hit me. I would miss them and my home.

I hated that Lauren wouldn’t be with me. She was probably getting ready for her trip to New York City. She’d make new friends, have new boyfriends, and live a life without me. It was so weird not having her around after being together for so long.

“I still miss her,” I said.

“Who, Lauren?”

“Yeah.”

Logan said nothing else, and I didn’t expect him to. To kill the silence, I opened the shoebox holding his tapes and pulled one out. He’d written all the songs on each tape in tiny print. His handwriting was neat and concise. Logan had always been kind of a control freak and highly organized. I guess that was how he got into Berkeley, and it was also his dad’s alma mater.

I popped in the tape, and the car was filled with the synth beats of Duran Duran.

I rested my head on the open window and watched the small town of Vienna pass us by, saying goodbye to the old and welcoming the new.

Chapter 8

Logan

Day 1

By the time we reached Roanoke, we needed gas. While the Mustang was fun to drive, it ate up fuel. We used that break to go to the restroom and eat one of Mia’s sandwiches before we hit the road again.

Driving along the western edge of Virginia was beautiful, with tall trees, woods, and the Blue Ridge Mountains. It was breathtaking. I wish I’d made plans to stay here, but there would be other mountains to see. Maybe next time I did this trip, I could take the northern route up to the Great Lakes and the Dakotas, down to Wyoming, and head south back to California.

“So…. How are Hunter and his mom?” Nick asked, breaking our blissfully peaceful silence. He’d been fairly quiet so far, and I enjoyed being left with my thoughts.

“I don’t want to talk about it.”

“Fair enough. So, are you going to play football for the Bears?”

“No.”

“Okaaaay… What are you going to be majoring in?”

“Why?”

“Dude, it’s just a question.”

“Whatever. Political science.”

“Why are you majoring in that?”

I shrugged, not wanting to get into what my plans were with him. My goal had been to find a way to get through this trip without falling harder for him or killing him. The more I gave of myself, the closer we would get, which was the last thing I wanted. “It doesn’t matter.”

“What’s your major malfunction? I couldn’t be asking any more basic fucking questions. I literally know nothing about you, despite living in the same house for years.”

“I don’t feel like talking.”

Nick scoffed and looked out the window, folding his arms over his chest. “Whatever, man. Fucking bite me. I’m like just trying to make conversation and three weeks is a long time to travel in silence.”

“Not everything requires constant chatter.”

---