Page 12 of Creepy
“It’s been a while now and still nothing.”
“The reason there’s been nothing since evacuation is because they just think we’re all dead or don’t care if we’re alive.”
“I suppose you’re right.Hey, I don’t want to argue.I’m only glad to see a friendly face...Hey, I’m sorry about your dad.”
Him being the first person to ever offer condolences, I about choked up at his words.Dillon hadn’t even had enough humanity left when he found out.Forgetting the topic, I asked, “Did you see many folks coming up this way?”
“Not anyone I’d consider friendly.Everyone’s so concerned about survival and protecting themselves.”
His words made me think about how I’d been sitting in the car wasting gas.“Look, I’ve got to get going.Sorry about taking your keys.Just trying to survive.”
“It’s okay.The Camaro isn’t mine, just something I picked up a few miles back.I had a much nicer ride...”
I cut him off before he could brag.I’m sure an NBA star had a much nicer everything.His gigantic hands were still on the car.Sure, we’d had a friendly conversation so far, but I wasn’t sure how I’d get out of it.Any other time, I’d be intrigued.I did not survive this long by trusting anyone but myself.“Sorry, I’m late for a meeting.”I was bluffing.
“Oh, okay.”He stepped back on instinct, his manners showing.
I took the opportunity to put the car in drive.
“You think your friends would want to meet?”
“I don’t know.”What was I supposed to say?I couldn’t pull some friends out of thin air.
He went on, “Kinda quiet here.I’m thinking of staying a while.Or maybe I can go with.”
“I’ll talk to them about it.”
“You do that because I’m tired of running.If y’all out here surviving, I could be of some help.I want to join your...group.”
“Oh, really?”I laughed.
“Yeah, I don’t think I’ve met a soul who hasn’t tried to kill me right off.You’re the first one.”
Horrible, I thought and took my hand off my gun.
“Plus, you’re beautiful.I want to go wherever you go.”
“Funny.”I shook my head.
“Seriously, there’s no time for holding back anymore.The world has ended.Beautiful lady, smart enough to try to steal my ride, damn, baby.”
“I seriously have to go,” I told him, with the biggest smile on my face.
“Okay.We’ll talk later.Where can I find y’all?”He asked.
Suddenly, I thought about my stalker.Couldn’t be him, could it?Troy was at this house the day after I’d been here.I’d only run into him while breaking my routine.Thinking of Dillon’s crew, I quickly made up some bullshit.“We have rules.I can’t bring someone unannounced.Safety and all.”
“Hey, if you like the Camaro, you can take it.”He held out the keys, tempting me.“Really.”
“That’s mighty kind of you, but I couldn’t.”I didn’t know how I could politely get out of this precarious situation.I didn’t know this guy at all.Troy, hot as he was, as nice as he seemed, was humongous.And I was a woman all alone with no friends in actuality.
“I’ve got some oranges inside, wait.”He tried to keep me there.
“See you around,” I said before I sped off.
I drove in circles around town in case he followed me.I picked up the radio more than once, thinking of telling Dillon about the encounter, but decided against it.Troy had caused no trouble for me, yet.Calling Dillon, I’d be protected.He’d told me more than once, he could be here in thirty minutes if need be.However, the call would bring a world of trouble not only for Troy, who could be the nicest guy on the planet for all I knew, but for me as well.Dillon would throw me over his shoulder like a caveman, dragging me kicking and screaming into his new life.There’d be nothing Troy, a big, strong, handsome NBA star or not could do about it.Maybe against Dillon personally, but not against the Stayers.
Did I just think handsome?I parked thinking about our interaction.Troy had been lovely, and he wasn’t threatening me, yet.A bonus since the only man I’d seen in months threatened me, blackmailed me, you name it.The first impression, Troy was hot and sweet.My cheeks burned with an enormous smile for the first time in forever.But I needed to be certain he wasn’t a threat.I’d give him a week and see what happened.Next week, I’d go talk to him again.I’d lived in Creepy my entire life with 564 other people.I think I could handle sharing it with one or two more.
