Page 1 of Drive Me Wild
Chapter One: Zoe
“Well,” I say to the contents of my car, “here goes everything.”
I pop in the first CD of my Moving Out Soundtrack and turn up the volume. It’s The National, and every single one of their songs makes me want to cry. Perfect mood for the moment.
The evergreen forest gets denser the further away I drive from Downsville, where I grew up. The only place I’ve ever known intimately. The only place where I can close my eyes when I’m riding shotgun and know where I am from the feel of the curves and dips in the road or the way the shadows play across my face. It’s where I learned to love the smell of salt water, and cedar leaves, and chimney smoke that never goes away, no matter the season. The only place where I don’t have to explain anything to anyone because they already know.
The introverted half of me feels safe and comfy in all this sameness.
I sing at the top of my lungs with the windows rolled up because it’s still early morning, and there’s a chill in the latesummer air. And every song keeps me grounded in the sadness of what I’m doing and the reality of my situation.
Driving over the low mountains to Owl Creek and the road leading to my best friend Renée’s new place with her boyfriend, Cole, takes a few hours.
Renée met Cole in late spring when her car broke down outside of Owl Creek, and he rescued her—sort of. She’s not exactly the rescuing type. I didn’t grow up with a dad, but with her father and brothers, Renée had testosterone around her in spades, and she had to learn to be tough or get trampled.
My tires crunch on the gravel as I pull down the wooded drive. There are a few cars in the parking area outside the garage where Renée’s music recording studio is, below the apartment where I hope to stay until I figure things out.
Before I can put my old yellow Volvo in park, I see Renée bounding toward me. I jump out of the car, and she yanks me into a hug. I think I’m going to melt in her arms.
I need this. I need the warmth of my friend as the tears start to fall.
“What’s going on?”
“It’s my mom’s new boyfriend.”
“Did he do something to you? I’ll kill him.”
“No, but let’s just say it’s gotten real crowded at home, real quick.”
“You’ve been talking about moving out for a couple of years. Maybe it’s time?”
“That’s what I was thinking, too.” I look to the back of my car, and her eyes follow. It’s filled with my most treasured things. “Can I rent the room above the garage for a while?”
“As long as you don’t mind listening to the best rock-and-roll band in Owl Creek practice downstairs.”
“Should we run it by Cole?”
She looks over and watches him for a moment with a dreamy look in her eyes. I feel a stab of envy. I want that. I want what she has, and I know my mom has with her new boyfriend.
It’s funny— when you’re sixteen or seventeen, all people dream about is graduating and moving away from home to start their lives. But I wasn’t like that. I loved home. It was my mom and me, and we were a team. And even though I knew it wouldn’t stay this way forever, over the years, I believed I’d be the one to get married and break up the team.
That’s why I couldn’t be too upset that this was all happening. I couldn’t fault my mom or her boyfriend for how quickly they created a life together. I know she is happy, and it was time for me to give her the space to do that.
“Nah. We’re two people moving in the same direction. He’ll be okay with it.”
“Should we at least tell him before hauling stuff upstairs?”
She laughs and pulls me back into a hug that my body relishes.
“Later. I’m so glad you’re here Zoe. Do you need some alone time real quick?”
I shake my head, not quite ready to talk about what it means to be on my own for the first time and how I wish I was moving in with the future love of my life. Not that I don’t want to be here. It’s the only other place I’d want to be right now.
“Then come and meet my band!”
Renée grabs my hand and leads me toward the grill, where Cole’s parents are lingering nearby, chatting with someone.
She introduces me to a guy named Trevor. He’s the bass player and de facto leader of the band. He’s been around the longest when there was a singer before Renée who got herself into some major trouble starting fires. I heard she’s getting help in a program near San Diego.
