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Ginny saw Mason’s demeanor shift when he met Giovanni. At first she thought she was imagining it.
His jaw didn’t loosen after they got in the car, though. And as they headed north west, his half of the conversation became shorter sentences and with fewer syllable words.
So much for friends first. On the one hand, she wanted to draw him out, talk through it, and make things right.
On the other, she hadn’t done anything wrong, and she was tired of his judgment.
Because you haven’t cast shade on his assumptions?
But she’d said something. He was closing off and pretending it was all fine.
She shouldn’t care. She suspected yesterday she wouldn’t have cared. Last night made it feel like things were changing. Like they were clicking.
And now this.
Ginny couldn’t reach past the ache inside, to be an adult about the entire thing. Instead, she drove.
The clouds that moved in matched her mood. A little thunder would be nice. Enhance the ambiance in the car.
When they pulled into the next gas station, and she stepped from the car, a chill raced down her spine. “Is it supposed to be this cold?”
“Dunno.” Mason shrugged, and headed inside.
So much for continuing that conversation. She dug a sweatshirt from her bag and tugged it on. By the time she made it inside, Mason had already paid for his purchase.
“Nothing for me, thanks. I’m fine,” she mumbled as he walked past her.
“Didn’t want to make any assumptions.” He never paused as he headed back to the car.
Fucking manchild asshole. It was tempting to toss him the keys and tell him she’d find her own ride the rest of the way.
As she rolled the ring around her finger, she couldn’t summon the words. She didn’t want to be mad at him, or for him to be mad at her.
Time to pull up her big girl panties and open a dialogue.
A few minutes later, they were back on the freeway. She rolled her opening over in her head.
I’m sorry if Giovanni upset you.
No. Because she wasn’t apologizing for something that wasn’t her fault.
I didn’t mean to make you jealous.
That was a little closer.
I’m not a fucking whore. He’s just a guy who did a favor for me.
Nope. Definitely not going into the conversation on that note.
A few flakes of white struck the windshield, melting into drops of water immediately.
“What’s that?” she asked.
“Probably snow.” The duh was implied in Mason’s retort.
Super helpful. Thanks. She clenched her jaw.
A few flakes turned to dozens, and then so many she had to turn on the windshield wipers.
It was accumulating on the road at an alarming rate. Heavy, thick, and slushy. She gripped the steering wheel tight. They were in the middle of nowhere, with the nearest exit at least thirty miles away.
She slowed the car to a crawl. She’d never driven in more than half an inch of snow before. Her focus narrowed to a fine point on the road. Was she supposed to turn with the skid? Away from it?
Cars zoomed up on her, and then past her. She was going too slow, but she didn’t dare go any faster. Her heart jammed in her throat.
A semi roared past, splashing slush and ice on the windshield so heavily the wipers couldn’t cut through it. Her pulse hammered in her ears at the temporary loss in visibility. “I need to pull over.”
“You need to get us to the next exit.” Mason’s voice was tight. “If you stop here, you put us in a lot of danger from oncoming traffic, and we may not get started again. Even a child knows that.”
Her throat was tight, and tears of frustration pricked her eyes. She kept going out of spite as much as anything.
She didn’t know how long they drove, at a snail’s pace, before the sun broke through the clouds. The ice on the road eased up, and then they were to the next exit. She pulled into the first parking lot, hopped from the car, and stomped her feet.
The instant Mason got out, she turned on him. “Thanks for your fucking support, asshole. Like I wasn’t terrified enough already?”
“Maybe if you hadn’t taken us that stupid fucking detour, we wouldn’t have run into the snow.”
Her anger surged. “I didn’t order a snowstorm. How is the weather my fault? How is us stopping a reason for the snow?”
“If we hadn’t cut through Las Vegas, we wouldn’t have come this far north until California.”
“They have snow in Northern California too, jackass.” She was screaming, and she didn’t care. “Besides, you weren’t complaining about Las Vegas last night.”
Hesitation flashed across Mason’s face, and was instantly replaced with irritation. “This detour is going to cost us time and money. Both of which I’m short on right now.”
“And an extra three hours isn’t going to change that one way or another.” She threw the keys at him. “You drive. One less thing for you to blame me for.”
“Fine. At least I can keep us a little bit on track.” He had to fumble in the slush to find his car keys.
She wished she could feel smug about it. To think, she’d almost invited him to stay with her once they got to California. “Glad I didn’t make that mistake.” Shit, she didn’t mean to say that aloud.
“What mistake?” Mason sneered.
“I was going to let you come stay with me, until you got established. I have a big apartment waiting. But if you’re going to be an asshole every time something pisses you off? Fuck you.”
“Fine.” He spat the word as he brushed past her to climb into the driver’s seat. “I don’t want to owe you anymore than you want to owe me.”
“Fine.” She stomped to the passenger side, slamming the door once she was inside.
As they headed up the mountains, the only sound in the car was tires cutting through the water on the road, and the swish of the windshield wipers.
Every foul word she knew raced through her mind. She came up with new and unique combinations. It was easier than focusing on the sick pit in her stomach, both from the fight, and the ebbing adrenaline.
The car drifted into the shoulder, hitting the rumble strips, before moving into its lane again.
Her concern spiked. “Mason?”
No answer.
“This is a shitty time to ignore...” She looked at him. His eyelids were drooping shut, and his hands dropped from the wheel.
“Mason,” she shouted as she shook his arm.
He slumped in his seat, eyes shut.
The car crested the mountain.
“MASON,” she screamed at the top of her lungs.
He didn’t stir.
The car headed down the incline at full speed.