Page 34 of Stoker's Serenity

“Go get her,” he said. “I’ll square things with the captain and let you know what Pyro and Radar find out.”

“Yeah, text me,” I called back over my shoulder as I jogged up the steps and in the direction of home.

11

Serenity…

“You want me to drive?” Linny asked, and I felt horrible almost as soon as the words were out of my mouth, but I snapped at her angrily, “I’m fine!”

I slammed my little automatic into ‘Drive’ and peeled out of the lot and onto the street. My heart was racing, I couldn’t get the tears to stop, but I just wanted out of this town. Away from them, away from the past I could never escape.

“Serenity, slow down,” Linny said in a soothing voice, and I couldn’t handle her sympathy, couldn’t stand the confused look on Stoker’s face, couldn’t deal with the idea that it was over so soon, before anything had even had a chance to get started, the seeds barely planted, not even allowed to sprout, let alone grow.

“Serenity, you’re freaking me out, please slow down!” Linny cried.

I screamed, “Alright! Alright!” before jerking the wheel of my little car and pulling over onto the gravel shoulder on the side of the road. I threw it in ‘Park’ and promptly burst into defeated tears.

Nine years and counting…I thought to myself.

“Oh, honey, it’s okay… it’s going to be okay…”

I collapsed sideways into Linny’s arms and let my best friend hug me and hold me as I wept in utter despair.

“Shh, it’s okay.” She made nonsensical soothing sounds while the bitterness poured out my eyes.

She sighed and said, “I wish they would just let it go and leave you alone.”

I was with her… I honestly didn’t understand why she was still my friend after it was all said and done.

You can’t have nice things…you don’t deserve them,I told myself resolutely.It was stupid of you to even try.

Stoker’s face floated to the surface in my mind’s eye and I lost it harder, all over again, for a completely different reason. I liked him, a lot, had given him a piece of my heart today, and even though I had known it was a bad idea – I had dared to hope.

I guess, like the popular A&E song,Hope Dies Last…

Stupid, Ren… You’re so stupid!

My car door opened and both Linny and I screamed. I turned, and stared right into the deep, unrelenting gaze of Stoker’s dark eyes.

“Come on, baby. I got you.” He unbuckled my seatbelt and with a guiding hand on my knee, turned my legs out of the open door of my car so he could put his arms around me.

I collapsed against his chest, his truck running just a few feet behind my stopped car, and wept all over again, hope, just as unrelenting as his gaze, bubbling up in the center of my chest.

“Take this for me,” he murmured, and unwrapped a napkin, plucking a little yellow pill off of it.

“You got any water or anything?” he asked Linny.

“Uh, yeah, here.”

She passed him the half-empty water bottle I’d filled up that morning for the drive.

“You trust me?” he asked, and I nodded, surprised to find that I did and wanting whatever oblivion that tiny yellow pill had to offer at this point.

“’K, drink up.”

I tossed the pill into the back of my throat and swallowed it down with three big mouthfuls of water.

“Okay, Linny, you’re gonna have to drive. She’s going to be no good for it in the next twenty minutes.”

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