Page 7 of Missing Pieces (Men of Manhattan 3)

Tyler

Friday

I glanced back at the bar and then back at the girl that had just climbed into my car. Who the hell did she think she was? I leaned down and ducked my head into my car. "I really don't think..."

"I'm not crazy or anything, I swear. It's not like I'm going to kill you. I just need a ride. And you're going to California anyway. And there's an empty seat here."

This girl was out of her mind. So why did I not feel like protesting? Maybe it was her long legs. Or her dark brown eyes. Or the energy that seemed to

radiate off of her. I had been driving aimlessly for a week. I was going crazy. Maybe it would be nice to have some company.

Her eyes met mine. It looked like she had been crying.

"Are you in some sort of trouble or something?"

"No. Please, Tyler. I just need a ride."

Fuck. How was I supposed to say no to that face?

"If you want, I won't say a word. You can just pretend I'm not here. Please." She was blinking hard and she subtly wiped a tear from her cheek.

"You're sure you're not running from the cops or anything?" I tried not to laugh at the irony of my question. Technically I was kind of guilty of that.

"No. I just need a ride. That's it."

"You're not going to rape me or anything?" Now I was just teasing her. I didn't want her to cry anymore.

She laughed. "No, I promise I won't rape you. We can even just agree to keep it platonic. Deal?" She put her hand out for me.

I really didn't have anything to lose anymore anyway. "Yeah, okay. Why not?" I climbed into the car.

"Thank you, Tyler. You have no idea how much this means to me." She put her hand on my shoulder.

It shouldn't have affected me. I had just seen her do it with a few patrons of her bar. It was a trick to get more tips. But for some reason, it did. Like this tiny little spark that I hadn't felt in so long. For three years I had been hung up on a girl that never needed me back, chasing a spark we had only gotten to act upon once. It felt nice to be needed for a change. I put my key into the ignition. "So where's this gas station?"

"Just down the road. Why weren't you just using your car charger?" she asked as she attached my phone to the chord.

"I haven't needed it." I turned out of the parking lot.

"You weren't using a GPS?"

"Like I said, I was just driving toward California. The signs on the highway were enough."

She nodded. "My house is right by the gas station. I just need to grab a few things."

"Okay," I said as I pulled into the gas station. "I can drive you there when I'm done filling up."

"Oh, that's not necessary. I promised not to inconvenience you at all. I'll just be right back." She quickly climbed out of the car and started sprinting down the street.

What she didn't seem to realize was that she really wasn't inconveniencing me. I literally had nothing to do for a week. It should have felt like I was driving toward my future, but it felt a lot more like I was running away from my past. My roots had been cut out from underneath of me in New York. I was barely holding on. And maybe if I hadn't wound up in bumblefuck, Indiana, I would have fallen. And this time, I wasn't sure I would have been able to get back up.

I watched her disappear into the darkness.

Chapter 5

Hailey

Friday

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