I could feel her freshly manicured nails digging into my shoulder as she leaned over me, her quick breath on my ear. She was scared and that only made me more excited.
“Everyone pile in!” I said, gripping the leather steering wheel tight. I bit my lip in anticipation, the adrenaline coming at me in waves.
I felt the car quiver as the other girls jumped into the back, followed by a unique howl of excitement escaping from Demi as she clutched the back of my seat. “Go Lexi, go!”
I punch the gas and swerve out of the parking lot, feeling the gravity suck me into the bucket seat. I heard myself squeal without realizing I had made the noise, the red convertible ripping up the road before me faster than I could comprehend.
Instinct led me through the streets of Liberty, familiar sights whipping by like shadows. An edge of terror touched the furthest reaches of my heart only to be overshadowed by exhilaration. The thundering in my ears drowned the rest of the world out as I continued to cut through traffic, racing toward the highway. I’m alive. So alive.
Traffic seemed to part as I merge onto the highway and I pick up speed, the wind loosing my hair from its ponytail, fluttering strands of orange obscuring my vision, but I didn’t care. I hardly even noticed the red and blue flashing in my rearview or the droning call of sirens. For one minute I felt absolutely weightless; free.
“Lexi, the cops!” Sandra screeched into my ear, jarring me back into reality.
With a glance over my shoulder, I cursed under my breath. Three squad cars were close behind, driving me to only push down harder on the gas. The acceleration sucking my eyeballs into the back of my head.
I knew I couldn’t get away. Everyone knew that the crime rate in Liberty was so high that there was a cop on every street corner. But I couldn’t stop. I needed to feel that freedom just a little longer. It felt like breathing clean, fresh air of months underground. I couldn’t let that go.
“Are you crazy? They’re going to catch us,” Demi said, her voice a bare whisper over the roar of traffic and wind.
“I know!” I made a sudden turn toward the off ramp, maintaining my speed as I merged the city traffic, weaving between the slow moving commuters.
One of the girls screamed, but I didn’t look to see who. I knew that no matter what, I’d be taking the fall for this and scanned the roads ahead, picking a route in my mind.
The sweltering heat bore down on my exposed arms, the cold wind of the highway leaving my flesh icy cold making the sun feel like fire. Adrenaline coursed through me as traffic slowed to a stop at a red light, I couldn’t stagnate, not yet. With a glance over my shoulder I could see the squad cars exiting the highway, I didn’t have time.
I punched the gas, swerving into the intersection and was met with a serenade of car horns as I cut across everyone’s path unscratched. I hoped the jam would be enough to slow the cops. Picking a side road, I left the flow of traffic and sped through back alleys toward my destination. The trip came to an end outside of our favorite mall.
I turned to see my friends, a mixture of excitement and fear painted across their faces. Mary looked ill and was startked when Demi burst out laughing.
“Lexi, you are the craziest bitch I know.” she said, shaking her head in disbelief, her dark hair a tangled mane around her thin features.
“You run for it, you don’t need to take the fall for this,” I said, suppressing a smile.
Sandra looked worried. “Are you sure? We aren’t exactly innocent here.”
I waved her off. “Absolutely, what’s the worst that will happen?’ I looked back at Demi. “Can you take Mary to the bathroom? I think she’s going to hurl.”
The girls said goodbye and I watched them climb out of the car the sound of sirens getting closer. I punched the car back into gear and sped off, intent on my new destination. No speeding this time, I drove safely out of the downtown core, keeping the flashing red and blue in my rearview mirror at all times. I only picked up speed as I entered the suburbs, where the traffic was virtually nonexistent.
Within ten minutes I pulled into a long driveway outside of a large, three story house and parked, taking the keys from the ignition. I climbed out, grabbing my purse and checking my hair before standing by the car ready to face my maker.
It took only a moment for the cars to appear, one pulling up right behind me and the others parking on the street. I watched as six persons in uniform climbed out, unholstering their guns, a wary look in my eye as if I were a criminal.
A woman with short, curly, dark hair got out of the car nearest to me. For a cop her size made her unintimidating, hardly coming in under five foot three, but it was her chestnut eyes that burnt into me like hot coals.
“Lower your weapons guys, she’s just a girl,” the woman said and the men followed without hesitance. She approached me, one step at a time, a hint of controlled fury escaping her set face as she came closer. “What do you think you were doing?”
“Practicing for my driver’s exam, do you think I’ll pass?”
“What do you think your father is going to say when he finds out you were joyriding his brand new BMW?”
“He’ll probably ask why you didn’t stop me.”
Her eyelid twitched, the one hint at the hurt I caused. “Alexis Natalie Gray, get inside the house this instant.”“Yes, Bianca.” I rolled my eyes and slunk to the door, a smile breaking my lips. She rarely used my full name, I must’ve have really pissed her off this time.
