Chapter Text
Evan sighed in frustration as his car finally sputtered and died on the side of the road. Fucking hell.. His truck, a simple black pickup, had been having trouble since he'd first arrived in this damn state and he couldn't figure out why. Not even the mechanic he'd had to take the damned thing to could locate the problem. So, now, here he was, stuck in some dainty little town with a fucked up truck. That'd be his luck..
It was currently half past midnight. He was bound for a case he'd heard about down in South Carolina that reeked of vampire doings a few days ago and had decided to drive down from New York after he'd visited a friend. That was, until now apparently. He had no clue where the hell he was or what he was going to do at 12:30 in the god damn morning. He slammed the truck's door hard as he saw a nearby gas station.
Thankfully, the place was a 24/7 convenience place. Entering, Evan noticed the cashier was sleeping at the counter, a magazine covering the guys head. He couldn't see much of the guy other than the red hoodie he was wearing.
"Excuse me?" Evan said as he approached the counter. The only response he got from the clerk was a soft snore.
"Hey!" he said loudly, banging his hands on the counter in front of the clerk. The guy jerked up, startled, with a high pitched scream. There was a name tag on the cashier's shirt that Evan couldn't see before that read 'Lui'.
"Wh-what? What's going on? Oh! How can I help you?" Lui looked around as if he was confused by his surroundings before focusing on Evan.
"Can you tell me if there's any motels that'd be open right now around here?" Evan asked.
Lui scratched his messy head, thinking. "Nah, not anywhere close by at least. They all don't stay open past 11. There's a motel a few towns over, though, that should be open this time of night." he said, ending his sentence with a loud yawn.
Fuck. Evan highly doubted his truck would start again, let alone get him to the motel, at this point. "Damn, that won't work for me.. Thanks though." He said. Evan bought a bag of chips and a soda to hold him over until morning before making his way back to his truck. Once there, he had no choice but to sleep there for the night. It wasn't the most comfortable thing in the world but it was just for a few hours.
He awoke in the morning with the sun shining brightly in his face through the windows. He was sore from the awkward position he'd had to sleep in but at least it was morning now, at least. He rubbed his eyes and yawned as he sat up. Now being able to fully see his surroundings, he saw the gas station he had went to last night down the road, an apartment building next to him, and several residential homes surrounded him on either side of the street.
Looking at the time on his watch, he saw it was 8:45 in the morning now. Leaving his truck once more, he set off to find a mechanic that could help him. The town was small and quiet. Peaceful, he'd say. A few streets over, Evan saw a brown and white pit bull outside of a small home that was tucked in between a cluster of trees. It looked up at him with sapphire blue eyes as he walked by. The thing didn't have a collar so Evan assumed it was a stray. It was a rather cute dog, in all honesty, and he couldn't resist bending down to pet it.
The dog didn't appear to be aggressive and let Evan scratch it's ear. Evan couldn't help but think of the black lab he had as a child, Marlow. She had been a sweet dog if not a bit rowdy at times. Sadly, she had died of old age as he was just starting high school. He had managed to get deep in thought as he reminisced his old dog but was jerked back to reality as he heard a name being called and the dog getting up and running back to the house. So, this wasn't a stray after all.. Evan continued on his way and he couldn't help but laugh. Delirious was a weird name for a dog....
Sometime later as he explored the center of the town, he had finally found a mechanic. The guy was heavyset and tall but seemed friendly enough. He offered to tow in Evan's truck and look at it. Soon enough, the black truck sat in the mechanic's garage, the guy standing over it as he tried to find the source of it's problems. He had told Evan it could be a few hours, so Evan found himself walking around town to kill time.
He felt like he'd been walking for an eternity before he wound up in front of the mechanic's garage again. After a quick talk, the mechanic had told Evan he'd have to replace a few parts, do a few adjustments, but he should have it up and running as good as new in a few days, a week at most. Evan tried to protest but it was in vain. A week was the best the guy could do.
Well shit. Looks like he was stuck here for the next seven days or so, then. As Evan left the mechanic's shop, he saw a cafe nestled in between two other businesses. A delicious aroma drifted from the open door and he couldn't help but be lead by his growling stomach towards it.