Chapter Text
Tuesday morning Ava shut her front door, got into her truck and left for work. She never made it there.
Instead of turning left for the Cut ‘n’ Curl, Ava turned right towards Lexington, and kept driving. She stopped several hours later because her truck ran out of gas. Her hands were trembling as she fitted the nozzle into her truck; even in this tiny gas station miles away from home, she expected Bowman to come around the pillar and ask what she was doing, to grip her by the arm and drag her home.
He didn’t.
Ava paid for the gas and a chocolate bar that she wasn’t sure she could even eat with the way her stomach was swirling, and got back into her truck. She let out a shaky breath and put the key in the ignition. Before she could start the engine, tears rushed down her cheeks and big sobs burst their way out of her chest. She rested her head on the steering wheel and let it all out.
Once the crying had subsided, she wiped her snotty face with the hem of her blouse and turned the key. She carefully pulled out of the gas station and that was when it hit her – she didn’t know where she was going. She didn’t have a destination, or a change of clothes or even a credit card (that belonged to Bowman and even if she had had it with her, it would have told Bowman exactly where she was). She didn’t have any ID either – at home she had never needed it and besides, Bowman kept it locked up in the filing cabinet and the key on his person. Safe, she thought. Somewhere I can’t get it, the traitorous voice in her head said.
“I went right earlier,” Ava said, her voice scratchy and far too loud in the quiet of her empty truck, “so I’m going to go left now.” She nodded decisively and swung the truck around. She fiddled with the radio so it played some inoffensive and catchy pop music that Bowman hated, and nodded her head in time to the beat, finger tapping on the top of the wheel. The sun shone through the window and made her warm all over. If she didn’t think about it this could have been a day trip to somewhere nice.
When her stomach started growling loud enough she could hear it over her music, Ava pulled into a diner that looked half decent and not too expensive. She counted out the bills in her bag before exiting the truck. She had enough for some fries at least. She had forced herself not to think about what she was going to do when night came or she ran out of gas and money, but now the sun was sliding past the horizon and the nerves were setting in, twisting her hungry stomach up in knots.
She creaked open the door of her truck and hopped down, knowing if she thought about it for a moment longer, she wouldn’t move.
The diner door creaked as she pushed it open. It was mostly empty but there were a few men seated around the edges. Ava slid herself into a booth and picked up a laminated menu but could hardly focus on what was written there. Thoughts kept racing around her head. What are you doing? Go back to him. Where are you going? Go back to him! How are you going to get money? GO BACK TO HIM. Don’t be stupid. HOW ARE YOU GOING TO SURVIVE? GO BACK TO HIM!
A shadow fell over the table.
“Ava?” it said in a very familiar voice.
Ice ran through her veins. She raised her head to look at him. Crowder.