i'll find her.

     “I don’t wanna eat,” she refused, looking over at him with furrowed brows. A sigh left her lips as she looked back down at her food. It was a granola bar for the night, for now, because she hadn’t had much of an appetite lately. A moment of silence passed by before she abruptly stood up, walking away from their campground. “I’m goin’ for a walk.”

       “Must’ve had some kinda life before you head out on the road, then,” Shoshanna mused aloud, reaching over for the small table tent by the edge of the table and flipping through it momentarily. Her eyes shot back to look at him before a mischievous smirk adorned her lips. “Were you some kinda childhood criminal?” she teased.

     “Traffic ain’t good anywhere,” Shoshanna responded, shaking her head as she looked over at him. With a brow lifted, she leaned forward a bit to get comfortable. “Besides, I figure... a guy like you out on the road for 6 years, you must’ve learned a thing or two ‘bout drivin’. You could probably maneuver your way outta traffic without a problem.”

     “Kinda difficult to hear that from someone who lived just outside’a Los Angeles,” she said, looking over at him and furrowing her brows for a moment. “But to each their own. I don’t think I would be able to stand towns that’re way too small, though.”

     “Wow. That’s... a ways away,” she mused aloud, looking down for a moment at her coffee. Shoshanna wondered if she’d ever end up some place like Los Angeles. “Neither,” she responded, licking her lips. “I mean, I guess Atlanta is a city, but it ain’t like... I was ever in the city much. More on the outside, like you.”

     “Ah, I see,” she said, holding her mug close to her with both hands. In some ways, this felt like having a conversation by the fire during a storm. It felt sort of... calming, for once. “Where are you from originally?”

     “Well, yeah, maybe,” Shoshanna said, chuckling lightly. “But this friend’s made me wait for quite some time now... so I don’t think they really care about me makin’ them wait.” She shook her head, looking up at Nicholas again with a soft smile. “Anyway... you come here often?”

     “I guess you could say I’m not in a rush or anythin’ to get there,” Shoshanna responded with a shrug, leaning forward on her forearms against the table. “I figured it’d be kinda nice, too. To be out on the open road and all, just drivin’. I mean, you’ve been out on the road for six years. You probably understand it more than I do.” 

     “Listen, I--” Shoshanna sighed deeply, taking a moment before answering him. She didn’t want to come to Rick with this, out of all people, but knew that if she went to her mother about it, that she would be hung up and stoned to death. “I’m at this party, and... long story short, my ride home flaked on me, and it’s gettin’ outta control here, and I just wanna go home. Think you could stop by and pick me up, please?”

     “Shoshanna,” she responded, reaching out to shake his hand. “But you can call me Sho.” Although she probably wouldn’t admit it if you asked her, this guy was starting to warm up to her otherwise frosty heart. “S’nice to meet you.”