Emancipating Andie

“You know what I think is really sad?” she said.

Chase turned his head to look at her.

“That we live in a world where you have to be afraid to help people.”

He barked a short laugh. “Where did that come from?”

“That woman,” Andie said, looking in her rearview even though she knew she wouldn’t be able to see her anymore. “The one who was hitchhiking. I mean, you’d have to be crazy to stop and pick up a hitchhiker. That’s just asking for trouble. But at the same time, that poor lady could be out there for hours. And what if she’s just a normal person, not a thief or a killer, just someone who needs help? No one in his right mind would stop to pick her up. And if someone did stop, then she would have to be concerned for her own safety, because what kind of lunatic would let a complete stranger who could very well be crazy into his car? How could she be sure he wouldn’t pick her up just to take her into the woods somewhere and kill her? So not only do we have to be afraid to help people, but we also have to be afraid of people who want to help us. I just think that’s really sad.”

She took a small breath, looking over at him. His eyebrows were raised ever so slightly. “Wow,” he said, a smile curving his lips, “that was quite a rant.”

She bit her lip and shrugged. “But…do you know what I mean?” she asked softly, feeling a little embarrassed that she had just vented so openly.

His smile grew a bit more pronounced as he turned in his seat to face her. “You know something? I’ve never met anyone who lives as cautiously as you do. So by the book,” he said, using finger quotes. “Do you always play by the rules?”

She pressed her lips together, turning back toward the road as the familiar irritation crept its way up her spine. She knew it was too good to be true, the temporary ceasefire that had miraculously developed between them this afternoon.

Chase turned forward in his seat, clasping his hands behind his head. “You know what I think is sad?”

Andie kept her mouth closed, afraid of what he would say next. She didn’t want to go back to the way things were that morning. In fact, she just wished she hadn’t said anything at all.

“I think it’s sad that we’ll never know her,” Chase said.

She glanced over at him suspiciously.

“Think of how many people there are in the world that you’ll never know. Like that guy right there,” he said, nodding toward the car that whizzed by them. “What’s that guy’s name? Where’s he going? Is he happy with his life? Did he want Bella to end up with Edward or Jacob?”

Andie’s lips twitched as Chase brought one of his hands down from behind his head. “Or how about the guy you bought the pretzels from,” he said, gesturing toward the bag on Andie’s lap. “That’s the last you’ll ever see of that guy in your life. That was the sole experience you were meant to have with that man. Your paths will never cross again. And he could be the coolest guy in the world,” Chase added, holding his hands up in shrug, “but you’ll never know him.”

Andie sat quietly, unsure of whether or not this was something he actually thought about, or if he was just trying his hand at a nonsensical rant to poke fun at her.

“Or,” Chase sighed, interrupting her thoughts, “maybe he’s the world’s biggest douchebag, in which case you’re better off.”

A laugh bubbled out of Andie’s throat, and she pressed her fingers to her lips to stifle it as she looked over at him. A slow grin spread over his face, and she smiled as she brought her hand back to the wheel and shook her head.

Andie saw him shift to face her out of the corner of her eye. “Here, you know what? Let’s clear both our consciences. That lady, that hitchhiker…she’s an aspiring actress.”

“How do you know that?” she asked, surprised.

He shook his head. “Roll with me. She’s an aspiring actress. She was on her way to an audition, and her car crapped out on her.”

Andie looked at him for a second before she realized what he wanted her to do. “Okay,” she said before she brought her eyes back to the road. “Um…she works as a waitress to support herself, and if she doesn’t get this part, she won’t have the money to get her car fixed.”

Chase nodded sadly, as if they were speaking about someone they knew. “Sucks,” he said. “And she practiced for that role for weeks. It was perfect for her.”

“But she can still get there,” Andie added hopefully. “She can call a cab.”

“Hmm, she could,” Chase said, “if her cell phone was getting a signal. Which it isn’t.”

“Well then, she just has to keep walking until she gets service.”

“Which is exactly what she’s doing when a car pulls up behind her.”

Andie looked at Chase, her expression uneasy, and he nodded. “Yep. The car pulls up behind her, and the guy inside wants to help. So she has to make a choice: she can say no and keep walking, and hope she’ll get service soon so she can call that cab, or she can let this guy help her.”

Andie chewed anxiously on her lip. “Yeah, but you know what?” she finally said. “The guy has two little girls in the car. Twins. And they’re calling him Uncle Bobby. And one of them is asking him why they’re stopping because they were supposed to get ice-cream cones.” Andie paused before she glanced at Chase. “Killers don’t take their nieces to get ice-cream cones.”

He shook his head and laughed. “Okay, so I take it she’s go

Andie nodded. “Yep. Turns out they have a lot in common. He knows where her audition is.”

“Perfect,” Chase said. “So what happens?”

“Well, he takes her to the audition. They have a good talk on the way. And he even drives her home afterward.”

“Where’s her car?”

“Oh, it was towed a while back,” Andie said with a wave of her hand, and Chase smiled.

“Does she get the part?”

“She does,” Andie said. “She got there just in time. And she calls Uncle Bobby to thank him for helping her that day, and he invites her out to celebrate.”

Chase lifted his eyebrows. “He does? Wow, props to Uncle Bobby.”

Andie laughed softly.

“And you know what happened after that, don’t you?” he asked.

She nodded. “They lived happily ever after.”

“No, they had crazy monkey sex in every room of her apartment.”

Andie whirled around, smacking him in the chest, and he flinched, rubbing the spot she hit and laughing to himself.

“God,” she said.

“Okay, okay, they lived happily ever after. After the monkey sex.”

Andie stifled a laugh, shaking her head.

“See?” Chase said. “Everything worked out for her the way it should have. And all because we didn’t stop to help her.”

She allowed herself to smile then, looking over at him. “Thank you,” she said softly.

He stared at her for a second before he cleared his throat.

“You’re welcome,” he said quietly, turning to look out the passenger window again.

CHAPTER FOUR

It was uncomfortable again.

After the hour or so that morning they had spent at each other’s throats, somehow he and Andie had fallen into a better place. In fact, there were some moments when things seemed just fine between them. Easy, even. Then suddenly, for one reason or another, things would turn awkward, and they’d both wait it out until the air cleared and they could start over. It seemed to be a “two steps forward, one step back” kind of deal, and he wasn’t sure why.