“Kash, how the fuck does that help? Someone will surely notice the smoke!”
“Just listen! Okay, yes, it might catch someone’s eye, but there’s so much trash inside that thing. We-we can just set it on fire. It’ll burn so fucking fast, and by the time anyone finds it, it’ll be too late, we’ll be long gone.”
Motley processed my suggestion for a moment before he finally nodded. “I know exactly how to do it. Go open the gas tank. I’m going to look inside for something to light.” I did as Motley said and rushed to the water, treading through the long weeds to the car’s gas tank. Motley kicked through the cold water and searched the half submerged backseat. There was so much fucking trash. He swiped it all away, splashing through the water until he noticed an old shirt tucked in the back window. He tapped the glass, and I gave him a thumbs up, so he grabbed it. “Here.” He rushed out to my side. “Step aside, Kash. I know what I’m doing.” He twisted the material and shoved it deep inside the gas tank, using a stick he found floating to ensure it was all the way in. “Now.” He pulled his lighter from his pocket once more. “Time to light it up.”
Motley gave me a look of hesitation before using his lighter to light the end of the shirt. It took a minute, but eventually, it ignited. We ran back onto the dirt and watched as the carslowly began to burn. I was shocked by Motley’s instincts and knowledge, but I should’ve known better with his past. He was an ex-gang member after all.
God, I hope this works.
Motley looked at me and then down at himself. “Kash.” He nudged my arm. “Our jeans.” I glanced down and noticed his worry. Thankfully, the lake had washed most of Guy’s blood from our bodies, but our jeans were soaked. Fuck. “Here.” He reached his hand out. “Take them off.” I did as he said and handed him the jeans. Motley did the same and walked, completely naked, to the car as he tossed them into the fire. Just as they began to burn, the car made an odd noise and then imploded.
Motley fell forward from the impact. I rushed to help him up, but thankfully, he was okay. “Let’s get out of here,” I groaned as he stood. “Someone might have heard that. And if they heard that, they’re sure to see the smoke. The sun’s going to be up in an hour, and hopefully that’s enough time for everything to burn up. We need to grab our shit from the woods and head back to the camper. Let’s fucking hope no one sees us.” Together, we hurried down the same way we came while sticking to the shadows of the trees to avoid being seen.
It felt like forever before we reached our little spot in the woods. I ruffled through my bag and gave Motley some pants to wear as he threw his shirt back on. We didn’t speak the whole time, pouring water from my bag over our heads as we washed our hair and wiped what was left of Guy’s blood from our skin as we dressed. I was worried how this would be affecting him, but I knew there wasn’t time to talk about it. We needed to get back. Now.
Motley sighed heavily as I tossed my bag over my shoulder and mumbled to him, “We need to go.”
As I turned to head back towards the camper, Motley spun me around. “Kash,” he whispered. I couldn't read the emotion on his face or tell what was going on in his beautiful skull, but I knew it was heavy. “You—you shouldn’t have—” He lowered his head. “I’m so sorry. This is all my fault. All of it.”
I dropped my bag and grabbed his face. “Hey!” He looked at me. “You didn’t do anything wrong. Guy, Xavier, I’d kill them all for you. Fuck, I would do anything for you, Motley.Anything. But I’ll be damned if I let you sit there and think any of this is your fault.” He flashed me a weak smile. “And ifanyoneasks where you were last night or this morning, you were sleeping out by the fire over by the camper. Do you understand me?”
“What about you?” he asked.
“You don’t worry about me. You let me handle this. I will take care of everything. But no matter what, you were alone by the camper. Do you understand me?” He reluctantly nodded. “Good.” I kissed him. “Now, let’s go. The sun will be up soon. We need to get back.” Motley and I collected ourselves and walked back through the woods and towards the camper.
I knew Motley was frightened, but I would rather die than let him go back to jail. And if that meant taking the fall for this, then I would do it in a fucking heartbeat.
Let’s just hope this nightmare ends here. Guy is dead and Xavier is in jail. And that’s how everything needs to stay.
“Alright everyone, buckle up!”Ducky shouted back through the camper. He then put the large vehicle in drive and drove out onto the road.
Motley and I had returned just before everyone woke up. Once they did, they all joined us around the fire until Ducky was ready to leave. He then proceeded to tell everyone that we were leaving today. Talk about luck. Apparently, he and Carmen talked about it last night, and thought that if I returned to the stage, my mood would improve. Little did they know we’d already solved that problem earlier today. So, as instructed, we all loaded up the camper. I even got an opportunity to pull Carmen aside and apologize for how I snapped at José. She hugged me and told me everything was fine, as Motley had apparently already spoken to her and cleared the air once she woke up. It was a huge relief. I then carefully approached her son and apologized. Thankfully, he barely seemed to remember and hugged me. God, I love that kid.
After spending half the day getting ready and loading the camper, we were finally all heading out to our next stop on our tour. Motley and I tried to control our thankful relief, knowing we left all that shit behind us. And for once, things were finally starting to look up for us. About fucking time.
“Get comfy, everyone!” Ducky shouted back. “It’s going to be a good, day-long ride to our next destination. Only stops are for gas!” Carmen played with her son as Motley headed back to the small beds. I sprawled out on the couch and propped my head up against the window. I couldn’t stop smiling. The further we drove from the campsite meant we were that much farther from anyone finding out what we did. We were safe. Motley was safe.
A large black trail of smoke in the distance caught my gaze, and my smile fell. I knew where it was coming from. My stomach tightened as the vehicle began to slow. I looked ahead andnoticed a police car parked off the side of the road. Its lights were flashing and waving us down.
Fuck.
“What the hell?” Ducky slowed to a stop. He opened the door and spoke to the officer for a few minutes. Carmen glanced over, handing José off to the nanny as she approached Ducky.
Fuck, fuck, fuck!
Finally, the officer stepped back, and Ducky returned to the driver’s seat. Carmen grabbed her son and held him close. She locked eyes with me and covered José’s ears. “Apparently, someone tried to torch a half-sunk car, and when the police came to investigate, they found blood! Can you believe it?”
As long as they didn’t find Guy, we’re okay. Everything is okay.
“Thank god you and Motley are okay. I should’ve never made you sleep outside.” She looked back at Ducky and nodded. He put the camper in drive and slowly drove off.
My eyes returned to the window as the color drained from my face. The officer stood, watching the vehicle as it drove past, and locked eyes with me. I didn’t like the look he gave me. Not one bit. And all I wanted was to get as far away from this place as possible.
SIX
KASH
“Now,give it up for my girl!” Twila pranced on stage, dressed in the tightest, shortest leather skirt and off the shoulder shirt that barely covered anything. She was fully dolled up, with her blonde hair full of volume, and her dark eyes popping against that vibrant blue eyeshadow. And, of course, she had her signature cherry-red lipstick on. She rushed to me with a big smile and hugged me tight. I moved my guitar back to hug her and looked right past her hair and straight at Motley. He was twirling his drumsticks and looking right at me. His body glistened under the lights, sweat and pink dye dripping down his body like a goddamn snack. He looked delicious, and by the way he was staring back at me, he was hungry as well.
