Chapter 4 #2
My first stop the next morning is CVS. I pick up a box of garbage bags for packing purposes, then I hit the hair aisle.
I’ve always wanted crazy hair, and I’m done letting things like looking professional stop me. Plus, without a job to go to, I have all the time in the world to mess with my hair.
One box of bleach and one box of something called Euphoric Pink later, I’m headed back to the apartment.
I pack clothes into a laundry basket, a worn-out duffel bag, and a tote from the shelter as the bleach sits on a strand of my hair. The original plan was for a full head of pink, but I’m starting small. No need to accidentally make all my hair fall out.
My limited packing supplies fill up quickly, and then I move on to garbage bags to hold the remainder of my possessions.
I don’t have a ton of clothes, since you don’t need anything fancy to work with animals, and it doesn’t take long.
I’m loading the last of my pajamas into a bag when the timer goes off.
The hair doesn’t fall out, to my great relief. It’s a bright, pale color against the rest of my dark hair. I cover the platinum streak with Euphoric Pink.
The box says to leave the dye on for thirty minutes. It’s only been five by the time I tie the top of the second garbage bag.
I look around my room, surveying the bare mattress and empty closet.
None of this ever felt like mine because it wasn’t.
Not really. I never even hung pictures on the wall.
The two framed photos I have—one of me and Allie, the other of my family at the small ski resort near High Lonesome—are safely packed away in my truck already.
Spam barks at my feet.
“You want pink hair, too?” I ask him.
I’m not sure it would work out well. His fur is dark. Plus, the bleach kind of burned, and while we didn’t cover recreational hair dying in my animal science classes in college, I imagine that it’s not all that safe.
I look it up online just to see. Yep, no using human hair dye on pets. But there is a link for dog-safe dye, and I follow that rabbit hole until the timer goes off just in time to prevent me from ordering a box of blue dye for Spam.
The pink is perfect.
I move my head from side to side, admiring the pink streak in the rearview mirror.
“We’re off, Spam!” I say to my copilot.
He curls into a ball on the passenger seat.
All my worldly possessions are in the bed of my truck. My new best friend is sitting next to me. I have a new hot-pink streak in my hair and a new outlook on life.
Here we go.
My parents have always told me that I’m welcome to come visit them anytime, but I figure I should give them a heads-up. I start the truck and call them, still parked.
Both of their cell phones go straight to voicemail, suggesting that they’re turned off. I dial their home number instead. It rings three times before Mom’s melodic voice comes through my speaker.
“You’ve reached the Kelley residence. We’re out of town on a cruise! Please leave a message, and we’ll get back to you when we return on September fourth.”
They went on a cruise without telling me? Definitely wouldn’t have predicted that.
I end the call as the beep sounds.
Aside from the fact that my parents just broadcasted their plans to be out of town to any thief who calls their house, I was counting on staying there.
Shaking off the temporary setback, I put the truck in gear and pull out of the parking space.
I may not have been back to HiLo in years, but I’m confident that I can work this out.
My parents usually leave a key hidden beneath a rock near their porch, and they won’t mind if I let myself in to stay there for a while.
And if I can’t find it, there’s always Dylan. Or the motel. Or even Nate.
Yes, I know he said that if I want him as my date, I should stay with him, but that seems like a big step when we haven’t seen one another in so long. Plus, I’m not sure he was serious.
I push away the automatic urge to overthink things. This is going to work out. Things always do, one way or another.
That’s what Nate always said, and it seems like for him, it’s been true.
Thinking about him tickles the back of my mind. I want to see Nate.
I’ve avoided him for years because it hurt too much to see him. I didn’t respond to his texts, and I stopped visiting HiLo. It was a reminder of everything I messed up.
But this is a new Rory. One who isn’t scared of letting the past dictate her future.
And maybe this can be a new beginning, one where I fix some of those things. I can’t change the past, but I can try to make things right.
For starters, I should let Nate know I’m coming to town today.
At a stoplight, I scroll through my contacts to Nate’s number and hit Call just as the light turns green. It rings several times before it goes to voicemail.
“This is Nate Patterson. Leave a message, and I’ll get back to you.” A long beep follows.
Do people leave voicemails anymore? I never listen to mine. I’m not even sure how to access them. But I’m driving, so this has to do for now.
“Hey, Nate, this is Rory. I’m heading up to High Lonesome. I…just wanted to let you know I’m headed there.” Crap. I said that already. “Anyway, I should be up there in a couple hours. I’ll talk to you soon.”
I end the call and turn onto the on-ramp for I-70, the main highway through Denver that leads up into the mountains. Once I settle into a lane of traffic, Allie is next on the to-call list.
“Hello?” Her voice sounds harried when she answers, and I wince slightly.
I always feel bad bothering her at work, but she’s always working.
“Hey. Am I interrupting something?” I ask, merging into the center lane.
“No, no, I’m just working on something. It can wait. How’s it going? Did you decide about the reunion?”
“Yeah. I, uh… There’s a lot going on. I’m heading up to High Lonesome now.” I need Allie’s take on all of this, but maybe not while I’m driving.
“Now? I thought the reunion wasn’t for like two weeks.”
I swallow hard. “It is. My life is going to hell, though. I was going up to stay with my parents, but they’re out of town, so…”
“What?” Allie’s voice gets louder, like she’s dropped everything to focus on this conversation. “What happened? Do you need me to come down there?”
I laugh weakly. “No, but thanks for offering, babe. To catch you up, after Finn dumped me, I lost my job, and my roommate is moving out, so I ended the lease because I can’t afford the place on my own. I’m just going to reset up in HiLo for a while.”
“Where are you staying? With Dylan?”
I take a deep breath. “I’m going to see if my parents’ spare key is still hidden around the porch somewhere. If not, it’ll probably be with Dylan or maybe at the motel. Or…I might stay with Nate.”
She’s silent for a minute. “Are you sure? I mean, I think you should talk to him at the reunion. But there’s a lot of history between you, and it’s been a long time. I don’t want either of you to get hurt.”
Someone says something in the background.
“Yeah, just a minute,” Allie says to them. “Babes, I have to go, but I’ll call you back the minute I can, okay?”
She hangs up, and I focus on the road ahead as I think about life. I broke up with Nate because I didn’t want to hold him back. My dreams of living in High Lonesome seemed too small for him, and finding out about my parents just reinforced that I had to let him go.
Maybe it’s too late for us now, but I owe it to him to explain.
I stop in Idaho Springs for gas and some fast food—and to let Spam relieve himself so he doesn’t tinkle in my passenger seat—and pull out my phone to see if Nate responded.
I swipe open the screen to see a collection of texts, indicating that he got my voicemail.
Nate
You’re welcome anytime.
If you don’t want to stay with me all the way until the reunion, I get it, but at least stop by when you get into town. Please.
18 North 4th Street.
I’ll see you soon.