Chapter 2 - the ride

Sarah had spent her whole life in West Rivers. She was 29 and unlike many of the town’s residents, she had managed to graduate high school, but that was it. It wasn’t that she wasn’t smart enough for college, she was, but poverty holds you back like nothing else.

She had made mistakes in life, and had bad taste in men, but she wasn’t using anymore, at least nothing more than marijuana these days, and in that regard, she was doing better than most everyone else her age in town. For years she been pretty strung out on coke, amphetamines, and anything else she could get her hands on, but she had been clean now for over 2 years and she was better off for it, albeit a lot heavier because of it. She stood 5’5 and when she had been using, she weighed just 135. Since getting clean she had gained 77 pounds, much of it in her hips, ass, and thighs, but much more than she wanted in her tummy. She had been dieting and dropped 7 pounds so far, but it was slow going, she had the kind of body that liked being bigger rather than smaller, at least that’s what her friend told her. She had been waiting tables at local dinner and living with her on again, mostly off-again, boyfriend Charlie. Charlie was a piece of shit by any measure. He had trouble holding a job, was an addict, and could be violent. Half the town’s businesses had banned him for stealing. She was cute and knew she could do better, well do better if she was anywhere else but West Rivers. West Rivers was like a blackhole, hard to escape.

That morning her and Charlie had been fighting all morning long about money, he had blown through all her tips that week on alcohol and pills. She had been worried he was about to hit her when the attendant came out and ran Charlie off.

She sized up the man staring at her beside the gas pump. He was about her age, maybe a year or two older. Clean cut, well dressed, a bit of a nerd vibe, and driving what looked like a new BMW – the kind of car only an exec for the chicken processing company shows up to town in and that it was she assumed the man was.

Sarah saw the man just staring at her and the realized she was all hanging out of her yoga pants from being shoved. Embarrassed, she quickly pulled up her pants and asked him, “Where are you going? That piece of shit just left me here. I need a ride.”

“The Pinedale Airport, I am flying home from there.”, he replied.

“Good, I have a girlfriend there I can stay with a few days. Can you drop off there on your way?”, Sarah asked.

The man looked at her without saying anything for a few seconds. “Um..sure.”

Not wanting to give him a chance to change his mind, the woman jumped into the passenger seat of the man’s BMW.

He got into the car and stared at her a moment before blurting out, “I’m Andrew.”

“I am Sarah.”
“Are you from here Sarah?”, Andrew asked as they pulled onto the road.

“Is anyone here not from here? I mean other than plant execs like you.”, she replied sarcastically.

“I am not a plant exec, I sell agricultural drugs.”, he said.

“For chickens?”, she asked.

“Yes.”, he replied.

“Was that your husband?”, he asked.

“No.”

“Any kids?”, he asked.

“Fuck no.”

God, this nerd is boring Sarah thought as they drove out of town. He didn’t say anything more, and she was too bored with him to ask any more questions, so she just looked down at her iPhone as they drove over the ridge outside of town and down into the Ozark forests.

A few minutes later he reached down into the center console between them and quickly pulled something out. A second later she felt a prick in her thigh. “What the fuc…” she exclaimed just the world went black for her.





When Sarah opened her eyes, she was on a large soft bed. She looked around not knowing where she was. She sat up, feeling a little dizzy, and saw a large platter of pastries on bed next to her.