I’m not putting up with his crap anymore! I’m done!” Beth yelled to the open sky as she stomped along the jeep trail. She would keep walking for as long and far as she could. Stephen caught up to her, gently grabbing her by the forearm. Beth turned to him and saw that he was studying the dark purple bruises just below where her sweater sleeve ended. There was another on her clavicle and she hoped it was hidden from sight. Her eyes averted to the ground. She breathed shallowly and trembled as he talked.
“Where did you get these? Did he do this to you?” Stephen asked. Beth could see by the way his eyes flashed that he was infuriated but faked a calm composure, for her sake. She didn’t say anything. Stephen placed his hands on her shoulders, willing her to speak.
She looked at him and could feel tears welling up in her eyes. “I got a call this morning from Mike. He said my dad was in a bar fight last night and then disappeared. They haven’t seen him since.”
Beth pulled her sweater sleeves over her cold hands and crossed her arms. “I don’t want to go back home, at least not for a while, anyway. I don’t want to be there when he shows up.”
Beth watched Stephen as he backed up a few steps and unclenched his fists. He sighed, visibly taking in all that she had told him. “Damn. Well, I don’t blame you,” he finally said, although Beth could tell he wanted to say more.
They had been climbing up hill, and when they reached a mountain peak she was able to look back toward Durango, the small city where she grew up and where she had left the bitter atmosphere. He had another one of his episodes again, just before he had taken off for the bar, bursting through her bedroom door and began throwing pieces of furniture at her, yelling, “Stay away from me! Don’t come any closer!”
Beth shivered as she remembered every hit, every object that went sailing through the room towards her. “Dad, stop! It’s me. No one is going to hurt you. Please,” she had cried, with arms extended in front of her. After her pleading, her dad stopped, wide-eyed. She watched him as his eyes came back to the present. He bent his head over into his hands and left her room.
Beth stared blankly towards the mountainous landscape as she relived that moment. She knew her dad lived a lifetime full of trauma, but she never knew what about, since he was always so unavailable—emotionally, but often physically, too. Where was it that he went? Her poor dad. It was as if something dark overcame him and he was trapped inside, completely helpless. She could see it in his eyes, and each time it happened, he would grow worse and worse. Beth ached for the day he would receive professional help and relief—it would help give her some sort of closure before she moved out of the house. Not to mention it would take off some of the blame she felt for his behavior, for whatever reason. One day hopefully soon he would get help, and she would be there to witness it.
The voice of her friend took Beth back to the present. “Well, that’s why you have us to carry you away!” Celeste chirped, her arms extended as she hopped towards Beth, in attempt to make her smile “…into the great San Juan Mountains!” Celeste’s voice echoed amidst the gorges and snowcapped mountaintops. The beaded boho bracelets all along her arms jingled in the breeze.
It was clear that Beth’s friends had indeed taken her away from a bubble of insanity that was about to burst, and into a spacious forest. Although vast, wide, and unpredictable, she was certain there wasn’t anything worse out here than what she would face at home. Beth held the straps of her backpack and grinned back at Celeste, as a thank you.
They continued to hike up the jeep trail. “You guys still haven’t told me where we’re hiking to, yet,” she said as she turned back to look at Stephen, Celeste, and Palmer. Palmer was Celeste’s boyfriend, who was just as wild and adventurous as she was. Stephen, on the other hand, was more reserved and still somewhat of a mystery to her. He and Beth weren’t an item, or at least yet. That had been Celeste’s goal when she’d invited Stephen to join them on this unexpected venture.
“That’s because I don’t know myself,” said Celeste, brushing her hands along the tall, golden grass. “I thought it’d be fun to go where it feels good, or until we get lost.”
Stephen interjected and reassured Beth. “We won’t wander too far. Think of this weekend as sort of a refresher, a time to get away from things and think about what’s next,” he said, eyes locking with Beth’s as he walked beside her. “Don’t worry right now—just enjoy. But know that when you do go back home, I’ll be with you.” He nudged her shoulder with his and she smiled back at him, grateful for his company.
Later that evening, the group arrived at a spot in the woods with an opening in the tree tops, perfect for stargazing. Beth slid off her backpack and dug through it to find her fuel canister. “I’ll start dinner if you want to set up the tents,” she told the others, fishing for several bags of beef chili mac, one of her favorite trail foods.
“What? We don’t get a choice tonight?” asked Celeste, smiling.
“The chef chooses the specialty! If you don’t like it, more chili for me,” Beth said, searching for a lighter.
Palmer handed her one from his pocket. “Just admit that’s the only flavor you packed,” he said, laughing.
“Not entirely,” responded Beth, waving her wooden spoon at him. As the three conversed, Stephen turned over his pack and out came pieces of the tent. Beth watched as he reached over to pick up the stakes, his foot slipping clumsily on something slick underneath the leaves and snow. He brushed the leaves away with his hand and to her surprise, revealed a train track.
“Whoa, guys. Look. Don’t you think it’s a little odd to see train track this far out? I mean, I know where all the Durango railroads go, and this isn’t a part of it.
Palmer looked down at it. “Looks old,” he said, not appearing very interested. He walked off nearby and dumped his own backpack.
“Better not set up camp on that,” Beth said, worst case scenarios running through her mind.
“Yeah. You better train your eye to look elsewhere,” said Celeste, slapping her hand to her knee. Stephen rolled his eyes and joined Palmer. They picked up the pace to get the tent up, as the night was creeping in.
Read the full story: https://www.wattpad.com/975682582-the-train-by-emily-winter
(The Train by Emily Winter)