63 Days

For Kady Wood:
Morning came and I realized that I was still in the hotel room. The curtains let only a sliver of light through, but it was shining directly on my face. I could smell the musty cigarette smell all around me, the scent of thousands of guests here at the Tropicana. The clock said [...]

The back seat of the police car was cold, vinyl. Eddie sat next to me, his hands in front of him in handcuffs. I sat with my back against the seat and my hands were as well in handcuffs in front of me. He looked at me with fear.
“I’m sorry” I [...]

I cried and cried when I saw his name on the business card. What were the odds of this happening? Different thoughts were going through my mind. Sometimes I’d feel relieved that we’d taken the Barnettes car because they knew my family, whom I missed. Other times I felt more guilt knowing that I’d hurt [...]

Liz, her sister Amelia and their best friend Brenda pulled into the parking lot of the Ramada and got out. They were in Salt Lake City, Utah for a conference for seminary teachers. Checking in was quick, and they were tired. It was around 8 oclock and they’d been driving for 6 hours. Showers, food [...]

Sleep came quickly. I slept sitting up, my head resting on the window, pillow on my lap. I was holding onto it tightly when I woke up, gripping it with white hands. Nobody else was in the car. I glanced out the window and saw the 3 other girls standing in the lake, kicking water [...]

It’s funny how you can smell a friendly place even before you get there. I was sitting dizzy in the back of Kathy’s car and we were pulling up into her driveway when I smelled it. It smelled familiar, like her house, like the place I’d gone over to hang out and listen to music…talk [...]

Cramps tore through my body as we made the slow 2 hour drive from St. George to Las Vegas. Natalie kept the driver happy by asking him questions about which button and knob did what in the cab of the semi-truck. He explained everything in detail, and as they yapped it up, I was pulling [...]

Every turn was making me sick. It wasn’t the constant back and forth as we turned this waaaaaay, then thaaaaat way…it was the paranoia that was creeping up the back of my neck just like the cold breeze coming from the rear window that was cracked. I’d peek into the darkness that [...]

Inside the cabin, the air was musty. A layer of dust coated the back of the couch that was covered by a Native American printed throw blanket made of scratchy looking wool. There was a small kitchen that was attached to the family room, and off of that was a hallway with a bathroom and [...]