Ok, so it's short...sorry, but here is a new chapter...
Chapter 10:
“Alright,” She said, wiping her hands free of grease. “Here’s the low-down on your car. You burned out the radiator. You also had a blown head gasket. I’ve given both a temporary fix, cause it’s not like we keep ’68 Mustang parts here on the off chance you’ll be driving through. But she’ll get you back to LA. Or, depending on how long you’re planning on being unreachable from your brothers, she should make it to a nearby big city so you can get the parts she needs.”
“So, that’s it?” I felt like…I dunno what I felt like, but it felt like a good time for letting out a really big sigh. So, I did. She looked at me funny, but handed me some papers. “And this is?”
“Your bill.” She smiled. I flipped through the paperwork, not really paying attention, that is, not until I saw the final total…$4,972.68. I couldn’t believe it…for a temporary fix?!?!?!?!?!?! I looked back and forth between Zee and the papers I held in my hand.
“What the hell is this?” I couldn’t help getting mad. For the almost thirty hours I’d known Zee, I felt myself falling for her.
“It’s…”
“It’s a freaking rip off, that’s what it is!!! I can’t believe it! Do you charge everyone this much, or just me cause you know I can afford it???” I snatched my wallet from my jeans and grabbed the first credit card I came across. I thrust it at her. She wore a look that crossed somewhere between being surprised and being hurt. Well, I was the one hurt. I’d been too busy enjoying myself that I’d ignored the signs that I was obviously nothing but a business transaction to her.
She ran my card, I signed the paperwork, and took the keys to my car, all without a single word spoken between the two of us. And with that, I took off, and headed home.
The drive back to LA was pretty uneventful. If you consider that I panicked with every little sound my car made, thinking it…er-she was going to collapse on me again. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not that I didn’t have faith in Zee’s work. I did. I just didn’t feel like having to give up my last arm and leg for another car bill.
