4

“Oh, hey there, honey.” Andy greets her when he notices her approaching them. “I would like for you to come over her and meet someone really quick. This is Nate Matthews. Nate, this is my perfect wife, Lacey.”

“Oh, sure..” Lacey says, as she reaches the passenger side of the car. “Um, hi. It is nice to meet you, Mr. Matthews.”

“It is really nice to meet you as well, ma'am.” The man says in a pleasant enough tone accompanied by a friendly smile. “Please, though, call me Nate.”

Lacey looks him over and at first glance, he appears to be normal. He is wearing a pair of straight leg denim jeans and a maroon sweater beneath an older style black leather jacket, that looks like it has seen better days.. He has neatly combed black hair that is brushed into a slicked down part. He has piercing blue eyes that watch everything with a somber intenseness. He has a clean shaven face and he is what many consider handsome, Lacey supposes.

Although standing next to her husband, it is quite a stark contrast between the two. One is medium build, thin and has no frill to his look. The other is taller, built more muscular and just has a shining personality, that comes through in the way he carries himself. Andy is like a light that can't be hidden, while Mr. Matthews is like a pretty home that alway has the curtains pulled and no lights on. You always end up wondering if anyone actually lives there. 

Lacey prefers Andy by far. Andy is wearing pressed tan colored slacks and a cream colored sweater. With his smiling eyes and bushy beard, he looks like a big teddy bear of a man. He smiles, revealing his beautiful teeth and it is like the sun coming out on a rainy day.

His whole aura is that of a warm fire on a cold winter night. Nate is the embodyment of a cold chill. There is something about him that makes you want to take a step back, despite his friendly smile. He does not seem to be approachable in the least. It is his eyes, Lacey thinks to himself. His mouth smiles but his eyes do not. If it is true that eyes are the window to the soul, then his sould must be a cold, bleak thing because his eyes remain as empty as a church parking lot on a Thursday morning.

At first glance, he does not appear to be a crazy person, but after the day that Lacey has had, she did not feel that she could be sure. Looks can be deceiving. But she has other things to worry about at the moment. Like where did he come from anyways? There were still no cars anywhere to be seen in the parking lot. Andy must notice his wife's expression as she scanned their surroundings, because he answers her unspoken question.

“Nate's car is back down the road a ways. He was just telling me about how he had been run off of the road by a reckless driver-”

“Like we were?” Lacey asks, surprised to hear this.

“Yes, but he faired far worse than we had. His vehicle spun off of the road and crashed into the trees. He does not have a cellphone or anything so he had to walk here through the freezing rain to try to find help. He used the payphone to call emergency services but the dispatcher told him that it could be a while before anyone responded since there were multiple reports of wrecks coming in. There was a five vehicle accident with a rollover car and people were trapped inside. The radio reported fatalities.”

“Oh no.” Lacey says with watery eyes. The thought of anyone losing their life breaks her heart.

“So the police are otherwise occupied at the moment. All local personel, as well as neighboring towns police and state police are responding to the wrecks, as well as any and all other calls coming in.” Nate speaks up. "I am looking at a really long wait. The dispatcher took my name and told me that they would get someone out to me as soon as they can."

“So Nate was wondering if we could possibly give him a ride down the street. He does not really want to wait here for the whole evening until someone finally shows up, since there is no way of knowing how long it could take for someone to actually be able respond. With all the other accidents, he is considered to be a low priority.” Andy tells his wife with a smile. 

He is already speaking as if it is a forgone conclusion that they will be giving the man a ride. Yet, that is not something that Lacey wants to do, although. She can feel sorry for the man for what he went through, she does not know hot that became their problem.

The thought of picking up a stranger and putting him in the car with her children just does not sit right with Lacey, but she is not sure how to decline politely. Trying to think up a valid excuse, she says in a regretful tone. “Our car is pretty full.”

“I won't need much space.” Nate says and Lacey frowns at his apparent pushyness.

“We can make room for him, honey. I can put the cooler and everything else in the trunk. We will scoot Sunny over into the middle seat and he can seat there, behind me. It will be fine.” Andy tells Lacey, sounding as if he had already made up his mind to give the stranger a ride, whether or not Lacey wanted to. In fact, he had.

“If you can't give me a ride, then it is okay. I understand. I can walk back to my car-” The man leaves the words hanging, in what Lacey is certain is an attempt to make them feel sorry for him or to feel bad about not helping. He is playing the poor, helpless victim card and his martyrdom is beginning to tick Lacey off.

“No, no. There will be no need for that. No one should have to sit in this cold, nasty weather like that. Besides, the maniac could come back at any moment and then who knows what he would do. We will certainly give you a ride to somewhere else.” Andy tells the man. Decision made, just like that. As if she has no say in the matter. As if they are not suppose to be a partnership, Lacey silently fumes.

Lacey knows that it is the holiday season, a time for love and joy. Being kind to others and showing love is a major theme this time of year, but after the day they have had on this trip from Hell, she is not exactly feeling charitable towards her fellow man. Yes, she feels bad that the man is in this situation, but that does not mean that they have to be the ones to help him.

Giving her husband a hard look, she hopes that he picks up on what she is silently trying to convey to him. If he does notice, it does not seem to faze him because he continues on in the same vain, discussing driving conditions and road directions as if she is not even there. As if she is not glaring hard at him. That only serves to annoy her further.

The man tells Andy that he is not from around this area and that he  managed to get lost in the dark, through the rain and snow. Andy, of course, told him how they had that same exact problem, when coming through the detour. Lacey stood there in the cold, growing increasingly more agitated as the conversation progressed. Freezing rain continued to come down around them, making her shiver as she sees little patches of ice forming on objects around her.

“Can I talk to you for a moment?” Lacey asks her husband suddenly, interrupting their conversation with a bite in her voice that she did not try to disguise. With a feigned regretful look, she adds for Nate's benefit. “Privately.”

“Um, yeah. We can move over-” Andy begins but Lacey cuts him off.

“If you will just give us a second, please. We would appreciate it.” She says to Nate. She is not moving away from the car with her kids in it and leaving him there, where he can do anything he wants. Hell no. He can move away and give them some pivacy. Lacey does not know this man, she most certainly does not trust the man and she isn't going to pretend to.

“Yes, of course. I will just go over here for a bit.” Nate says, in what Lacey feels is a tight tone but judging by Andy's continued smile, he must not have heard anything amiss. Maybe she was reading something into the situation that wasn't there or maybe she was just more intuitive than her husband was.

Once Nate has walked a small piece away, Lacey comes around to Andy's side of the vehicle to lean over and whisper to him. “I do not think that we need the extra headache of trying to help him right now. It was bad enough that we-”

“Headache?” Andy repeats, sounding surprised by her use of the word. “Since when do you find it such an imposition to help someone who is in need? Honey, your whole chosen career is built around helping out strangers that you feel need your help. It never crossed my mind that you mght not want to help this poor man out. Especially since it is here at the holidays. And because it could have just as easily been us in his place in this situation.”

Lacey was beginning to get tired of hearing the phrase 'here at the holidays' as they have said it a million times today, it seems. Whether it is Christmas Eve or a random Tuesday in June, Lacey still doubts that she would want to pick up Nate.

It might have been the taxing events of the day that has her worked up but Lacey is beginning to doubt it. She thinks that it is just him. Nate. Everything about him sets her on edge and she gets a bad feeling whenever she looks at him.

“You are right. I do love to help people in need. I try to be a kind, caring person who is good to others. But lending an ear to a person sent to me by the local police officers, social workers or by our trusted pastor, is one thing. I trust their judgement that they would never put me in harms way. Besides, in those instances, I am alone. If there is a threat of danger than I am the only one to get hurt. Picking up a total stranger on the street and putting him in the car with my babies, is a whole other matter entirely.” Lacey tells him.

“Besides all of that, we are already running so incredibly late that it isn't even funny. We need to get going if we want to have any hope of making it to Minnesota in time to be with the family for Christmas.” Lacey glances at the watch on her wrist that reads twelve after seven.

“What are we even going to do with him? Isn't he suppose to be waiting for the police to arrive? Is he even suppose to leave the scene of a crime, or whatever. But I am not sure what the game plan is here. We are trying to leave North Dakota. Does he think that he is going with us to Minnesota? Because we don't have the time to go out of our way taking him somewhere else. Have either of you thought of that?”

“To be honest, no. No, I did not give it that much thought. I saw a man in need of my help and I thought that it was my duty as a self proclaimed 'good person' to offer him help, since I am in a position to do so. Because I would want someone to offer me help if I was in his position. But I had no idea that my wife, who is usually the kindest woman that I know, would begrudge a stranger in need a helping hand.” Andy tells her with a frown.

“I am not begrudging the man help, Andy!” Lacey snaps at her husband, getting more and more upset by the second. He is trying to guilt her and make her feel bad for how she feels. That is wrong and she doesn't appreciate it. “I am merely trying to be practical.” One of us has to be, she wanted to add, but knew that it would only serve to start an argument between them, which is the last thing that she wants to do at the moment. Things are bad enough, as is.

“Practical.” Andy scoffs.

Just as Lacey is about to ask what he means by that, he cuts off her words by speaking once more. “If you want to leave the man here, stranded in the below freezing temperatures and the freezing rain, then we will. We are not obligated to help anyone, so we won't.It's your call whether we help him or leave him here.”

"No, it isn't. You made up your mind that you were giving him a ride long before you even gave me a thought. I had no say in the matter at all." 

"So, you don't want to give the guy a ride because I didn't ask you first, before I offered to help him. This is about you needing to feel in charge of the situation?" Andy asks her and she feels anger building up inside of her.

“That is not what I am saying!”

“Seems like it to me.” Andy says, turning away from her.

"That's because you aren't freaking listening!" Lacey snaps at him. Suddenly she deflates, all of the anger draining from her in a rush. “You know what? Fine. Whatever. Give the stranger a ride. I will call Mom and tell her that we will be even later getting there, if we even make it there at all!” Lacey says warily, before she moves back around to the passenger side of the car.

“Alright, well let's clear a spot for you, Nate.” Andy calls out, opening the back door. He got the man's attention and Lacey tenses as Nate slowly approaches the vehicle once more. As horrible as it might sound, she does begrudge this man help. She is ready to get to her mother's house and go to bed. Nothing sounds better than putting this increasingly horrific day behind her.

I hate this! Lacey wanted to scream at her husband, but she stayed quiet, merely watching as he gathered the toys and the cooler to put in the trunk of the vehicle. Then he had their daughter scoot into the middle seat and fasten her seat belt. Lacey leaned into the front seat to grab her purse that was sitting in the floor.

Lacey could tell that the little girl wasn't a fan of having a stranger next to her, but she was trying to be polite. She just edged as close to her brother as she could get and she closed her eyes, to try to pretend to be asleep. Not that Lacey blamed her one bit. She was so very angry at her husband for putting them in this situation.

“Actually, Nate, why don't you ride up front with Andy, where you will be more comfortable? I will ride back there, since it's a tight squeeze. I am sure your legs could use the extra room, after that walk.” Lacey says, before she comes around the car once again.

Lacey is uncomfortable with him, but she won't let her daughter feel the same way. Scooting into the seat beside Sunny, she playfully pokes the little girl in the side. She is rewarded with a beautiful, beaming smile, which she returns. Sunny lays her head on her mother's arm and Lacey strokes her hair in a soothing gesture. Sunny lays her hands on Lacey's leg, wanting to be close to her.

Once they were all in the vehicle, with Nate seated in the front seat, his legs stretched out in front of him as if he owns the car, Andy pulls out of the gas station parking lot. Lacey is looking over at her children to make sure that they have everything they need.

Sunny was pressed against Lacey's side, playing with small hole in the hem of her jumper. As Lacey watches, the little girl puts her pinky finger through it and then wiggles the digit. Lacey smiles at the child's antics, amused by her.

Normally she would probably tell the little girl not to make the hole any bigger than it already is, but right now she chooses not to admonish the child. Whatever entertains her for even a second is fine with Lacey. Let the child get what little fun she could out of this car ride. Hell, Lacey is beginning to envy her the distraction.

Jack was crammed against the door, with his CD player resting on his lap, with the headphones laying on top and the cord wrapped around it to hold it in place. His game boy also lays on hips lap beside the music player, turned off. Lacey reached across the seat to lay her hand on his head and he turns to give her a smile. She winks at him and his smile widens into a grin. Satisified that they both seemed to be doing okay with the whole of the situation, Lacey was turning around to face the front when her eyes landed on Nate.

He was sitting straight up in his seat with his hands folded neatly in his lap. At some point in the ride, he had pulled down the visor and angled it so that the mirror was at just the right angle to allow him to look at her, because when she looked in that direction, she met his eyes directly. He was staring intently at her, apparently having been watching her without her knowledge. His gaze was unwavering and so intense that it sent a chill down her spine, as he gazed into the mirror without distraction. 

Turning away from his gaze quickly, she tilted her head to rest it on the window as she stared out into the inky darkness that blankets all around them. But it was as if she could still feel his eyes on her, burning into her skin, capturing her awareness. The feeling was unpleasant and she lad long since grown uncomfortable beneath his probing stare. 

Chancing a quick glance back towards the pasenger seat, she meets his eyes once more. Okay, yeah, he is definitely staring at me, she thinks to herself. Why is he watching her? What about her does he seemingly find so darn fascinating that he can not manage to look away for even a moment? Why does he even have the visor down?

Also, how did her husband miss that little detail? It is pitch black dark and the sun is not even shining outside, so what is he trying to block out? But for once, Andy is acting completely out of character and not paying the least bit of attention to his surroundings or the going-ons of those around him.

Lacey is determined that she is going to make Andy see just exactly how weird and concerning that this guy's behavior is. Reaching up between the driver's seat and the door, she lays her hand on her husband's broad shoulder, trying to appear casual as she looks out of the window ahead.

When he turns to give her a surprised smile, she can only make out the side of his profile. When he does not glance at her again, she sighs in defeat, realizing that she has failed to properly get his attention. He probably thinks that she was merely trying to apologise for their harsh exchange of words earlier, wanting to bit the hard feelings behind them. It probably never even crossed his mind that she might be trying to get his attention to convey to him how creeped out she is by his new little friend.

Without turning to face the man in the passenger seat, Lacey asks Nate in a firm, unfriendly tone. “So Mr. Matthews, where was it that you were wanting to stay as you wait for the police to arrive? Did you happen to have an idea in mind? Somewhere that you wanted us to take you?”

“Oh, um, I don't really know where I want to go. There was mention of a motel a good piece down the road, that I thought sounded like a good option for the evening, considering I have no idea when the police will show up. Besides, my car is still wrecked, so I can't exactly move along on my way without my vehicle.” Nate says in a quiet tone of voice.

Even his way of speaking grates on her nerves. The quiet, whisper soft tone feeling fake and contrived to her. It feels as if he is talking softly for her benefit so as not to spook her and she is not sure why, but she finds it demeaning, as if he were talking down to her.

Lacey has no idea what is wrong with her today, because normally she was a very sweet person who liked everyone that she met until given a major reason not to like them any longer. She was a kind, friendly person and she never minded helping anyone that was in need. But there was something about Nate that bothered her greatly. She could not put her finger on it, because he had not done anything to give her a reason to dislike him, but yet she did dislike him. Immensely.

“I guess that what I am wondering is just how far away is 'a good piece down the road' exactly? One mile, five miles or a hundred? Is there a way to narrow that answer down and be a bit more specific?” Lacey asks Nate, not even trying to keep the bite from her tone. She wants a definitive answer, down to the miles and minutes away. She does not want him in her car any longer than he has to be.

Andy shoots her a warning look over his shoulder, which Lacey chooses to ignore. She does not care one bit at this point if he finds her questions to be rude or not. She is not trying to make friends with this man. She is trying to get him squared away for the evening in a suitable palce so that they may be on their merry way. She does not have to be all buddy, buddy with him. 

Now with that being said, she is not going to go out of her way to be mean to him or to mistreat him. She does not have it in her to be mean or deliberately cruel to someone. But she is frustrated with this situation that she was forced into and at times, she does not mind showing it when she feels that the situation warrants it. She can only hide her true feelings for so long. Now, she is not even trying to. She wants both of those mean to know just how upset she is that they forced her hand on the matter.

“I am not really sure. A couple of miles or so, I would think. Maybe eight, at the most.” Nate responds, and Andy nods, as if that answer is perfectly acceptable. As if they have all the time in the world to play taxi service to this man. Hell, he could probably ask Andy to drive him on down to Key West, Florida and Andy would head on out, charting a course for the bottom of the country.

Lacey stops talking after she comes to the conclusion that nothing she says is apparently going to faze Andy or change his mind. He has it in his head to help this man and he is not going to change his mind any time soon, despite the fact that she is clearly uncomfortable with the situation.

There were approximately three street lights shining in the area by the gas station. Those lights illuminated the road for maybe three hundred yards or so, until they moved out of range of it's dull, yellowish glow. Now the pitch black night has decended once more and the road is ice covered and ominous. The interior of the car is now substantially darker and quieter, as the conversation between them has stalled.

Lacey feels a nudge at her side and she looks down to find her little girl looking up at her with a frown. Sunny reaches up to pull Lacey's head down so that the child can whisper quietly in her mother's ear. “I don't like that man, mommy. He is weird and he won't stop looking at you.”

Lacey nods at her and then smiles, leaning forward to kiss her daughter's soft cheek. Before she pulls away, she rushes out a hushed whisper. “Just don't look at him, precious. It's okay. Maybe I remind him of someone and he is struck by the likeness.”

Sunny gives a curt nod, before she somberly lays her head over and closes her eyes once more, as if she were going to sleep. Lacey lays her hand on the little girl's knee and leaves it there, to offer her a modicum of comfort. Even her six year old daughter is made uncomfortable by this creepy man and is unsettling behavior. Andy needs to get his shit together and pay attention to is family and their feelings. Lacey is about to tell him to do exactly that the first chance that she gets.

Leaning forward, she moves to her husband's left ear, the one farthest from Nate and whispers. “You need to let him out of this car. Now. As soon as possible. I do not give a dang what you have to do or say, but get him out of this car. You can pull over on the side of the road or you can drop him off at the first building you come to, your choice. But get him out of here or else the children and will be the ones leaving this vehicle and all you will be left with is Nate.”

Andy does not nod to awknowledge that he heard her words. He shows no sign at all that he is taking what he said seriously. Instead he speaks to Nate about this motel that the man had mentioned, trying to get the name of it. Lacey does not know if he is trying to find out for a specific reason or if he is just making polite conversation, but she is done waiting on him. Nate is not giving them any answers and she wants him out of this vehicle. Now.

She spares him a glance to find his eyes still on her and it is the last straw for her. Leaning back up to her husband, she hisses in his ear,

“I am fucking serious!”