After two hours on the road, they were still stuck in the city. Ethan was frustrated and hot; Marty's car had no air conditioning. His girlfriend threw him unfriendly looks as they crawled along at a snail's pace—barely 100 meters in 15 minutes. Cassie tried to make conversation with the family of three to lighten the mood. Only Marty responded, and even then, only perfunctorily.
"There's a gas station. I need to buy something to refresh myself," Cassie said, pointing at a road sign.
"We can't stop. We have to leave the city before we do anything," Mia said, speaking for the first time since getting into the car.
Cassie rolled her eyes. "I don't care. I want a soda. A cold soda. We are going to the gas station," she insisted.
"I told you no," Mia screamed. She had been on edge since they left the apartment, constantly scanning for any sign of Patrick. Although he hadn't shown up yet, she felt unsafe and wanted to leave the city. Stopping at a gas station seemed like a terrible idea—it might allow Patrick to catch up with them.
"Listen, lady. I really don't care what you wish for. My man is driving. If I tell him to stop, he will stop. You should have let your husband drive if you wanted to dictate where we go," Cassie retorted, refusing to tolerate Mia's attitude. They would be in the same car for days; they had to learn to compromise.
"Marty..." Ethan tried to intervene, but Marty cut him off.
"Marty, my man, it's just a stop at the gas station. It won't take hours." Ethan took the exit to the gas station despite the couple's protests.
Ethan parked the car and went to the counter with Cassie. The family of three followed them inside.
"What the hell is wrong with them?" Cassie hissed, pulling Ethan closer.
"I don't know. Marty wasn't like this before."
"Idiot. I'm not talking about him. I'm talking about his wife and kid. She looks scared as hell, and the kid looks creepy."
"Well, you're not wrong."
"That kid hasn't moved or talked since we met them. At first, he wasn't even standing. He looks like a corpse. His eyes are vacant. If I didn't see his chest rising and falling, I would have called the cops."
"Don't talk like that. It's not that bad." Ethan was embarrassed, having not told Cassie about the family's situation.
"Look at the kid! He's creepy." She gestured toward the family with exasperation.
"FUCK!" Ethan shouted as he lost his grip on a glass bottle from the shelves. He knew what Cassie was talking about. Ethan had tried to avoid looking at Ricky.
He cast covert glances to not irritate the couple. However, right when he was going to turn back to his girlfriend, Ricky's empty eyes seemed to get back to life and stared at him. His heart raced, but he laughed it off. "It's nothing. Don't worry."
Cassie watched with helplessness as Ethan dismissed her concerns.
"You know what? Whatever." She paid for her drink and went back to the car. This time, she wasn't going to be nice to anyone. She put on her headphones, played music, and closed her eyes. Ethan could deal with the weird family in the backseat.
Mia, Marty, and Ricky followed silently. They had heard Cassie's complaints but didn't care. They just wanted to be safe.
Back on the road, the traffic jams eased. An hour later, they finally left the city limits behind them. Ethan was still driving, reluctant to let Marty take over. The family's behavior hadn't inspired any confidence in him.