Driving Wheels

It was what I feared. Pat had suggested the same thing. "Your ex-boyfriend?" I asked, feeling my hands grip the wheel tighter. If here's anything a lot of men hate, it's men who mess with and put the hurt on women. "Guess that explains a few things. You're running from him?"

"Not just him. His friends too. They... They made me do things for them..."

"Okay, Emily," I said softly, "Okay. I'm sorry for asking."

"It's why I've got nothing. After the last time they were done with me, they all passed out. I packed a bag with anything I could get without attracting attention or waking them up, took whatever money I could find and just ran for it. I've been on the road for around a week."

"No friends nearby?"

"I'm not even from Geelong. I'm originally from Perth. Moved with the ex-boyfriend a few years back. My parents moved back to the United Kingdom, so I didn't really have any other options. I'm an only child. My grandparents died within a year of each other after my parents left. He's spent at least five years isolating me completely and then..."

She started to cry. Offering her a pack of tissues I always kept handy, as I had a habit of sneezing thanks to allergies, she thanked me while wiping her eyes. "You don't have any sort of phone?"

"I left it behind. I had a bad feeling he could track me. He always seemed to know where I was, and I wouldn't be able to call anyone anyway. Nothing my parents could do from where they are. My parents went home as all my family is back there."

"Why Sydney?"

"I don't know. Getting to Perth seemed impossible. I thought Sydney was the best place as there are people like you always going between Melbourne and Sydney. I just want to disappear. He'll want to find me. He and his friends think they own me."

I didn't really know what to say to such a story. It wasn't the worst one I'd heard. I'd carried a young woman years back who was fleeing her entire family for a particularly disgusting reason that made me question humanity in its entirety. I know some truckers don't have the greatest of reputations for various reasons, but from the stories I'd learned, while many were uplifting and hopeful, I'd travelled with some companions battling all sorts of demons or escaping the worst that humanity had to offer.

We were halfway to Sydney, having lapsed into silence, when she asked what my story was. "Well, I'm forty and been driving for nearly twenty years. Always wanted to be a truck driver. Not sure what it was. Guess it was the idea of me, my truck, the open road. Always wanted to do long haul, not just do short trips around the city."

"Make it sound romantic."

"Well, I'm not entirely sure that's the word I'd use. I guess it's more a freedom. Though I technically work for one organisation, I'll do runs whenever and wherever they're available. Having my own truck helps me maintain a level of independence. Means I can negotiate better. I won't work for cheap, but there are plenty of companies around who know I'm reliable and will get the job done cleanly."

"You mentioned an ex-wife earlier?"

I managed a somewhat rueful chuckle. "Good memory. Yeah, I was married a few years back. We wed just out of high school. I worked towards getting my truck licence. She worked in an office, doing secretarial stuff. We knew it would be tough for us once I was out on the open road but, well, our communication was shit. Well, hers was as she never told me how lonely she felt when I was gone for days on end."

"How did your marriage end?"

"She was sleeping with other men while I was away. I never saw it, but I was told by people who saw her out with other men. I confronted her and, to my surprise, she was honest about it. I couldn't stay married to her after that, not if she'd had other men in the marital bed, so we agreed to divorce. After that, I haven't really been with anyone as I know from friends that I'm not the first and won't be the last to have his marriage fail due to the job."

"Where do you call home?"

"Home is usually the small compartment behind us. If you're talking about bricks and mortar, I have a house in Goulburn. I rent most of it out while I'm away, keeping one room for myself so I have somewhere to kip when I'm in town. My current tenants have been there for a few years now and don't mind the agreement. They look after the place, always the bills and rent on time, and I stay out of the way when I'm there." Laughing to myself, I added, "I haven't talked about myself this much in years."

"Thank you for bringing me along."

"You're welcome."

"And a big thank you for dinner last night. I was starving. I'd barely eaten a thing for three days."

"It was the right thing to do, Emily. Just hope you can relax a little. If you need some sleep, I'll wake you up when we're closer to Sydney. Ever been?"

"No."

"Well, I won't be going anywhere near the bridge. Any idea where you'd like to go?"

"To be honest, I have absolutely no idea. I was more worried about escaping him, getting as far away from him as possible with what little money I had, rather than what I'd do next."

"When I've dropped this off, we'll figure out what to do. Um... I will likely have another job to do in the morning though, and don't particularly just want to abandon you somewhere. I can get us each a room at a motel though."

"Oh, I couldn't possibly..."

"Emily, you need help and I'd like to help you. Not trying to be some sort of white knight here, I'm just trying to do a good thing for you."

She glanced out the window, but I heard her whisper, "Thank you."

Falling asleep, I turned up the stereo, my phone linking to the stereo so I could play music from my phone whenever I was out of range of a decent radio station. To be honest, that was most of the time. At least the highway was smooth, and there was always little traffic until we hit the outskirts of Sydney. Closer we got, the heavier the traffic, and the more dickheads and wankers there were that loved nothing more than cutting off a semi-trailer.

Rousing Emily didn't take much, and she woke with a fright, no doubt forgetting where she was for a moment. Noticing it was me next to her, and she was safe in a truck, she returned a shy smile, noticing the traffic around us and very unfamiliar surroundings.

"We're heading to the more western parts of the city. I'm dumping the trailer there. Then I'll call my contact and ask about my next route tomorrow. I don't particularly plan too far ahead. I'm happy to go wherever."

"No desire to go back to Goulburn?"

"Not really. Nothing for me there. Parents are still alive, and still own the house though my name is also on the deed, but they live up the coast a few hours from Sydney in a retirement village."

"No other friends or family?"

"Most friends are fellow truckers nowadays. Might see each other on the road. I have a sister; she lives up in Brisbane with her family. Couple of aunts, uncles, cousins around the state. I'll usually go see her, that being my sister, whenever I get a trip north, which isn't too often as I prefer the Sydney to Melbourne run."

The depot I needed to take the tailer too was in one of those new industrial parks on the western outskirts, just a bunch of massive warehouses that provided hundreds of jobs for people living in many of the new suburbs that had been built in the past couple of decades.

Dropping off the trailer, I gave Wayne a call, asking if he had anything for me the next day. He usually had more than one run available whenever I called, and it was a case of whatever run I wanted to take. There were the usual runs down south to Melbourne, though he had a couple heading north up the New South Wales coast, and one going as far as Brisbane. I gave that some thought, as I hadn't seen my sister in a few months.

Finding a motel wasn't too difficult. Emily looked a little unsure as we approached the counter. Asking for two rooms, I asked what sort were available. When the receptionist mentioned there were twin rooms, Emily spoke up, stating she'd rather have one of those.

"Are you sure? I mean, I don't want it to be awkward," I stated.

"I don't want to be in a room alone," she replied softly.

"Emily, we're eight hundred kilometres from Melbourne."

"He could still find me!" she exclaimed loudly.

The receptionist gave me a funny look as I wrapped an arm around Emily. She was shaking as I felt her head burrow into my shoulder. Gently rubbing her back, I took one of the twin rooms. The motel only had two floors, walking up the stairs and down the hall to our room. It wasn't anything special, but I'd stayed in worse places. Twin beds looks clean. Flat screen television on the wall. It was painted in neutral colours and appeared to be relatively modern.

Dumping our things on a bed each, I asked if she was hungry. Nodding, I suggested I'd talk to the receptionist about ordering something to be delivered. "I'll have a shower," she stated, "Still feeling a little icky."

Returning to the receptionist, I asked if they had any take-away menus. She didn't have any but could offer a couple of numbers for take-away shops nearby that could deliver some food. I then surprised her with my next question. "Um, the young woman with me. She's... I'm sure you heard what she said."

"She's terrified, though clearly not of you. Is she okay?"

I smiled at the fact this stranger immediately cared. "Well, not really. Thing is, I'm not sure what to do with her. She's got no friends and family here, and I've just driven her up from Wodonga. Is there anything I can do for her? A friend in Wodonga mentioned a woman's shelter. Are there any close by?"

"If she's on the run from a violent partner, her best chance might be trying to get emergency housing. She might have to get online to find a phone number so she can get some help."

"She doesn't have a phone, but she can use mine."

"How do you know her?"

"I picked her up in Wodonga. She asked where I was going so I brought her here. I didn't just want to abandon her somewhere once I'd dumped my trailer."

"Well, you might be a stranger but it's good that she has a friend right now."

"Surprised she trusts a man though." Clearing my throat, I thanked her for the help and returned to the room. Hearing the shower running, I put through an order for a few different things from a nearby take-away before kicking off my boots, lying back on the bd as I watched a little television. Hearing the shower eventually shut off, I waited for the door to open. She walked out wearing a long white t-shirt and bare legs, assuming she was wearing underwear. I tried not to look as she sat on the edge of her bed, her back towards me.

"Ordered some food. Should be here in fifteen minutes or so."

"Okay. Thank you."

"Um, the receptionist suggested you look up online for help regarding your situation. Would you like to have a look?"

"If you don't mind."

"Not at all. You need help."

Offering her my phone, she sat back against the headboard and was soon typing away. I had no idea what she was doing, and not wanting to be nosy, I focused on the television until the phone between us rang. It was the receptionist letting us know our food had arrived. I was only gone for a couple of minutes, but when I returned, Emily was in flood of tears, my phone on the floor next to the door.

Taking her in my arms as I sat down, she was almost inconsolable for a few minutes before slowly calming down. "What's wrong?"

I figured it was something she's seen on the phone. I'll admit it was with some trepidation that I picked it up. She'd been checking her emails and I noticed the message that was open. It was from her ex-partner. Full of threats and bluster, but there were also files attached. Video and pictures and one could only imagine what that was.

Looking at who he sent it to, I could only assume it was friends, maybe even family. "We can take this to the police," I said softly, "Surely this sort of thing is illegal."

"He'll never leave me alone."

"Have you contacted anyone about what's going on?"

"No," she replied, voice barely audible.

"Then what we should do right now is compose an email and send it to everyone you know, except him and his friends. Let them know you're safe and well, and that if they've received an email from your ex-partner, to immediately ignore it and block him and anyone on the email they don't recognise." Checking the time, I added, "It's night-time here and morning in the UK. Why don't you call your parents first?"

"I'm hungry. Can we eat before doing that?"

"Of course."

We both had an appetite as I hadn't stopped for a long lunch anywhere during the day. After filling our stomachs, I left her with my phone to make the call as I enjoyed a long shower. I heard her still talking once I stepped out and ran an electric razor over my stubble. Checking myself out in the mirror, I noticed the grey hairs starting to appear on my head and on my chest.

Putting on a t-shirt and shorts, I walked out to find her still on the phone to her parents. When she smiled at me for the first time, it lit up her face and I think that contact with people who loved her was making her feel better. I tried not to listen in as she was busy explaining what was going on.

"No, Mum, I met a nice man, and he helped take me up to Sydney... I'm not sure what I'm going to do, to be honest. I've got to figure that out... I'm sure Mark will help me, though he has his own life to get on with too... You want to talk to him? Um, I can ask, I guess..."

Offering me the phone, I was surprised her mother wanted a word with me. "Hello?"

"Hello. Emily tells me your name is Mark. Who are you?"

"Just a truck driver, ma'am. Your daughter was in trouble, I offered to help."

"Is she okay? Is she safe?"

"Well, she doesn't know me from Adam, ma'am, but she's safe with me. I'll do what I can to help her but I'm not entirely sure. I've never dealt with this sort of issue before."

"Her father and I always worried about her. We never liked him. I hate being proved right in this way. What are her options?"

"She'll have to go to the government and see if they can help her."

"Look after our little girl while you can. We hate being so far away, but she didn't want to leave Australia when we did. We've always regretted not forcing the issue at the time."

"I'll do what I can, ma'am. Want to talk to Emily again?"

"Please. And thank you again, Mark. We're just glad to hear she's safe."

Handing the phone back, Emily spoke to her parents for another few minutes before she hung up and handed the phone back. Relaxing back on our beds, we watched television in silence until she started to yawn, mentioning she was feeling rather tired as she hadn't slept much since escaping. Watching her slide under the sheets and quilt, she suddenly seemed so tiny yet again. Turning off the television, I slid under my covers and flicked off the light.

Waking the next morning, she was already wide awake. The motel did offer breakfast, and wanting to get started early, we wandered downstairs to the dining room, eating our fill as we discussed options. Emily admitted she was unsure, then fell silent before we were packing our things, ready to go.

"Can I ask a favour, Mark?"

"Sure. What do you need?"

"Can I ride with you for a while?"

"What?"

Turning to look at her, she was fidgeting again but the slight colouring of her cheeks was a little amusing. "I don't know anyone here. You're really the only person I know, and you seem trustworthy. I mean, unless you're playing a long con, you could have fucked around with me last night and no-one would be any the wiser." She paused and looked at me. "The look on your face suggests the idea of doing that disgusts you, which makes me feel at least a little safer. I really enjoyed our conversations on the road yesterday, and you suggested that you got a little lonely."

Placing my bags on the bed, I gave the idea some thought. "The last regular companion I had was a dog, so at least you'll smell better and able to talk back, I guess." She giggled at the comparison, which made me smile. "Are you sure, Emily? It's not an easy life. And when I stop somewhere without a motel, I only have that compartment behind where I sit, and that's not particularly large."

"I just don't want to be alone," she whispered, "Even if I get housing and stuff, I just know I'll end up in another bad situation. Some guy will take advantage of me, but I've got a good feeling about you. You've helped me so much and been kind. I haven't experienced that in so long."

Sighing, running a hand over my head, I finally nodded. "Okay, if that's what you want, we'll give it a trial run. Let me call Wayne and see what he's got for me. If not him, I have other guys I can call. I'm guessing going back to Melbourne will give you the heebie-jeebies?"

"Well, I'll probably get nervous, but as long as we don't go near Geelong..."

"Let me make a call."

Twenty minutes later, I had an interstate run heading north-west towards Bourke. Hanging up the phone, Emily immediately asked where we were going. "Back of Bourke," I replied, earning a delightful little giggle. "You got many clean clothes in that backpack of yours?"

"Not really."

"Before we head off, why don't we head to K-Mart or Big W, get you some cheap clothes to wear."

"Are you sure, Mark? You're spending..."

"Trust me, I don't spend money on much. Maybe breakfast and dinner each day if I can't make my own meal, and I pay for part of my fuel, but it's mostly subsidised by whoever I'm working for. The main cost is my truck. Rego, insurance, wear and tear. The rent I get for the house is all profit as the mortgage was paid for years ago. It'll be fine, Emily."

Trying to park a truck in a suburban shopping centre car park isn't easy. Escorting Emily around, I wasn't surprised she chose mostly t-shirts, a couple of pairs of jeans, but when she selected a couple of dresses and skirts, looking at me and smiling, I nodded and let her know that was entirely appropriate too.

Throwing our things behind us once everything was paid for, I drove us towards the warehouse depot where the trailer was waiting for me. I never asked what I was carrying as I didn't really care. I just wanted the paperwork, the security seal so they knew I hadn't tampered with it on the way, and after the usual pre-departure checks, I had my truck pointed west.

"How do we get to Bourke from here?" she asked once we were leaving the Sydney metropolitan area.

"West to Lithgow. Then further on to Bathurst before onwards to Orange. Sometimes I'd head to Dubbo for a break, otherwise I'd skirt highways to the south-west of the place. Then a straight run through to Nyngan, then north-west straight through to Bourke. As I have company, and the fact we're leaving later than I normally would for an interstate run, we'll stop in Dubbo tonight, hit Bourke by lunchtime tomorrow, and I've been told there's a load waiting nearby that we'll be taking to Grafton."

"I have no idea where all those places are!"

"You'll be seeing a lot of countryside around New South Wales. Take my phone out if you want to take some photos. Trust me, it can be rather beautiful. The sunsets are breath-taking sometimes."

Settling into driving, I put some tunes on, grateful that Emily seemed to like the same music, handing her my phone once I had everything set up. She was busy typing away, telling me a couple of hours later that she'd forwarded the email onto the authorities, adding my phone number in case they wanted to contact her. I was surprised that, by early afternoon, they'd called her, asking for further information. I'd been driving a few hours by then so pulled over at the next rest stop, both of us stepping out of the cab to stretch our legs.