Chapter 46. New Mexico

“Hey, hey, wake up.” Carmen rouses both of us from a peaceful sleep, and I can see the daylight is turning dim as it gets close to sunset already. We both passed out and must have been unconscious for hours after their little argument.

“Where are we.” I rub my eyes, stifling a yawn, and stretch out like a cat, uncurling my limbs from the awkward position I’ve been in.

“New Mexico. You better call Sierra as we crossed over a while back, and I headed for Deming. That’s where Meadow said, right?” Carmen clicks her head from right to left to stretch out her neck, and I can tell she’s exhausted from being the driver for so long. There are dark shadows under her eyes, and I can’t be sure, but there’s a telltale rosy glow across her cheeks and nose, hinting that she might have been crying at some point. She seems fine now, but my stomach lurches in sorrow that she chose time alone to cry out some of the pain she’s carrying and never woke us up for company.

“Yeah, I did.”