20 Day Challenge #5

This is  prompt #10: An alcoholic middle-aged woman and a teenage girl are driving across the country in a truck together. Why? Another lackluster day on the creativity front, but I managed to get something out. I think the dialogue needs some tweaking for realism, and the story doesn't feel complete. While writing, it seemed like the right place to end, but I was hoping to get out more information about the characters and couldn't seem to do it without it all being done through dialogue and personal admissions by the two characters, which seemed a bit forced.

           She called herself Clementine and wore her hair down to hide the scars on her face. Annette knew who she was - she'd seen the pictures on the news - but the girl paid her way with Vodka and Scotch so Annette let her ride along. Clementine was barely seventeen, lanky and lean, with a face that was almost pretty. She barely spoke at first, except to ask if it was alright if she smoked. Annette said yes. Not another word was spoken for fifty miles, when Dolly Parton came on the radio and Clementine rolled her eyes and muttered under her breath about the kind of music only old people would listen to. Annette grinned and began to sing along, hitting the high notes off tune. She gave Clementine a sideways glance, as though challenging her to say something. To her surprise, Clementine joined in.

            "Not just for old ladies, huh?"

            Clementine focused on her hands for a moment, sliding a cigarette out of the pack and lighting it. "My mom was a fan."

            "Was?"

            "Yeah." Clementine blew a stream of smoke through pouted lips and turned away to look out the window.

            There was a pause. "Smoking kills, you know."

            "Whatever." Clementine rolled her eyes, then stared pointedly at the empty bottles filling the space in front of her feet. "You're one to talk."
            Annette acted like she hadn't heard and focused back on the road. Catching sight of a sign for a rest stop, she said, "How about we both set aside our vices for one night and kill ourselves with heart disease? I could use a burger right now."
            Clementine nodded, and Annette pulled on to the off ramp. The rest stop comprised a gas station and a diner that looked like it belonged in the fifties. A glance through the door showed metallic tables and bright turquoise seats. Before exiting the cab, Clementine slipped on a hat and a pair of sunglasses.
            They slid into a booth in the back corner. The waitress - a thirtysomething woman with unruly curly brown hair and a voluptuous figure - introduced herself as Barb. Annette ordered a burger with fries; Clementine went for the all-day breakfast and ordered pancakes. When Annette raised her eyebrows, Clementine mumbled something about her mom making pancakes for dinner when she was a kid.She seemed jittery, glancing around at the other patrons and shifting her hair further over her face.
          Annette waited until their food arrived before she spoke. "You never did tell me where you want to go. I can take you as far as New Jersey, but that's as far as I'm going."
          "New Jersey is fine. I just need to get out of the state."
          Her face softening, Annette reached out a hand, but let it fall to the table. "Are you alright?"
          "No." Clementine's answer was immediate, with that hint of guilt that comes out when someone is too quick to jump to a lie.
          "I've seen the news, Jenna. I know your father is looking for you."
          Clementine jumped on hearing her new name.Her face contorted in anger and she launched herself out of her chair. "What are you gonna do, call the cops on me? Have you just been driving me around so you can get some kind of reward? Fuck you."
          Annette stood and rested her hand on Clementine's shoulder. "Relax. I'm sure you've got your good reasons. I just don't feel good about leaving you on your own."
          "I can handle myself."
          " I don't doubt that. Look, let's just eat. Forget I brought it up."
          Clementine sat, but her eyes showed her distrust. She ate her pancakes in stubborn silence. Then, as they waited for the bill -
          "He's not a good man."
          "Sorry?"
          "My father. If you've seen the news, you've seen the bullshit about how much he misses me." Clementine touched the scars on her face, an unconscious reflex. "Don't send me back to him."
          Their bills arrived, and Clementine dug through her purse for her wallet. Annette placed a few bills on the counter and stood up, gently pushing Clementine's arm away. "Honey, this one's on me. Now come on, we've still got a long way to go."