“You are not a burden and I don’t mind giving you a ride,” he answers after a while.
“Thank you.” I peek down at my sweater that is ripped on both sleeves. I roll them up and find deep scratches on my arms. I look like I fought with a dozen cats and lost. They don’t hurt yet, I am still too wired. I am sure I’ll feel them in the morning.
“What happened?” He asks when he catches me looking at my arms.
“It’s nothing. I kind of ran through some greenery in the dark. Just got some scratches from the branches.” I pull the sleeves back down, trying to hide my damaged skin.
“You going to tell me what you’re running from?”
I laugh, “I honestly don’t know. I just had the overwhelming need to get away. I guess I didn’t think things through.” I lean my head against the window and close my eyes, trying my best not to cry again. The glass is cool on my forehead and I try to concentrate on that. “I guess I really don’t have any place to go. I don’t really have any friends around here.” Almost inaudible I add, “I really don’t have friends anywhere.”
“I’m sorry I know the feeling,” he says softly.
“Don’t be sorry for me. I do have one person I love and that loves me back. One is better than none.” I wish I could call her right now but I can’t tell her what my father said. It will break her heart. I lift up my butt an inch and grab my phone out of my back pocket. I have sixteen missed calls and eight unread messages so far, all from my parents. I leave my phone laying in my lap face down. My phone is on silent, so they can call all night if they want.
“Where are we going?” It just now dawned on me that I have no idea where we are driving to, or what he was doing in our neighborhood. Or his name, or anything else about him. “I’m sorry you probably had plans. Were you visiting one of my neighbors?”
I see him glancing at my phone with a weird expression on his face. “Something like that.”
4
Colt
I can’t believe she just got into my car. I don’t think this actually counts as a kidnapping. I should probably snatch her phone right now but then she would know that something was wrong. Her trusting looks would turn into fear. She would try to get away from me instead of sitting next to me contently. She would only look at me with hate.
Right now, she thinks I’m some stranger who helped her out for no reason. She couldn’t be any more wrong. I’m trying to draw this out as long as I can even though I know that using her vulnerability like this will make things worse.
“You didn’t answer my first question. Where are we going?” There is a hint of nervousness in her voice and that little hint is like a punch in the gut. I know it’s irrational but I don’t want her to be scared of me. I want to hold on to what she thinks about me just a little bit longer.
“I’m just driving around. Did you have dinner yet? We could go grab a bite to eat or get dessert.” Taking her to a public place is going to be a risk. A risk I am willing to take.
“Sure,” she agrees. Her dislike of her parents must trump her own survival instinct. I can’t believe she doesn’t sense that she is in danger. That I am a danger to her.
I pull up to a small diner I saw from the road earlier. “I don’t have any money,” she confesses. “I am really bad at this whole running away from home thing.”
“You should plan your next escape a little better,” I smile. “Come on. I got you.”
She follows me into the diner like a lost puppy. I ask for a booth in the back, the fewer people see us the better. Josephine takes the menu eagerly.
“I’m guessing you haven’t had dinner yet. I didn’t either so I’m ordering food as well.”
“I had a hand full of steamed green beans and a boiled chicken breast. If you can call that dinner. I haven’t had a burger and fries in years. I’d love to eat that now.”
Before I have time to ask her why that is, the waitress returns ready to take our order. Josephine’s look over to me like she wants a final confirmation on that I’m going to pay for her.
“Order whatever you want,” I tell her and her face light up a little.
“I’ll have the greasiest burger you have with fries and a coke, please.” Her natural politeness makes me smirk.
“I’ll have the same,” I say as I hand the waitress our menus.
“So, why haven’t you eaten fast food in so long? Are you on some kind of diet?”
“Not by choice. My mom doesn’t let me eat stuff like that.” Her mouth turns to a frown just thinking about her mother. I make mental note not to bring up her mom or dad unless I have to. “She wants me to keep my size zero. Everything else is basically being ‘fat’ and unacceptable.”
“Wow.” My dislike for her parents grows by the minute. No wonder she is so skinny. “I see now why you are trying to get away.”
She takes an audible breath and her shoulders slump down. “I should probably go back. It’s really no use, me running off. Besides, where am I going to go? I didn’t even bring any money,” she says sadly.
The anxiety of her wanting to go home and to find out who I am, resurfaces. I need to makes this last as long as I can. “Why don’t you just forget about everything for now and we just enjoy dinner?”
She nods and gives me a smile that knocks the breath out of my lungs. For a moment I am so mesmerized by her that I have to make myself look down to her hands just so I’m able to breathe normally again. She is fidgeting her fingers around her sleeves. Scratches decorate her hands and peek out from underneath her sleeve. She needs to get those cleaned up before they get infected, so I need to get some ointment for her. The thought of how I want to take care of her is unexpected and feels unnatural to me. Still, I enjoy the idea.
It doesn’t take long for our food to come out. “Enjoy!” The waitress says as she sits down the plates. Josephine looks at it like she just opened a Christmas present she has been wishing for all year. With a big smile, she takes the burger with both hands and takes a big bite. She closes her eyes while she chews with a little moan like this is the best thing she has ever eaten.
I eat my own food in silence not wanting to disturb her. I have never seen anyone enjoy a simple burger so much. She finishes a little more than half before she leans back in the seat and folds her arm across her stomach. “I think if I eat another bite I’m going to puke and that would just be a horrible waste.”
“I hate to bring it up, but if you haven’t eaten anything this greasy in years you might throw up anyway. Eating this double bacon cheeseburger might come back to bite you in the ass later tonight.”
“I promise I won’t throw up in your car,” she says holding her hand over her heart like she is making an oath.
I finish my food while I watch her closely. Her chestnut hair is flowing freely down her shoulders with her head leaning back against the headrest. She is looking out the window like she is deep in thought. Her forehead is pulled into a tiny frown and her almond-shaped eyes have a sadness to them I wish I could take away. I wish I could erase the frown on her face. Smooth it out and replace it with an everlasting smile.