Sammy
When I wake up, I’ve got a cramp in my neck. I can’t believe how easily I fell asleep. Opening my eyes, I discover the reason behind my peaceful slumber. It’s no wonder when I see the blanket on my body. What nice quality.
Javier is passed out next to me. There are goosebumps prickling up on his arms. Now that the sun is out, I can actually get a better look at the guy.
It’s not polite to stare but once I get to noticing the small details I missed before, I struggle to pull my eyes away.
He’s got a crooked nose and by the small slither of a scar above, I have to believe he broke it in the past. Definitely more than once. With tanned skin, the scars kind of just pop out and are hard to miss. He’s got a face I would notice immediately, that’s for sure. Though, I’m pretty sure the normal reaction is to look away when it comes to seeing such a dangerous guy.
When my eyes run down his neck and onto his shirt, I can’t help but wonder if he’s got scars everywhere. Without thinking, I lean forward and almost touch him. Before I make contact with his skin, I realize what I’m doing.
My cheeks burn at the images coming to mind. I really need to get my priorities straight here. This guy is outright dangerous, even if he was nice enough to put a blanket on me.
I ditch the blanket, giving it to him instead. I don’t know how long he’s been out, but at least he won’t have to worry about freezing anymore. What in the world am I supposed to do until he wakes up?
How terrible am I for not immediately thinking about trying to get help? I’m a kidnapped victim after all. Definitely have to straighten out those priorities. Before that, I might as well snoop around.
Up front, there’s hardly anything. From the crushed cigarette wrappers I find, I know he’s a smoker. Honestly, I could smell it on his coat. Despite being familiar with the smell, I didn’t mind the way it clung close. It was mixed with his own scent and made it oddly tolerable.
Unsatisfied with my findings, I move my attention to the back. It takes some silent unbuckling and a little wiggling to get back there. Far more roomier if I say so myself. There’s a duffle bag on the floor and I don’t even try to avoid being nosey.
I find his wallet, a box of bullets, another gun, and some clothes. Perfect overnight bag put together for a sleepover. Rolling my eyes at that, I pull out a pair of sweatpants. Of course, they smell like him. Everything in the bag does.
I’m going to wear these because I’m tired of freezing. That, and I feel so exposed. If Javier complains, then he can take me somewhere to get appropriate apparel. They’re huge on me, no surprise, but it’s nothing a tight bow and rolled-up bottoms can’t fix. Since I’m already playing the role of a thief, I steal a shirt too.
Before I even think about exposing my top, I make sure Javier is still sleeping. I’ve got nothing underneath and I’m not going to go humiliating myself. When I see his eyes are still shut and his breathing is low and even, I go for it. Stuffing all the extra length of the shirt into the band of the sweats, I don’t stop there.
Thankful he’s got some thick socks hidden at the bottom, I tug those on too. Look at me go, turning into a criminal in a short handful of hours. Might as well pluck one of the twenties from his wallet while I’m at it too.
I pause when I spot his driver’s license. The guy is hitting his forties in two months. Who would’ve guessed? Double my age and another reason why I shouldn’t be getting butterflies whenever I look his way.
It’s a real shame I’m not keeping track of all those reasons.
I’m too hungry to care at the moment. We’re at a rest stop and I know there will be at least one vending machine inside with snacks. I can’t remember the last time I’d gotten to eat potato chips. I’m going to spend the whole bill and eat it all before Javier even notices I’m missing.
Leaving the truck as quietly as I can, the bottom of the socks soak as soon as I step out. Better than walking barefoot. Still wish I had some shoes. A hair tie would be nice too.
At this hour, people must still be waking up. There are a few semi trucks parked to the side and one other vehicle. Other than that, I’m on my own.
Strolling inside the building, I leave wet footprints with every step. Ignoring the odd look I get from the woman running the info desk, I take advantage of the bathroom inside. Who knows when I’ll get the chance again? I even splash my face a few times, hoping it’ll ease the bags under my eyes.
I look rough. Like I’ve walked through hell and back. Almost there, but not quite. Gross.
When I leave, I find the vending machines and immediately forget about my appearance. I’m too busy drooling over the selection. So many flavors and different brands. Twenty bucks can get me a lot. Which do I get first? Maybe it’ll be possible for one of each.
A scarred finger appears, reaching over my shoulder and tapping the glass. While he’s pointing to the small bag of Funyuns, I’m too busy jumping out of my skin to even consider getting them.
Javier’s eyes are dark, near pitch black. He must always frown whether he’s angry or not. Staring down with a scowl, my stomach tightens and flips around from simply being looked at.
“You want those?” I rasp, accidentally bumping into the machine. My cheeks feel hot now from being caught. When did he wake up?
“If I’m buying, yeah.”
He knows. Well, of course he does. I’ve stolen more than some money.
“You didn’t run,” he mutters under his breath as I spin back around. “Didn’t even try to tell anyone. You came for a fucking snack.”
Why does he sound so upset? Does he want me to tell someone what happened?
“I’ve got nowhere to go, remember?” I push in the bill and start hitting buttons. “You might find this surprising, but at the moment, you’re my best shot at actually having a life. As long as you really don’t plan on killing me, that is.”
“I’m not going to,” he reminds me for a third time. By now, he sounds angry when he says it. There’s that growl again, the one that makes it hard to blame the goosebumps I get immediately after.
A bag clunks to the bottom, then another. I’m just hitting random combinations at this point. It’s hard to think when I can feel his eyes on the back of my neck.
“I need shoes,” I mumble under my breath. “It’s hard to get around without them. Some necessities as well. Like a hairbrush.”
“We’ll make a stop.” He then leans down and grabs what I’ve picked out and pushes in the ‘change back’ button before I can hit anything else. “Get a drink too while you’re at it.”
There’s something authoritative about his voice that makes me do as he says. When I slide over to a different machine, he tells me what he wants and I get a cream soda for myself. He makes sure I get water too, just to stay hydrated while we remain on the road.
We get another odd look from the woman as we leave and that’s that. Back in the truck, I try my hardest to get comfortable.
I don’t know what this feeling is residing in my gut. It’s unfamiliar and a bit unsettling. At the same time, there’s an invisible pull between us, making it impossible to even consider stopping this feeling before I get too far ahead of myself.
He’s not upset that I stole from him. Honestly, he encouraged my purchases. I feel like his little thief now without any reciprocation.
Once we’re back on the road, he starts asking more questions about my life to help ease the silence between us.
He’s curious about my hobbies and what I do with all the free time I have once I admit where I spent most of my time.
“The internet is kind of spotty, but there are some streaming platforms that offer shows for free. Most of them are super old, but still entertaining. They’ve got some crime stuff too,” I explain like the information is enough to excuse my behavior. Honestly, it wouldn’t surprise me if he’d heard of a few of them. “I like to sketch while I watch.”
The more I talk about myself, the more relaxed I become. I’m starting to feel like I’m simply going on a road trip. Crazy how that works out.
Our next stop is a small dollar store with an empty parking lot. Probably the best place for us to make a pit stop.
“They must have something in here,” he mumbles as he looks out toward the entrance of the store. “I hate overcrowded places.”
For a guy who works alone, that doesn’t surprise me in the slightest.
“I suppose we have something in common,” I murmur as I unbuckle myself. Too much time away from society has given me a bit of anxiety. While I’m sure he’d want me to stay in the truck, there is no way I’m going to let him pick out everything I need. When it comes to clothes, that is simply too embarrassing.
Javier doesn’t complain when I get out and walk alongside him. Though, I do feel his eyes glance over and my direction more than once.
The cashier hardly bats an eye at our arrival, too busy working on stocking the shelves with whatever is in the box he’s holding.
“Get a cart if you think you need one. Might as well get everything you need now.” He’s being a bit pushy and I can hear the discomfort in his voice. This must be pretty new for both of us.
“Thank you, I really appreciate it. Even though you don’t have to go this far out of your way, you are still willing to take care of me.” I give him a genuine smile and receive a grunt in reply.
We take each aisle one by one and I pluck out only what I need. While I might secretly enjoy him being willing to buy stuff for me, I don’t want to be greedy and take advantage of the fact.
“Have you decided where I am being shipped off to?” I ask as I pick out some toothpaste. “I wouldn’t mind somewhere warm, a place that doesn’t get weather like this. Somewhere south.”
He scratches his cheek, frowning at the toothbrushes. “Still deciding.”
“Where will you be going?” I shouldn’t care, but I’m assuming I won’t see him again by tomorrow morning unless we continue to drag this trip out.
“Texas,” he admits without even trying to keep it secret.
“Yeah, I bet they have nice weather all year round. I wouldn’t mind Texas.” Throwing in a pack of toothbrushes, I move on to find a hairbrush. It’s going to take a good hour to brush out all of the knots in my hair. The pack of hair ties I grabbed next will help avoid any tangling in the future.
Javier doesn’t say anything after that, not until I have moved all the way across the store to pick out a package of underwear. At that point, he looks away, distracting himself with anything else. Well, I’m going to need a bra too. He’ll have to look away for a while.
“You’d really want to be stuck with me for the entire trip? I can cut our time together by half easily if you’d want to stay anywhere else.”
I take a look at a lacy bra and my cheeks burn. “I mean, why would I want to go somewhere alone when I can stick with a guy who knows how to protect himself?”
One look at Javier and any threat would make a run for it. He might think I’d be satisfied with his protection through only the duration of the trip.
Honestly, with the kind of treatment I’ve already received, I’m not sure I’d mind if we extended our time together even longer.
Turns out, I’m greedier than I originally thought.