jerked
back in surprise but she walked away before I could ask.
“ She’s an interesting one,”
Kain said from behind me. I turned and looked at him.
“ What do you
mean?”
“ Carissa. I can’t quite
figure her out,” he said while still staring after her retreating
form.
“ That makes two of us,” I
mumbled back. He shrugged and stepped towards me.
“ I’m going to go too. We
have a big day tomorrow.” His mouth curved up in a grin and I had
to return it. He was standing there with his heart on his sleeve
again. I wrapped my arms around his solid body and rested my head
against his chest. The steady beating of his heart soothed me like
a lullaby and suddenly I didn’t want to let go.
He rubbed his hands against my back in
a calming motion and we swayed back and forth. Neither of us said
anything for a long time. In fact, I began to get sleepy because
his presence was so relaxing for me. When he pulled away, the angry
ball of shame began clawing around in my stomach again.
“ I will see you in the
morning, Eviana. Sleep well.” He kissed me quickly on the mouth and
then walked out the door. I didn’t say anything. Didn’t do
anything. I let him walk away knowing that his world would change
tomorrow. He would face humiliation and embarrassment, and worst of
all, he would hate me. I stood there, with my hand on the door,
watching him walk out of my life permanently.
“ Goodbye, Kain,” I
whispered and closed the door with a click.
Nine
The darkened skies and quiet streets
did little to ease my apprehension as I pulled my suitcase down the
road to meet Brendan. The wheels screeched and chirped over every
piece of gravel; giving me a panic attack each time I thought that
someone might see me. It had been relatively easy to sneak out of
my house, especially since it had not been the first time I’d done
it. My parents and my sister were sound asleep thanks to the day’s
exhausting events. Since my bags were already packed, I only had
one more task before leaving. I wrote a note to Kain. It was short
and simple, and probably didn’t do him any justice, but I didn’t
want everyone thinking the worst had happened. He needed to know
that I was safe and that I wasn’t coming back. I left it on the
middle of my bed beside my cell phone that could no longer be used
to contact me.
The hum of Brendan’s car made my heart
flutter. He was at the end of the road waiting for me just like
he’d promised. The old Honda purred, seeming to approve of our
escape. Brendan walked around the front of the car and grabbed my
bag, but not before stealing a kiss.
“ You made it,” he said with
an air of relief.
“ Of course I did. I
wouldn’t miss this for the world.” My smile stretched from ear to
ear as I climbed into the front seat. With one more kiss, we were
off; leaving California forever and starting our wonderful new life
together.
We drove through the night and nearly
the entire next day, stopping only for gas and food when absolutely
necessary. Brendan would drive for a couple of hours while I slept
and then we would switch. By early Sunday evening, we had finally
made it across the mighty Mississippi and into Tennessee. Driving
through the mountains was peaceful and breathtaking. Although we
were used to forests and trees at home, this was a different type
of scenery all together. I lowered my window to take in the scents
of wet ground, cool fog, and crisp mountain air. There seemed to be
more conservation areas around than people, so when we pulled into
the parking lot of a secluded mountain lodge, I was rather
surprised to see as many cars and campers as we did.
“ Do we have reservations?”
I asked. I didn’t think that Brendan had made any concrete plans
since we never knew how far we would travel each day.
“ Just stay here,” he said
with a mischievous grin and jumped out of the car. I watched him
walk into the main office and then began to look around. The hotel
was built like
back in surprise but she walked away before I could ask.
“ She’s an interesting one,”
Kain said from behind me. I turned and looked at him.
“ What do you
mean?”
“ Carissa. I can’t quite
figure her out,” he said while still staring after her retreating
form.
“ That makes two of us,” I
mumbled back. He shrugged and stepped towards me.
“ I’m going to go too. We
have a big day tomorrow.” His mouth curved up in a grin and I had
to return it. He was standing there with his heart on his sleeve
again. I wrapped my arms around his solid body and rested my head
against his chest. The steady beating of his heart soothed me like
a lullaby and suddenly I didn’t want to let go.
He rubbed his hands against my back in
a calming motion and we swayed back and forth. Neither of us said
anything for a long time. In fact, I began to get sleepy because
his presence was so relaxing for me. When he pulled away, the angry
ball of shame began clawing around in my stomach again.
“ I will see you in the
morning, Eviana. Sleep well.” He kissed me quickly on the mouth and
then walked out the door. I didn’t say anything. Didn’t do
anything. I let him walk away knowing that his world would change
tomorrow. He would face humiliation and embarrassment, and worst of
all, he would hate me. I stood there, with my hand on the door,
watching him walk out of my life permanently.
“ Goodbye, Kain,” I
whispered and closed the door with a click.
Nine
The darkened skies and quiet streets
did little to ease my apprehension as I pulled my suitcase down the
road to meet Brendan. The wheels screeched and chirped over every
piece of gravel; giving me a panic attack each time I thought that
someone might see me. It had been relatively easy to sneak out of
my house, especially since it had not been the first time I’d done
it. My parents and my sister were sound asleep thanks to the day’s
exhausting events. Since my bags were already packed, I only had
one more task before leaving. I wrote a note to Kain. It was short
and simple, and probably didn’t do him any justice, but I didn’t
want everyone thinking the worst had happened. He needed to know
that I was safe and that I wasn’t coming back. I left it on the
middle of my bed beside my cell phone that could no longer be used
to contact me.
The hum of Brendan’s car made my heart
flutter. He was at the end of the road waiting for me just like
he’d promised. The old Honda purred, seeming to approve of our
escape. Brendan walked around the front of the car and grabbed my
bag, but not before stealing a kiss.
“ You made it,” he said with
an air of relief.
“ Of course I did. I
wouldn’t miss this for the world.” My smile stretched from ear to
ear as I climbed into the front seat. With one more kiss, we were
off; leaving California forever and starting our wonderful new life
together.
We drove through the night and nearly
the entire next day, stopping only for gas and food when absolutely
necessary. Brendan would drive for a couple of hours while I slept
and then we would switch. By early Sunday evening, we had finally
made it across the mighty Mississippi and into Tennessee. Driving
through the mountains was peaceful and breathtaking. Although we
were used to forests and trees at home, this was a different type
of scenery all together. I lowered my window to take in the scents
of wet ground, cool fog, and crisp mountain air. There seemed to be
more conservation areas around than people, so when we pulled into
the parking lot of a secluded mountain lodge, I was rather
surprised to see as many cars and campers as we did.
“ Do we have reservations?”
I asked. I didn’t think that Brendan had made any concrete plans
since we never knew how far we would travel each day.
“ Just stay here,” he said
with a mischievous grin and jumped out of the car. I watched him
walk into the main office and then began to look around. The hotel
was built like
Similar Books
