Asleep *FINISHED!/COMPLETE*

*CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER TWO

*I stayed slumped down in the leather seat. Even though we had been driving around for a solid ten minutes and no creepy black cars were following us, I didn’t want to take any chances. Honestly, there would have been no reason to slump down anyways, as all the windows of the Lexus were tinted so dark that I could easily see my reflection in them if I adjusted my eyes. I was doing just that, trying to gauge how much of a hot mess I looked like, and I noticed Mr. Lexus staring at me in the reflection. His eyebrows were furrowed and the look of concern on his face was hard to miss. I wasn’t sure exactly if that concern was for my well-being, or if it had more to do with the fact that he had a thief in his car. One that probably stunk, I realized, as I silently cursed myself for not grabbing some deodorant from the general store.

We hit a bump in the road and it jolted me out of my thoughts. Here I was, riding in the car with a complete stranger and potential serial killer, handsome though he may be, and I needed to have my guard up. I straightened up in my seat and looked straight ahead, trying to seem confident. I glanced to my left, only to see him still eyeing me. Normally I would have found the way he watched me creepy, but there was something kind in his eyes. Nothing about him gave me an ‘I’m-about-to-kill-you’ vibe, and I felt I was safer in this car than walking out in the open. At least until I was sure we weren’t being followed. There was also the fact that I could read him just like I could read everyone. At the moment he was filled with concern and confusion, along with traces of anger, though I didn’t believe it was directed towards me.

When I was around people, stranger or not, I could feel whatever they were feeling just as real as if it were my own emotions. Some people call it empathy, but I call it exhausting. It’s physically draining experiencing so many different emotions so strongly, especially on top of your own. I could also tell you if someone was, in general, a good or bad person, or at least if their intentions were. But it was not an exact science, and I had gotten burned a time or two before when I misplaced trust in someone. Safe to say lesson learned, and I did my best to avoid getting close to people. Especially handsome, rich strangers who might be the serial killer son of a cop.

“What’s your name?” Mr. Lexus asked again, but without any of the humor he had shown earlier.

“Not this again.” I rolled my eyes. “You already know my name. It’s Sarah, remember?” I said with a tight smile. “Thanks for the ride, but you can let me out now.” I was pretty sure we weren’t being followed, and I needed to get away from his questions before I started answering them honestly.

“Let you out where?” He eyed me skeptically and made no attempts at slowing down.

I looked around. We were in some ritzy neighborhood. Surely there was a house around here that someone only used during holidays or something. Or at the very least, I’m sure I could find one vacant for the afternoon. If I got lucky, maybe they would even have a laptop lying around that I could use to do some research.

“Right here is good,” I said confidently.

“Is there someone’s house I can take you to? A relative or something?” he asked, still not slowing down.

“No,” I replied simply. “I have no family.” As soon as I said the words and saw the look of pity on his face, I quickly added, “Not around here at least.” That part was kind of true anyways. Maybe.

“Do you want me to take you to a bus stop? Or a train station?” He was clearly not keen on the idea of dropping me off in the middle of some random neighborhood. He was probably worried about what this ‘little thief’ might do to one of his rich friend’s houses or something.

Growing annoyed, I snapped at him. “I don’t have anywhere to go, ok?” I glared at him when I said it, but quickly averted my eyes, looking anywhere but directly at him. “Just let me out here please,” I said in a defeated whisper, though he still didn’t slow the car and I can’t say I wasn’t a little grateful for that somewhere deep inside me.

His hands had been tightly gripped around the steering wheel since the moment we left the store, but his posture began to relax some, and his eyes softened when he looked at me. Almost how someone might react toward a wild animal that was injured. “What are you running from?” He asked me for the second time that morning, more gently this time.

I stared out the window and met his question with silence. I wasn’t sure exactly how to answer that anyways. I was a 17 year old girl who had been put through hell for what felt like my entire life. Wait, no I wasn’t. I was 18. I turned 18 today, actually. I knew it was my birthday somewhere in the back of my mind, but it’s not like I could celebrate it. Today was actually supposed to be the day I was set free from all the insanity. Today I was supposed to be free in all aspects of the word, as most orphans are when they’re released from the system at 18. But Stone had no intentions of letting me leave, no matter how old I was, and when that became clear I knew I had to get out and find Callan. Assuming he was even still alive. I couldn’t swallow the thought of him not being out there somewhere, so I quickly pushed it out of my head.

When it became clear I wasn’t going to answer, he went back to what was apparently his favorite question. “What’s your name?” He paused, giving me a chance to answer, and then said, “Come on, I know it’s not ‘Sarah’. Give me your name and I won’t press you for any more answers. Please?” His tone almost sounded desperate, like he was holding his breath and wouldn’t be able to take in air again until I gave him my name.

“Ellie,” I said quietly, surprised at my own admission. I hadn’t spent much time in the outside world but I was smart and had good instincts. My number one rule of ‘don’t get close to people’ had served me well over the years and I needed to keep Mr. Lexus at a distance. That was becoming increasingly difficult, though, with his prying questions and kind eyes staring into me, challenging me. Not to mention the whole no-where-to-go-and-running-for-my-life thing.

He smiled brightly, clearly proud of himself for finally getting an honest answer out of me. “I’m Jase,” he offered.

“I didn’t ask,” I said, trying to get back that distance I had let slip.

“No. No, you didn’t ask, did you?” He said it with humor in his voice and eyed me with obvious curiosity, like I was a puzzle he couldn’t quite figure out how to solve.

He stopped at a stop sign and lingered there. I wasn’t looking at him but I could feel his eyes boring into me. I could feel my cheeks growing red and the space in the car seemed to grow smaller by the second. I couldn’t do this. I had to get out of this car. I’d been out less than 24 hours and I was already breaking my number one rule. If I trusted someone this easily, there’s no way I’d be getting out of this mess alive.

Against my better judgment, I looked back at him. “I’m sorry,” I said, unnerved by the sincerity in my own voice, “but I have to get out of here.” I quickly grabbed the door handle and my small backpack and moved to get out.

“Wait!” he said, grabbing my arm. There was nothing violent in his voice or his movements, though. The only things I read on him were fear and longing. “Please, don’t go.” His eyes pleaded with me. Worry began to emanate from him as well, but I couldn’t figure out why. Why would he have such strong emotions pouring off of him over me? What did this guy have to gain from keeping me around?

I paused, halfway in the car still, confused by the way I reacted to this handsome stranger. Why was I even pausing? How could I even be considering getting back into Mr. Lexus’s car? Oh yeah, Jase. He said his name was Jase. The thought of knowing his name warmed me for some unexplainable reason and it was that terrifying warmth that drove me to move more quickly. I easily pulled my arm away from his light grip, and my body instantly ached at the sudden loss of contact. I shut the door and began to walk away as fast as my tired and sore feet would allow.

I glanced behind me, and he was still sitting at the stop sign, watching me walk away. I could never read emotions from people unless I was right next to them, but for some reason I swear I could feel sadness and longing coming from inside that car, mixed with traces of worry and concern. Just keep walking, Ellie, I said to myself, trying to find my resolve. Sure, this guy had saved me from Oren back there, but I still didn’t really know anything about him. But I suppose he knew nothing about me either, yet still he chose to help me. I wanted to believe that the world wasn’t cold, as Stone had constantly told me throughout my entire childhood, but surely his kindness had to be masking some ulterior motives.

I was nearly a block away from the stop sign when I heard his quiet engine approaching behind me, or at least I hoped it was his. I quickened my pace and glanced behind me to make sure it was still Jase. Once I realized it was, I hoped he hadn’t seen the fear in my eyes, or the relief that quickly replaced it.

He rolled down his window and slowed his car to match my pace. Without looking at him, I said, “What do you want?”

“Come home with me,” he said.

My head snapped sideways. “Seriously?” I asked incredulously. I may have been walking down the side of the road, but I wasn’t the type of girl to just go home with the first guy who asked.

He laughed as if he heard my thoughts and shook his head humorously. “Yes, seriously,” he said, his eyes pleading with me. “You look tired and hungry.”

I rolled my eyes. Thanks, charming. Every girl loves to be told they look tired and hungry. “I’m fine,” I said through gritted teeth.

“Oh, that I know.” He winked at me and flashed his perfect smile. This time it reached his eyes, and although I wasn’t sure how I felt about him inadvertently calling me ‘fine’, I couldn’t deny how attractive he was. His light hearted banter and the sound of his voice made me feel lighter somehow, like I could forget the last 18 years for a moment. There was something about him that was magnetizing, and it both excited and terrified me.

I stopped suddenly, whirling towards the open window. He reacted quickly, and smoothly brought the car to a stop next to me. He was grinning like a fool, as if I had already agreed to go with him.

“Why should I go with you? I don’t even know you. And more importantly, you don’t even know me!” I threw my hands up in the air, realizing fully just how strange it was that he would want to help a girl with matted hair, dirty feet, and who he knew to be a thief.

“You’re right,” he said, “I don’t know you. And that’s precisely the reason why I can’t leave you alone. You intrigue me, Ellie.”

There was curiosity and wonderment in his voice, and I couldn’t help but notice the way my body reacted to him saying my name. I fought the urge to get back into the car and turned away before he could see the smile playing at my lips. I stood there and crossed my arms, unwilling to go with him but equally unwilling to walk farther. Where was I going, anyways? I needed food, a shower, and supplies. I also needed to do some research, maybe find out where Callan was, or at the very least find a lead in the right direction.

He seemed to notice me contemplating taking his invitation and he went in for the kill. “That, and the fact I’m pretty sure you’d be better off with me than whoever was behind the wheel of that black car back there.” I shuddered involuntarily at his words. “We have a spare room, a hot shower, and Annetta is an amazing cook.” His grin broadened and I rolled my eyes.

Seriously, this guy had a cook too? What was I getting myself into? But I couldn’t deny that the prospects of a hot shower and hot food were too much to pass up. Plus, I couldn’t chance being out in the open much longer. This town didn’t seem very big, and I needed to get far away from it before Stone and Oren found me. The only problem was, I wasn’t even sure which direction I should be going once I did leave town.

“Do you have internet access? And a computer?” I asked, trying not to sound too hopeful. I didn’t want him to think I normally gave in so easily.

“Yes ma’am. In fact, there’s a laptop in the spare room just for guests.” His use of ‘ma’am’ made me both roll my eyes and fight a smile. Southern hospitality was apparently common in these small towns, or so I was told, but very few people had ever treated me with respect, and it wasn’t lost on me. I looked down at him, trying not to seem eager, though it was hard to hide my willingness to go with him. His kind eyes met mine and he turned up the charm, smiling even broader, either because he was afraid my answer would still be no, or because he knew I’d already said yes.