UNFORTUNATE

Chapter 7

"Are you still hungry?" Her eyes opened at the sound of Dylan's voice.

The two of them looked at each other a moment before she nodded. Seeing his face sent a thrill through her body. She couldn't complain. Even if he was a bit of a jerk, at least his face wasn't too hard on the eyes.

Pulling into a fast food drive thru, he turned and asked what she wanted. She answered with whatever was cheapest. It didn't matter what she ate at this point. Her stomach was starting to eat itself.

Ordering two meals, they ate in the parking lot in silence. Cars drove by on the highway at a steady rate. There was a gas station across the way, and no other stores in sight. Leanna had no idea where they were. Dylan rolled down the window once the food was finished and threw the wrappers on the ground. She glared at him, not believing he was so careless.

"What?" he said, rolling the window back up.

Shaking her head, she watched the passing vehicles. "You're littering."

He snorted, starting up the vehicle. "Don't tell me you're one of those ecological freaks concerned with global warming. I refuse to have a soulmate who's some tree hugger."

Her forehead creased, not believing the words coming out of his mouth. "You know; you're kind of an asshole."

Shrugging, Dylan threw his arm over her headrest to look behind while backing up. The discarded food wrappers stood out on the dark concrete, and she couldn't help but notice the smirk play across his lips when they drove by them.

Ten minutes passed by in silence before she gathered up the courage to speak again. "Are you ready to tell me what's going on now?"

"Nope. Just be glad I knew better than to kill my soulmate. I may be an asshole, but I'm notthatbig of one."

Leanna held back a groan. She was getting tired of his games. No matter what excuse he came up with, she knew he was just trying to buy some time. For what reason, she did not know. It wasn't like he had to impress anybody.

"Well, since you refuse to tell me what's going on, where are we going? And why do you insist on taking me with you?"

Throwing his head back in frustration, Dylan took his eyes off the road to look at her for a moment. "For now, we're just going to lie low. Plans changed when I found out who you were. Don't think that means I care about you, though."

His eyes returned to the road, the number on the speedometer increasing. Butterflies danced inside her stomach. Speeding vehicles usually made her nauseous. Any speed over a hundred kilometers increased her anxiety tenfold.

"Can- can you please slow down?"

Dylan pressed his lips together, but did as he was asked. Leanna finally relaxed when they were going just below a hundred. Cars zoomed past them, several laying on the horn as they drove by. Rolling his window down, Dylan flipped most of them off. He swore under his breath, looking tempted to race the other drivers. Though he never once sped up.

With little else to do, Leanna found herself staring at him as he drove. His expression remained hardened, set in a mask of disconnectedness. Not too long after meeting, she'd figured that he wasn't one for smiling. Unless it was a smile meant to harass or taunt someone else.

They drove until the sky turned a brilliant dark pink. The sun was setting behind them, heat from the sun keeping the vehicle warm. Vehicles continued to roar past them, the drivers visibly angered at the slower pace. Dylan drove below the speed limit. The only hint he was mad the occasional outburst at passing cars.

Finally, after hours of driving to nowhere, lights appeared in the distance. Skyscrapers appeared in the distance. Exhaustion was coming back to her, the task of keeping her eyes open becoming harder by the minute. Several four and five star hotels flew by until they pulled into another run-down motel.

Leanna grit her teeth when they stepped into the lobby. It wasn't much of an upgrade compared to the outside of the building. The only good thing about the place was that the rooms had outside doors.

"Get a room with two beds," she said as they walked towards the service desk.

Dylan's mouth twitched, his eyes remaining fixed ahead. "What's the matter? Don't like sharing a bed with moi?"

"Just do it," she hissed between her teeth.

He obliged, requesting a room with two twin-size beds. Just like the previous motel, there were people of all sorts of shade hanging outside the rooms. The men standing in the parking lot allowed their eyes to wander up and down Leanna's body, sending shivers down her spine. Fists clenched, Dylan pushed her in front of him.

They reached the room in one piece, and he threw the bag of her belongings on one of the beds. Without a word, he walked out of the room. Returning a moment later with a bag of his own. She hadn't noticed it until now. Of course, he probably spent a lot of time travelling. Committing crimes and other stuff.

She reminded herself for the thousandth time in a day, he was a criminal. There was nothing romantic about their situation. At the end of the day, she was still little more than a hostage. If she wasn't he would allow her to do what she pleased.

"I'm hungry again. What do you say to getting some more food?" His eyes focused on her, the hint of what may be an attempt at a smile tugging at his lips.

Her heart jumped. The way he looked at her making her weak in the knees.

"Yeah, that sounds good." She said, breaking eye contact.He's not a good person.

Turning back to the door, Dylan didn't look back to see if she was following. His stiff posture drew the attention of several of the men, their gazes moving from Leanna to Dylan. His shoulders rose and fell with each deep breath he took. Either he couldn't feel the dozen eyes on him, or he didn't care.

Getting into a vehicle with him was so much easier when she wasn't forced into a trunk. There were no well-known fast food chain stores in the part of the city they were staying in. Small diners littered the roads, and Dylan pulled into one that looked decent.

A petite red-head greeted them with a smile, her mass of unruly curls sticking up in all directions. It was the kind of hair Leanna dreamed of having. Wild, but gorgeous.

The waitress led them to an empty booth, naming off specials before hurrying off the get their drinks. Across the table, they did not much other than stare at each other. Dishes clinked together in the kitchen twenty feet away. Under different circumstances, the atmosphere would have been relaxing. Now, it only added on to Leanna's nerves.

After ordering their meals, silence settled over the two of them. The only subject she wanted to talk about was the condition of her parents, and that was the one thing Dylan refused to speak of. Leaving them with no other topics. Different scents of food wafted through the air, making its way to the table.

Stomach growling, Leanna actually smiled when the waitress brought them their food. It may not be a five-star meal, but she didn't care. Having food in her stomach was all that mattered.

Dylan downed his food in a matter of minutes, sitting in silence while she finished her own meal. The tattoo on his forearm stared at her. It made her think of the one on her ankle.

"Are you ready to go?" The question was the first words they'd spoken to one another in an hour.

Nodding, Leanna got to her feet. Dylan threw down the money, as well as a tip, before guiding her out of the diner. They remained quiet the entire way back to the motel, the only sound in the car quiet music.

When they arrived back at the motel, he retreated to the bathroom. After five minutes, and him still being there, she quickly changed into the pair of pajamas she'd packed. Drifting in and out of consciousness, Leanna couldn't ignore the sounds she heard coming from the bathroom. The next morning, she would tell herself it was her imagination. Still, she knew the quiet sniffles were not sounds she made up in her head.