"What's your name?" He asked.
"Neith," she answered.
So she was the woman Roman had talked about months ago when he first met her.
"I'm Dean," he said.
"I know. I've seen you on tv," she said.
Of course she had. If she was with Roman, of course she had seen them all on tv. He took a couple of deep breaths while trying to figure out how his best friend could have turned into such a sadistic pig.
"Has he been doing that to you before?" He asked.
"Yes," she answered.
"That son of a bitch!" He muttered.
"Where are you taking me?" She asked.
"I don't know. Do you want me to take you to the police or the hospital?" He asked.
"No!" She suddenly looked so scared. "No authorities! Please!"
She reached over and grabbed his arm, digging her nails into his skin by accident while she was pleading with him.
"Okay, okay, I won't," he said. "But I can't take you home with me. He'll look there first place. We gotta stay low. I got a week off work to figure something out but unfortunately so does he. We're both off this week."
"I know," she said.
"Of course you know. Look, I know a motel that keeps things off the record. We'll go there. I don't know what I'll end up doing but you're not going back to him," he said.
"Can I have some chips?" She asked.
"What? Chips? Now?" He looked at her. "Sure, why the fuck not? There's a gas station five minutes away. We'll load up on snacks and coffee there."
After being told what she wanted, he left the car to go shop quickly. When he returned, she was gone. He looked around frantically but he couldn't see her anywhere. His phone started ringing and he pulled it out of his pocket only to see it was Roman. He had tried calling and texting several times. Dean couldn't deal with him in that moment, not after what he had seen, so he turned his phone off completely. He put it back in his pocket and looked up to see her come walking out of the gas station with a little smile on her face.
"I thought you left," he said.
"Bathroom," she said.
"You could have told me. You scared me," he said.
She just kept that smile on her face while she got back into the car. He got back in as well, handed her a cup of coffee and then drove to the motel he had been talking about. Once they were inside a motel room, he turned on the tv on a news channel.
"May I see your back?" He asked.
She turned around and pulled up the shirt.
"Fuck!" He blurted out.
He ran his fingers over her back and she hissed in pain.
"Sorry. He's been doing that a lot to you, hasn't he? You got so many scars," he said.
"Yes," she said.
"Why is he doing it? Why don't you try and get away from him?" He asked.
He couldn't make any sense out of it and he was hoping she could tell him but the news story suddenly flashing over the screen caught both of their attentions.
"Three people were found brutally murdered just five minutes ago at a gas station. All three had been stabbed to death from what we can understand so far. The bodies are currently being carried out of the building as you can see behind me. We're hoping to get a statement from one of the officers on the scene."
"We were just there," Dean said shocked. "Holy fuck, it must have happened right after we left. Did you see anybody there besides us?"
"Two women and a man inside," she said.
"Yes, inside. The three victims. Did you see anyone outside?" He asked.
"No, just us," she answered.
"Fuck!" He said.
He sat down on the bed and ran a hand through his hair.
"This day..." He sighed. "I can't deal with anymore drama. I just can't. It's too much."
"You want me to leave?" She asked.
"No, Neith, it's not you. You're not to blame for anything. Let's just find a kid's channel and watch My Little Pony or some shit like that and pretend the world is a happy place," he said.