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XX

He awoke at 5:50 in the morning to the sound of a shower running. The first thing he realized, after remembering what had happened yesterday, was that Kory only had the clothes she had been wearing. He decided that, for her, he would go on a shopping trip. He called the front desk and asked where the nearest clothes store was, and they checked out the moment Kory was ready to go.

"Where are we going?" she asked once they were in the car.

"To a store to get some clothes for you."

She didn't seem phased by that. She kept calm, keeping her eyes fixed on the road. "No, I meant where are we going? As in, what is our destination?"

"Your destination is whatever you want it to be."

"Well, I no longer have a destination. My boyfriend took all of my money, and I no longer have a home."

"You can stay with me until we find you one." Why do things always slip out of his mouth? Why doesn't he buy duct tape?

"Thank you, Richard," she said, smiling at him. "You are a very kind person."

He smiled back, happy that she was happy. It was silent, until she spoke again. "Wait…. How am I going to afford a home of my own?"

He could have said she was going to work for it. He could have just said she would have to get the money to buy one. But, instead, he said, "I'll buy you one."

"Now, Dick, I can work for it." Her voice sounded phony. Well, who wouldn't want to get a free house?

"No, it's no problem. I have enough money to go into retirement today. I can certainly afford to buy you a house."

She was smiling madly, now. It was all he needed to see to know that she accepted. Normally, he doing this would have been insane. But Kory was different, and he wanted to make her happy more than any other.

"Where do you live?" she finally asked.

"On a secluded beach in Florida."

"With no one else near by?"

"Nope."

"Perfect."

XX

The trip was long, and, for the most part, silent. He was content on listening to music or watching the road, and she seemed perfectly happy to do the same. He was glad that he had found Kory, and he found himself thinking about her most of the time. She was a truly beautiful girl, and he took no shame in thinking it. Her story was that of a mystery, and he really knew nothing of who she was. But, he didn't mind. She was here now, and that's all he really needed to know.

The silence tended to come towards civilization, where Kory would shy away from conversation and sit low and silent. He assumed she didn't want to be seen, but for what reason, he had no clue. He accepted it, though, and didn't speak to her when she acted that way. He drove fast through the crowded interstates and highways, feeling uncomfortable that Kory was uncomfortable.

They stopped at a hotel each night, soon falling easily into a routine. They checked in, he brought his bags upstairs while she brought her clothes, he immediately fell asleep, and she stayed awake. What she did while his eyes were closed was unknown to him. He only remembered her tracing her finger along the room, the couch, the bed, the chair, the pillow, his face…. Her tracing finger seemed to lull him to sleep each night, and it seemed to always be a part of his dreams. Her finger, tracing along his lips, his jaw, his stomach. At times it felt so real that he awoke to wonder if she had really touched him, and if the fire along his jaw and stomach were reality.

Her words, her face, her everything, was a complete mystery to him. When they talked, he would fall into stupor, because none of her words made sense. But, there had been one particular night when she had really caught his attention.

"So, how long were you with your boyfriend?" he had asked her.

"3 years." She was always short in her words, and not paying much attention to details.

"And what did you do then?" he asked.

She traced her finger along the tabletop of the diner, running it up along the gleaming silver napkin holder and over the glass salt shaker. Her eyes never met his unless she searched for an answer or an oncoming question. Her finger, day or night, always sent shivers up his spine. There was no fantasy playing in his head, only her finger, tracing over all objects in plain sight.

"We ran together," she answered.

He never really liked her short answers. "You mean, like, on a track team? Or…?"

"We ran from everyone, keeping far from civilization. At times we ran from each other, but in the end we always meet up again."

He stopped asking question. Even though a thousand came into his head he wanted answers for, he didn't ask. Whether she was planning on keeping her past a secret, or just inadvertently making him confused, he knew no answer would come from her.

There was just one thing that he could make sense of. She and her boyfriend had fought, and broke up for a while. But in the end we always meet up again…. Why had she used present tense there? Was she planning on going back to him? Or was it really over? He hoped so, because he didn't plan on losing Kory any time soon.

XX