The ride of our lives

"Seatbelt" he ordered her as she put herself comfortable on the black leather seat.

Her whole body tensed to his voice, but she ignored him and looked through the window as they left the small but beautiful town behind them. She thought for a moment and then looked at him.

"Wait…you don't know where I'm going" the fear in her voice was obvious. He smirked as he looked at her sideways.

"I don't have to ask. The expression of your face, that resignation only means one thing…" he paused for a moment just to enjoy her shocked face and then, with his usual smugly tone, added "Calgary"

Her jaw dropped immediately as he smirked. Her parents always told her not to talk to strangers, so why had she accepted the ride? Well, they never told her not to get into strangers' cars, but they had obviously implied it with the "not talk to them" thing. She stared at him, trying not to be noticed and without even knowing why, she smiled. Suddenly, the idea of him giving her a ride wasn't that bad. His loud laughs caused her to go back to reality.

"What are you laughing at?" she asked, curious.

He looked at her again with his blue eyes. she sighed.

"It's nothing…just the thought of you trying to get to Calgary. You know that it is like eight hours from here? There's no bus that would take you there!" he cracked up again, completely amused but stopped immediately when she hit him on the arm.

The touch of her was like a bolt of electricity had just been shot through them. she immediately took her hand away and he stayed there, looking at her in state of shock.

"Focus on the road" she said, avoiding his look. He cleared his throat and looked straight at the road.

The uncomfortable silence was filled by the sound of the drizzle hitting the windows and the roar of the motor.

"It's getting dark" she commented, breaking the silence as she looked through the window again. The sun set in the horizon, but still lightened a few trees and the top of the hills, giving her the sensation of being home.

"Scared?" he asked, with a raspy voice that caused shivers up and down her spine.

"Should I be?" she raised an eyebrow, smiling at him.

He swallowed hard

"I don't know…you tell me, girl"

The way he pronounced the last word caused a strange feeling in her. The warmth and concern he had put in the word "girl" made her feel that for the first time, she was special for someone. She laughed at herself. How could a stranger care about her? That was ridiculous.

"Well, I don't even know your name…"

He laughed. She was right, they didn't even know the other's name, but for some reason he thought it was absolutely unnecessary.

"I'm Tom. Tom Quincy" he introduced himself after a while as he stopped the car at a juction "And don't worry, I use to drive my victims in that direction" he said, pointing at the left-hand fork with his index finger, the rest of his hand still on the steering wheel, as he gave her a flirty smile "And we're going this way" he pointed at the other road, who seemed to be the entrance of a forest.

He started the car just as she stared at him and smiled.

"I'm Jude Harrison" she said distractedly as she wrapped her arms around her bag, a little embarrassed. She suddenly felt the need to fill the silence and the strange need of having him near with music and extended her hand to turn the radio on, but before she could reach the button, his cold hand took hers. Again, the bolt of electricity caused them both to look at each other intently for a few seconds before Tommy looked at the road again, without letting her hand go.

"Don't turn the radio on…" he said as calmly as he could, though Jude could see a slight of fear in his eyes.

"Why?"

Tommy looked at her sideways.

"Because I prefer to hear your voice"

Noticing that his hand was still holding hers, her face turned red and looked down, unable to speak. She tried to look through the window to know where they were, but the windows were completely steamed up. That's when she realized that it was pouring and it was completely dark. Great, she thought as she unconsciously laced her fingers with Tommy's. They looked at each other, totally red, but neither of them pulled away. A sudden rumble took them out of their absorption.

"What was that?" Jude asked, a bit scared as Tommy pulled up the car. He unfastened the seatbelt and got out of the car. A cold breeze hit Jude's face when he opened the door and a rush of emptiness hit her heart when he pulled out of her hand.

She felt the need to scream, to cry and hit something, everything at the same time. How could it be possible? She had just met him and the only thought of him leaving her was unbearable. Not knowing what to do without Tommy's presence around her, she got out of the car, just to make sure he was there.

"Tommy?" she looked around for him and found him in front of the car, lifting up the hood. The heavy rain and the dark didn't let her seem him clearly. She looked around just to realize they were in the middle of the wood and obviously there was not a living soul within a ten miles radius. Tommy swore and looked away from the motor of the car to Jude, who was now completely soaked.

"Jude, get in the car!"

Jude looked at him, totally shocked. It was the first time he raised his voice.

"I just…wanted to help" she said, about to cry.

Tommy took a deep breath and walked towards her.

"Then get inside the car. You might get a cold" he said, looking intently into her eyes as he covered her with his jacket that strangely wasn't wet. Jude felt the warmth of his hands over her shoulders and, forgetting her stubborn nature, nodded and got inside the car as fast as she could. A few minutes later, a soaked Tommy got in the car and looked at her, scared.

"The motor flooded. Apparently it couldn't take the rain and the mud" he informed her, trying to be as honest as possible, though he didn't know much about cars.

Jude thought for a moment. She should be scared now….in the middle of the wood, with a stranger and without a car. But she wasn't. Actually, she never thought she could feel as safe as she felt in that moment. It was him who she worried about. He seemed to be terrified and nervous at the same time.

"Tommy, it's ok. We'll call someone to pick us up…" Jude said as she looked for her phone inside her bag.

Tommy looked at her, opening her eyes wide as he grabbed her hand.

"No we can't…"

Jude looked into his eyes. Was he about to cry?

"Why?" she asked in a whisper, her eyes never leaving his.

Tommy swallowed hard and avoided her eyes.

"Because they're looking for me…"