Joe's POV

The sound of a gun firing rang through my ears, my hand vibrating. I looked down at my feet only to see his lifeless body lying in a pool of his own blood. I opened my mouth to speak, but no words came out. I was dumbfounded, terrified and disgusted. I dropped my gun and watched it land in the pool of blood below. Its impact created a light rippling wave throughout the puddle. The reality of the situation struck me, my eyes widening in terror. I KILLED him. I dropped to the ground as countless sobs and screams escaped my lips. It was dark and foggy, the only thing I could see was his lifeless body in front of me.. That is until a warm hand rested upon my shoulder. I turned my head to see a pair of mocha-colored irises looking into mine.

My eyes immediately snapped open. I was out of breath, my chest heaving in and out. Thank God it was just a dream, thank god. I used the back of my hand to wipe the cold sweat off my forehead and tried to my best ability to even my breathing.

"Are you okay?" A quiet voice asks.

I turn my head and realized it's her. Was she watching me the entire time?

"I'm fine." I say hoarsely and sit up. "Just a little nightmare." I crack a reassuring smile at her.

She still looks concerned; I guess I wasn't as convincing as I hoped.

"Was it about him?" Her eyes want answers.

"Yeah." I breathed out, letting her in. She might as well know, I mean she's stuck with me now.

Before she could respond, I rose from the couch and made my way to the bathroom. I shut the door behind me and flicked the light on. The cool water ran into the sink when I turned the faucet on. I wet my hands and then splashed my face with the water. That should wake me up, right? I grabbed the towel from beside the sink and patted my face dry. All that was left was my reflection in that oval mirror. It didn't take me long to notice the changes in my face from just these past few days. I had no emotion left in myself, my eyes had dark bags under them and my skin looked a lot paler than before. I felt absolutely repulsed by myself. I guess murdering someone really takes a toll on you, eh?

My inner thoughts were interrupted by the sound of light knocking.

I opened the door and raised both eyebrows. "What?"

"What are we doing today?"

The way she looked at me wasn't friendly at all. I guess she's justified, she did see me kill someone.

"Hold up." I shook my hand in front of her face and back tracked. Did I even know her name?

She raised her eyebrow at me and took a step back.

"I'm Joe." I extended my hand out to her.

"Demi." She replied and shook my hand.

An awkward silence filled the room. I looked down at her.

"Oh right." I laughed nervously. "I took your car to the auto shop yesterday. It should be done by now if you want to see if its fixed."

Her eyes lit up. "I already forgot about my car." Demi ran her fingers through her hair and shook her head. "That sounds good though."

Demi's POV

We walked silently down the pavement towards the shop. I slipped my hands in my hoodie and glanced at Joe who was basically jogging. It was beyond awkward. The only noise was the sound. of our footsteps, cars and the occasional breeze. Even though I tried to start a conversation, he'd completely ignore the fact that I was there. He'd just nod or not respond to my statement.

"So how close are we?" I asked Joe, hoping he'd respond. You get kind of lonely with seldom interaction.

"Just around the corner." He stated, shooting a smile back at me.

I let out a sigh of relief. My feet are killing me, not to mention I haven't eaten any breakfast yet. I peered around at my surroundings. It was a rainy, grey day. The streets were wet and puddles were forming by the curb. The dreary sky spit out tiny rain droplets every few seconds, a few poking at my face like tiny pins. Cars sped by and sliced through the puddles, water streaming out from each side of the vehicles. We turned the corner and Joe walked towards a brick two-story building. I followed behind him, avoiding stepping in the puddles. I couldn't get these shoes wet, they're all I have right now. As we got closer to the building, I could see that the front was two white garage doors, both opened. Graffiti covered more than half of the red brick walls. On the left side was a white door, enclosed behind the chain fence that ran around the perimeter of the property. It was a scary looking place, but I think I trust Joe. He's taken care of me the past 24 hours, hasn't he? Then I started to think, where I would be if we didn't have our little encounter?

Joe swaggered into the open garage and was immediately greeted by the grease-covered employees.

I followed hesitantly and felt a few pairs of eyes on me. I allowed my hair to fall in front of my face. This was awkward for me. I haven't had a lot of male attention since him. It just made me feel insecure.

I looked up to see Joe talking to an older man, probably in his mid 40s, against the front counter a few feet away from me. They shared a few laughs and genuine smiles. I've never seen Joe smile like that before, he actually has really nice teeth. Anyway, the man came out from behind the counter and handed Joe a set of keys before patting him on the shoulder. I saw the older man glance at me and whisper something in Joe's ear, Joe nodding back. I haven't mastered the art of reading lips yet, so it was nothing to my use.. though it made me feel super uncomfortable.

Joe came back over to me twirling the keys around his index finger. "Well, the car's done. Here's your key."

He placed the keys in my hand and studied my face for a little. He sure does have an art of making people uncomfortable.

"Now you can drive home safely." He mumbled.

Did he just say Home? I can't go back there. Especially after what just happened. My eyes widened when I heard this.

"What?" I asked him again just to make sure I was hearing right.

"Home." He raised an eyebrow at me. "You really don't want to stay here, right?"

I started feeling helpless.

"I was hoping I could stay for a few more days." I half whispered, looking up at him.

For a second, I swore he was going to let me. The way he looked at me was so assuring. Then something must've snapped. His eyes grew huge and he let out a fake laugh.

"No. You're going back where you came from."

Ouch.

"But-"

I felt a tight grip around my forearm as I was led to the corner of the room. His muscular build hovered over me as he whispered in my ear.

"Listen to me, Demi. It's not safe for you to be here. The police are looking for me and its too dangerous for you to get caught up in this mess, okay? You're going home."

Does he think I can't handle it? I know what I'm getting myself into and I don't fucking care.

A bit of adrenaline built up inside of me as I jerked my hand away. I looked sternly into his eyes.

"I don't fucking care."

He raised his hand up in the air as if he was going to hit me. He yelled at me slightly above a whisper, clenching his jaw.

"Well I fucking care! This is my problem, not yours. Stay away from me and my mess."

I couldn't think of anything quick to say back to him.

"This isn't where you're supposed to be." Joe mumbled under his breath, rolling up the sleeves of his black hoodie. "I'm sorry, Demi." He shook his head and exited the shop, leaving me behind to sulk in my own misery.

I drove down the road and back towards home, the music blasting. I was hoping a little Coldplay would clear my head, but apparently not. I didn't realize I was crying until my eyes welled up with water. I didn't bother to wipe the tears. I guess I was too occupied in my own thoughts. This was seriously it. I had to go home and my biggest fear again. I thought I found my exodus from life, but I guess I was wrong. Things just couldn't swing in my direction one time, could they?

The tears obscured my vision so much that I couldn't see where I was heading. I pulled off to the shoulder of the road and put the car in park. I needed to clear my head. With my right hand, I turned my music down to a soft hum. I rested my head on my leather steering wheel and sighed.

Knock knock.

What the hell?

KNOCK KNOCK.

This is my fucking car, not a front door.

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK.

The knocks got louder as time passed. I turned my head to my left to see an officer standing outside my window. Did the guys back at the shop sabotage my car? Is one of my lights out? Was I going over the speed limit? Is that what the man whispered to Joe? My mind raced as I rolled down the fogged up window.

"Is there a problem, miss?" The officer asked, his voice filled with concern. He removed his glasses and leaned against my window. His eyes were very blue, his hair a short, sandy blonde color. He looked young, but undeniably a brute.

I shook my head and wiped my eyes with the corner of my sleeve.

"I have chronic dry eyes, it's nothing."

Damn that's the stupidest excuse I've ever come up with.

He looked at me skeptically. "Mhm. Now can I ask you something, miss?"

He slipped a wallet-sized piece of paper out of his breast pocket through my window. It was a high school graduation picture. I studied it carefully flipping it over to see if there was a date or a name.

"I need help hunting down this man." His hand reached in and pointed at the boy in the picture. "This picture is a few years dated, but he's sure as hell wanted." The officer laughed coldly.

"Have you seen him?"

I raised and eyebrow and got a closer look at the picture. I felt my heart skip a beat when I recognized the familiar face. It was him.