I will try to post as soon as the chapters are up. Thank you Anna Lane for the review, it boosted my day. I still don't own the characters, just borrowing them for a while.
Enough chit chat, on with the story.
Hell part 04
They drive into a small town, away from the highway. Remy knows they are just a few hours away from New Orleans but fatigue jumped him about an hour ago. All he wants to do now is sleep. It won't do either of them any good if he fell asleep behind the wheel.
"Right there, that sign. It says bed and breakfast. We can stay there." she points out. She is as tired as he is, plus, she can't wait to stretch her legs and maybe try to wake up her butt. It's been numb for a few miles, and even though she tried to sit in different positions, nothing really worked. Now she fears she might fall on her ass getting out of the car and not feel it. Although, it would give them something to talk about. The trip so far has been pretty silent. Anna's not sure if he's afraid of saying something out of sort and insult her, but she can't wait for him to say anything, she just wants to hear his voice. She finds it kinda soothing, especially this morning when he changed her bandage. She momentarily recalls it as a smile appears on her lips.
She shakes herself mentally. Why would that memory make her smile? He's confusing the crap out of her. She is going to have to talk to him about that, but how do you broach the subject. How to tell someone they confuse you, to the point where she thinks this whole situation might just be a dream she's having and that she is still at the house, chained up to the wall. A hand goes up to her neck as she remembers the pain that came with the memory.
"Hey are you ok." he asks as he sees her looking pretty somber all of a sudden.
"Yeah, Remy, I'm fine. Just thinking about everything that happened in the past 24 hours." She tries to give him her best smile, but it hurts too much.
"You're still afraid Erik will find you?"
She nods her response.
"Once we get to New Orleans, it'll be easier for me to protect you."
The room at the bed and breakfast is pretty spacious. It almost looks like a suite. It has a double bed, a flat screen TV on the opposing wall. A couch placed directly under the TV tells Anna that it wasn't meant to be used that much, well at least not for watching television. Again, just one bed. This time, she figures Remy will take the bed but then she sees him putting his shoulder bag right beside the Chesterfield. He turns around with a smile on his face.
"I saw a store a few buildings down." He starts. "I'm in the mood for some BBQ chips. Did you need anything?"
"Yes, actually." She grabs a piece of paper and a pen that had been left on the small table, and scribbles down what she needs. She hands him the paper and he looks at her, a bit confused about the items on the list. "Anything else?"
"No, thank you."
"I'll be back in a bit."
He comes back from the store to see that she set all of his things next to the bed and moved her bag next to the couch.
"What do you think you're doing?"
"Remy, you should take the bed. You need to sleep."
"I will not. You need to recuperate. Take the bed!"
"No!"
"Anna. If you don't take the bed, I will sleep on the floor."
"That's silly. Take the bed!" She is getting upset at him. Why wouldn't he just take the bed?
He takes a breath, and looks her in the eye. But before he can say anything, she cuts him off. "Take the damn bed. That couch doesn't seem that comfortable and you need to sleep."
"So do you. Believe me, this will be a lot better than last night. Besides, I'll get to sleep in my own bed soon enough."
Him saying that has her worried about where she'll fit in. She doesn't want to be a burden to anyone. She wants to say something but he has already disappeared in the bathroom, no doubt to change.
He comes out of the bathroom wearing his sweatpants. He then sees her sitting on the bed, biting her nails. He's noticed that she has done that a bit. He figures it must be her way of dealing with everything that's happened so far, a nervous tic, so to say. He looks at her, almost as if he's studying her, but as she brings her eyes to him, he quickly averts his somewhere else. He walks back to the couch and tries to think about anything to keep his mind off the fact that she looks very beautiful just sitting there, on the bed. He's sure she doesn't realize that she is attractive and he certainly doesn't want to spook her. He finds her pretty fascinating, and very courageous. To have spent all that time trapped, then escaping and finally trusting him. He wants to show her that she can trust him, that he won't hurt her any time soon. Maybe once they get to New Orleans, he can start showing her, once he feels she's ready.
She stands to make her way to the bathroom. Once she comes out, she looks at him, lying down on the couch with a book in his hands, a blanket covering him. Not at all unlike last night. He looks so beautiful. Wait a minute, she mentally shakes herself. What the hell is she thinking? This guy is a stranger, he could still hurt you!
"Anna? Are you ok?" he asks, concern plastered on his face. He sees her looking very uneasy. She bites her lower lip as she bows her head and stares at the floor. He stands up and slowly walks up to her.
"Anna. Look at me." he demands softly.
She brings her eyes to meet his. "I'm just not used to seeing so much of you." she manages some words. Then a blush appears on her face. She turns her head away, unsure if he's seen her turning red. Hoping he didn't. She's embarrassed by ever saying anything.
"Oh. Anna, you should've said something before." he replies as he briskly walks back to his bag to grab a shirt and puts it on. "The last thing I want to do is make you uncomfortable. I'm sorry, I should've thought about this."
"No, Remy. It's fine. I'm just not use to this. Any of this." she continues as she waves her hands around. "You're very confusing." There, she finally said it.
"Me?"
"Yes. I don't know what you're gonna do next. You're the only man besides my father that didn't hurt me. And I'm still not sure that you won't. You say I can trust you but..."
"I'm a man. I understand Anna, really, I do. But you can trust me. I won't hurt you. As for me confusing you, I'm sorry, it's really not in me to hurt anyone, not unless they hurt me first."
"You saying you're sorry, being very careful around me. Are all men like that or just you?"
"Quoi?" (1)
"You're not like other men?"
"No, chère, I'm not. What happened to you... Those men... they shouldn't have done that, they were selfish cowards. I know it won't change anything but I do apologize, on behalf of the male gender."
"That's very nice. But you didn't do those things to me." She then turns around and walks to the bed, wondering if she'll get to sleep again.
Last night, she felt safer than she had been in months. How can this one man, this one stranger make her feel safe. She knew Erik, he was a friend of her parents. But, this man, she wants to trust him, to let herself open up to him. She needs a friend right now, and he did say that he would take her to New Orleans. Once there, she can figure out what she'll do next.
(1) Quoi - What
