Chapter Seven
Nathan woke several hours later to the feel of Audrey shaking him. "Wake up, wake up… Nathaannnn." She sounded about twelve. He rolled over rubbing his eyes "Wha? …hrmmm. Hey, whassup?"
She gazed down at him. His sleepy face and tousled hair would have won the prize for "World's Cutest Man" if Audrey were in charge of voting. She grinned at him, bouncing a little on her heels. "Get some clothes on.. I want to drive. There's not much in the kitchen and I need pancakes, NOW."
Muttering under his breath, Nathan rolled out of bed and stumbled into his jeans and a shirt. He was so woozy that he couldn't button his shirt correctly, and didn't zip his jeans but didn't try to hard to fix either and went to look for his keys.
She stood in the doorway. Her hair was a mess and she clearly had spent a lot of time having lots and lots of sex. Neither of them gave this much thought as they were both feeling… odd. They were tired, giddy and almost drunk. Nathan felt a surge of adrenaline once he headed for the door, though the world was still fuzzy around the edges.
Being the one who was more awake, Audrey drove. If either was in a more rational state they might have taken the time to look at a clock before leaving because the Diner was not generally open at 4:15 in the morning.
"Awwww" Audrey whined, "Bummer". She pulled the truck out of the parking lot of the obviously closed Haven Diner and headed out onto the main road.
She drive to back into the woods and parked the truck next to a tree, off the main road. Moving into his arms Audrey had a flash of memory. She jerked a little and grabbed her stomach as the image of Nathan rocking back, after being shot in the shoulder, came back to her. She moaned and felt her throat tighten.
Nathan looked at her in surprise. "What's wrong?". His heart began racing. Her eyes filled with tears. "You were shot. Oh God, this place… it's so dangerous". The memory of being shot and tackling the idiot who did it came back to him. It wasn't a painful memory, he couldn't feel the hit, but as he recalled it he froze. There was a storm, and fire. She could have been hurt.
The memory of being in the station when she was trapped on Duke's boat floated to the top - he curled into a ball and choked. She was missing! How could I have just waited! What if she…? He began to panic and pulled her tightly into his arms. As each remembered the many times the other had been in danger each became more and more upset. Within a few minutes they were each clinging to each other and sobbing.
"We have to leave" She gasped. "Not safe here… have to go… now". He nodded. Haven would have to do without them. Audrey was all that mattered. They would have to leave today and would deal with telling people after they found a place to hide. "I'll drive us back to my house, we can pack and go".
She nodded and began to move away from him, her hands coming up to clutch at her head. She was a dead panic now. Nathan would get hurt here. Haven didn't matter. Nothing mattered but them and his safety. Her head began to ache and her eyes grew itchy. Nathan didn't notice her reaction as he moved past her and behind the wheel.
Before he could start the truck his vision began to get blurry and everything started to grow dim. "Must leave" she gasped as she lost consciousness. "Now" he grunted as he fell towards her.
To be continued..
