"You ready pup?"
"Yea. Couldn't I at least grab a waffle?"
"We don't have time."
"Fine."
Of course we only stayed one night in the hotel with the dead lady and since I was sleeping when Victor was devouring a steak and he decided it was time to go, it was time to go, with or without a full stomach.
Ass hole.
Oh fuck.
Someone's knocking on the door.
Victor takes long strides over to the door and opens it only by three inches before yelling at them something like 'We'll be checking out in a minute,' and attempts to close the door in their face.
Good news; their face wasn't in the door.
Bad news; their hand was.
Whoops.
That's gotta hurt like a bitch.
So of course Victor makes the fatal mistake of opening the door so his hand can be set free only to have the kid stumble through face all scrunched up by the pain.
"Smooth move Creed." My hands are on my hips and he just shoots me a glare as he helps the guy sit on the bed. I turn to look at the kid and start to realize he isn't really a kid. He's in his high school years with dark jeans and a blue winter jacket and sneakers. Not the greatest thing to wear when it's snowing outside.
"You okay?" I ask the back of his head covered in gelled black hair. He looks up at me and smiles weakly with his slight tan skin and by the amount of facial hair it's been about four days since his last shave and his deep brown eyes.
"Hurts a little."
"No wonder, your hand was slammed in the door." I take a brief glance towards Victor his haunches are clearly raised as his eyes flicker from the injured guy to me.
"Hey, uh, where's Birdy?"
"She's in a better place." Victor says before I can come up with an answer.
"Uh? Oh, you mean Wabigoon Lake? She goes there all the time. But isn't it kinda cold to be swimming? I mean she could get frost bite."
"Don't worry, she said she was just gunna walk around the lake and run a couple chores and visit some old friends and family she hasn't seen in a while."
"Oh, okay. When's she coming back?"
"Uh, I think it's safe to say it's gunna be around… Nine o'clock tonight. Or at least that's what she told us, but you never know with her, y'know?"
"Yea, I remember one time my parents asked her to pick me up from school and I had to wait five hours 'cuz she was out with some guy."
"Shit. That sucks."
"Yea, it did. So, uh, if she's not gunna drive me to Winnipeg, then..?" Better come up with something fast before Creed does…
"Uh, she asked us to drive you to Winnipeg." Victor's head snaps in my direction with surprise and anger scrawled on his face, while the high school's eyes just widen just a bit but I can tell his pleased by this.
"Sweet. Are we going now or..?"
"No. We are leaving now." Victor's pissed off all over again and stalks out the room leaving me with the kid as I try and keep up with him as the kid follows, his eyes watching my ass as I walk down the stairs.
"Victor? Do you want me to drive?"
"No thanks, sweetheart." Sarcasm does Victor's rough attitude some good.
And for some odd reason…
He puts his hand around my waist while we're walking out to the pickup leaving the poor kid in dust, but against my abs I feel Victor's nails extend and hear the beginning of a growl in his throat.
"Protective much?" I whisper just barely under my breath but I know Creed heard it.
"Shut it." A smile lifts the corners of my mouth a little knowing that I'm right.
Once we've reached the truck Victor pulls his arm away as I walk up to the passenger's seat and Creed opens up the door to the cab.
"Is that where I'll be sitting?"
"Yea."
"Couldn't me and her just sit up front in the same seat."
"Uh, no." The kid scrambles in on his hands and knees into the cab and next to the cab window, next to my left ear, as Creed slams it behind him.
"Does he always act like this?"
"Only around other guys."How would I ever know that? I smile and try to reassure both him and myself, feeling a little sorry for the kid since he has to deal with an alpha Victor. The kid doesn't have time to respond to my answer before Creed's in the car and bring the engine to life.
"Winnipeg, right?"
"Yea, and then you can drop me off at the Norwood Hotel."
"Damn, that's about a six hour drive."
"Sorry Birdy burdened you guys with me."
"No, it's okay. It's the least we could do." I reply before Victor can give out more sarcasm at the poor kid. I can already tell that Creed's thinking of all the places he could dump the kids body.
Its gunna be a tough ride.
Let's pray to god this kid isn't talkative.
Then again with my luck, he probably is.
Goddamn it.
Doesn't help that the kid gets an excellent view down my shirt; so of course to try and prevent Creed from ripping out the kid's intestine and any of that I move my hair over the girls and hope it blocks his line of sight, silently hoping it works.
"Hey you like the band Three Days Grace?"
"Yea."
"Wanna use one of my ear bugs to listen?"
"Sure."
We're half way through one of their albums when the kid decides to ask us some personnel questions.
Of course, the first question he asks is for Creed.
"So, are you like, her dad or something?"
This kid's dead meat.
"Or something." And to my surprise Victor laughs away the rude question and for some outlandish reason his hand welcomes itself over to my seat and calmly lays down just an inch from my knee. His neck twists so he can look back at the kid to show him his long canines, but before he can even open his mouth my hands on his face as I push his face forward to keep his face eyes, as well as his sharp fangs, directed towards the road.
"Don't get distracted, I don't want to end up in a ditch." This is a warped signal for the kid to change the subject before Victor can pull over and rip the kid from the cab and run him over with the truck.
Of course I am utterly ignored.
It's your own fucking funeral.
"So, how do you guys know Birdy?"
"Me and her go way back, I used to be one of her bosses." Seriously? This is one of those things I'm gunna have to ask about later, when the kid's gone.
"Sweet. Hey, I feel kinda rude about this, but what are your names?"
"Oh, I'm Rogue, and this is Creed." I decide to call introduce Victor as Creed 'cuz I know he'd get pissed off if the kid used his first name.
"Rogue?"
"Yea, it's a nickname my friends gave me."
"That's cool, I'm Owen." He holds out his hand so I grab it and give it a gentle shake and release it quickly before he thinks I'm trying to be intimate.
"Nice to meet you Owen."
"Hey, you guys mind if I try finding some stations on the radio?"
"Go right ahead." Victor's hand tightens a little around my thigh in a warning and my hand brushes against his as I try and massage it ever so slowly in tiny spirals to get his claws to retract.
Owen messes around with the dial with nothing but static to show for it in the first few minutes until he finds a station that plays rap rock and metal and I'm thankful in Owens case that it's not pop or rap.
We continue like this in silence for about four hours and then Victor finds a high way out of Ontario and into Manitoba and Victor speeds on a sixty mph going ninety. I think Owen thinks he's trying to kill us and I can sympathize.
Then we take a quick bathroom stop, at a gas station this time so Owen can piss 'cuz apparently he doesn't feel comfortable doing so in the middle of a forest.
Again, I can sympathize.
"I fucking hate this kid."
"Come on Vic, it's not much longer. Just a couple more hours, you're doing great." I try to calm him down and reassure him but he pulls away and turns till he's looking directly at me.
"Do you see the fucking way he was looking at you? I mean for fuck's sake, do I have to piss on you to get him to stop?"
"Uh, I would kindly appreciate not being peed on today."
"You know what I mean." And there he is with his hand back on my leg with his thumb stroking my jeans as it seems to pace back and forth. His anger's gone and I'm considering singing 'Hallelujah' when Owen walks out of the gas station and Victor's animalistic rage is back.
"This awesome, 'bout an hour more and it's back to the city."
"Is that where your parents are? In Winnipeg?"
"Eh, something like that. You guys got any family out here?"
"Yea, me and Creed are hunting down his family." And now we've finally finding civilization outside the windows of the truck as Creed continues at his treacherous speed ignoring speed limit once more.
"Oh, I see. Are you in high school?"
"Nope, graduated two and a half years ago."
"Oh… What colleges are you thinking about?"
"I haven't really looked at a lot of that stuff, I don't have much money and some asshole burned down my apartment so I'm kinda in a tight squeeze right now."
"Damn, that's sucks ass."
"Yea. You have no idea."
And it's back into silence for the next forty minutes with the bare buzz of the radio and the city life around us and it's about five thirty.
And then, of course, Owen asks the one question I really didn't want to hear.
"So, Rogue, can I have your number?"
Fuck.
How do I get myself out of that one?
Think, fucking think!
"Truthfully, I don't really have a cell phone with my small budget, and with the burned down apartment and all…" And, just my luck, the kid buys it and doesn't think that I'm not interested.
Which I most definitely am not.
"Five more minutes." Victor breaths quietly underneath his breath so Own wouldn't hear, clearly telling me that I won't have to hold Owen off for too long till we're at the hotel and I never have to see him again or answer any more of his annoying questions.
Not to mention being able to stop worrying for the kid's life.
Then again if Victor wanted to kill him right now I'd be all for it.
But hey, maybe I'm getting lucky and-,
"Rogue?"
Shit.
Please, please, please not ask that question.
"Could you please hand me the other ear bud?"
"Yea, sure." I toss him the ear bud and count my lucky stars, although hoping I haven't jinxed myself yet. And then Victor pulls over in front of the Norwood Hotel and now me and Vic will never have to see him again thank you gawd. The kid pops out of the cab and closes its door with a slam and walks up to the steps of the hotel, looking back at us and waving. Victor leans over me and rolls down the passenger window as me and him both wave with relieved smiles on both our faces. Owen turns and a guy his age runs up to him, who I'm guessing is one of his friends and…
The guy kisses him.
The guy kisses Owen.
And Owen kisses him back.
Full out tongue on tongue in public.
And the guy who's been staring down my shirt this entire time, is gay.
Me and Victor make it past the next street till we starting laughing hysterically with even more relief than before and we're both bright red and gasping for air with our heads down.
And Victor's hand is still on my leg.
For once in a while;
It feels kinda nice.
