I think you
guys might like a certain scene in this... Please comment!
Part
11
"Your
secret kiss of confidence was my
escape…"
Jude jumped slightly as the train horn sounded, the shrill sound rocketing through the carriages and bombarding her ears with the taunting reality it signaled. She turned her head to the window, resting her elbow on an arm rest and propping her chin on the palm of her hand. The carriage began to move, jarringly at first and from the corner of her eye she noticed Tommy take a staggering step backward to regain his balance as he continued stowing their bags above the cabin beds. She allowed herself a small smile.
"Ever traveled by train before?" she asked. The question surprised her. It was something of an olive branch invitation and she couldn't decide why she'd offered something as civil as small talk.
"First time. I kind of thought they were only something that existed in old movies. At least ones like this," he motioned around him randomly as he sat down on the bunk bed across from her.
"I like it. It's kind of rustic like something out of a 20th century fairytale," she laughed, "which I so am not a character in."
She soon adjusted to the motion of the train. Their cabin was quite a distance from the engine resulting in a pretty quiet trip. The large side window displayed urban scenery that soon morphed into country. The train took a different route from the highway and eventually they were traveling through scenery that had been untouched by man for some time.
"What would you say if I said I want to call my family?" she asked, breaking the silence that had settled around him. She turned to gauge his reaction.
"I'd ask what you'd say?"
"That I'm okay."
"Well if that's all I'd say it's okay."
"Seriously?" She frowned as she gazed at him, waiting for the punch line or the eye roll.
"I figure I should offer something in return for the fact that you haven't turned me into the police yet, but Jude, do you really think you can just say a couple of words then hang up? That kind of thing is hard. They'll instantly start asking questions. It'll be overwhelming."
She looked down at her hands and the sparkling star ring on her middle finger. Her shoulders lifted in a defeated sigh. "I don't know. But just the idea that I could talk to them makes me feel a lot better."
He nodded as if he understood how she felt though the resentment always waiting beneath the surface told her he had absolutely no idea.
- -
Jude stood on the open viewing carriage of the train, enjoying the fresh breeze washing over her. She'd left Tommy asleep on his uncomfortable bunk a half hour ago and slipped away for some time alone.
At that moment the train passed over a large river on a narrow bridge that somehow didn't seem adequate enough to hold it. She held on tight to the railing and felt a rush of adrenaline as she leaned out over the edge to gaze at the glistening water far below. In that brief moment she felt alive and free, like Kate climbing up on the bow of the Titanic and feeling as if she could fly.
Suddenly a hand clamped down on her shoulder and wrenched her back from the railing but not before that second of terror when she wondered if her unknown assailant planned to throw her to her death.
"Let me go!" she snapped as she spun around and blindly punched out.
Tommy quickly obeyed, both hands rushing to cover his bruised nose. He swore angrily, "damnit! You practically fall off the train and I get punched for saving you!"
"I wasn't falling off anything and you didn't have to sneak up on me like that!" she yelled.
"Sorry," he snapped back, throwing his hands up in the air which allowed Jude a glimpse of his nose which thankfully wasn't bleeding. "Next time I'll announce my presence the very second I walk into the room."
"Thank-you," she brushed past him and with a firm tug pulled open the door that led to the corresponding carriage. She glanced over her shoulder to see him looking back at the carriage behind them and as she adjusted her gaze to what he was looking at she noticed a burly man walking down the carriage toward them. He suddenly glanced up and their eyes locked. Instant recognition flashed across his face as Jude felt some of her own. She's seen him once before, in that creepy cave full of violent crazy cowboys.
"Jude," Tommy turned to face her, "run."
He didn't need to tell her twice. She stepped into the next carriage and heard his footsteps behind her followed by the door sealing shut. They were at least three carriages down from their cabin but returning to it was no solution. Suddenly the train which had seemed quaint and fairy-like less then twenty-four hours earlier now seemed like a death trap.
"What do we do?" She gasped.
"Ditch him."
"Why didn't I think of that?" she yelled back sarcastically as she dodged a small child and grabbed onto the back of seats to pull herself through the carriage faster. The motion of the train was working against her, throwing her backwards and making her feet heavy and difficult to lift. At the other end of the carriage she pried the door open and chanced a brief glance behind her. An elderly woman had climbed up from her seat and her two middle-aged sons were helping her to the bathroom. The burly man was cut off behind them and cursing angrily.
"Go!" Tommy muttered, taking the door from her and pushing her into the connecting carriage with his other hand.
It was a quick route through the mostly deserted second carriage and it was mere seconds until they reached the end of it. The third carriage was a dining area with booth tables set for breakfast lining both the outside walls. The room was crowded with the exception of one secluded booth near the end. An idea dawned in Jude's mind and she glanced back into the previous carriage to see that the man still hadn't made it past the elderly woman.
"Take off your jacket," she instructed Tommy as they entered the dining carriage. She weaved through the crowded room, headed for the empty booth.
His eyebrows rose in surprise but having no plan of his own, he threw caution to the wind and decided to blindly obey. He quickly tore off the black leather jacket, exposing the plain white T-shirt beneath and handed the jacket to her. She motioned for him to slide into the booth, his back to the door the burly man would enter through. She then tossed his jacket under the table and took her own off. It was a denim fabric on the outside but inside was lined with brown. She turned it inside out and put it back on then pulled her hair from its ponytail and let it hang loose around her face. At a glance she looked completely different and for the man who was scanning the crowd for a denim wearing girl in a ponytail with a darkly dressed male companion, hopefully unrecognizable.
Her heart was beating wildly within her chest as she slid into the booth and moved so that she was partially sitting on the seat and partially sitting on Tommy's lap, facing him and with her head slightly above his.
"What are you doing?" he breathed.
"Shhh," she shifted a little and fanned her hair out so that when she leaned forward it shielded both their faces. A quick glance behind them saw the burly man approaching the door and with that as her prompting to do the unthinkable, she lowered her mouth to Tommy's. She wrapped one arm around his neck to pull his face closer to hers then pushed on his shoulders as if to silently instruct him to slump down in the seat somewhat.
He was like a stunned rag doll, frozen and limp as she pressed her lips to his and twisted her head to the side. With one hand she reached down to find his. Her fingers wrapped around his hand and pulled it up to wrap around her waist. She squeezed his fingers tightly, urging him to act naturally.
He caught on quickly and her mind instantly flashed back to that kiss in Darius office. Tommy's hands wrapped around her waist tightly, pulling her closer to him as he took control of the kiss, pressing his lips to hers passionately, stealing her breath in the process. He tasted like peppermints and coffee and she closed her eyes tightly, trying to push that observation as well as the fact that there were tingles shooting down her spine, out of her mind. She tried to push every detail away and detach completely from the situation. She longed to just let her body participate as her mind leapt out the window and dove into the river below.
She didn't dare glance up at the man but had she done so she would have seen her plan working perfectly. He was making his way through the crowded room and through a group of hyperactive children who were tossing cornflakes at one another. He scanned the room briefly but as a glass of milk was tossed through the air and the contents spilled on his leg, his patience levels reached an all time low. He pushed through the rest of the crowd and headed for the far door, barely paying a glance to the young couple making out in the corner.
When the sound of the carriage door closing echoed over her shoulder, Jude pried her lips away from Tommy's. Her eyes were closed and she panted slightly as she unconsciously leaned her forehead against his. "Is he gone?" she whispered as she opened her eyes and met his. There was something different about his eyes which for the most part she'd been avoiding of late. The icy blue quality was gone and there was something almost warm about them, and not in the metaphorical sense but in the literal pigment. They almost seemed a purplish gray, sparkling with something she didn't recognize as he tore his eyes from her and slowly glanced over her shoulder. She slid her hand from around his neck and let it slide down his chest, waiting for the okay to push away from him. She could feel his heart beating beneath the thin fabric of his white shirt.
"He's gone," he whispered, almost reluctantly.
"Good," in a blur of motion she was off of him and sliding away to the far end of the booth. She sat back and crossed her arms over her chest, fixing her gaze on a small speck on the wall in front of her as her mind harassed her with instant, graphic replays of the last minute.
Tommy ran a hand
through his hair as he sunk back in the booth.
"Uh, good
thinking there," he said softly, awkwardly.
"Yeah, whatever. What do we do now?"
Teasers
for Part 12
"I
am no gentleman, I can be a prick and I do regret more then I
admit."
Chris
smiled his most charming smile as he crossed over to the ticket booth
at the Cloverton train station. He nodded a greeting to the old man
behind the booth. "I was wondering if you could help me.
I'm looking for someone."
