"Could be the ignition wire," a voice from the darkness called out.
Startled, Gabriella stepped back from her car and whipped her head around toward the direction of the voice. The forest was so dark. Even with a clear sky above, the trees were so thick that the moonlight made little difference.
Gabriella could barely make out two figures just beyond the edge of the road in the darkness of the forest. She heard a whispered "I'm outta here," as one of them took off deeper into the woods.
The other stood up and took a step toward her. She instantly recognized the unmistakable orange of the inmate uniform.
"I'm sorry. Look, I didn't mean to scare you," the deep voice stammered apologetically. "It's just… I mean… I know a lot about cars," the speaker continued, taking another cautious step toward her.
"Yeah. It's okay… so does my boyfriend," Gabriella lied, hoping she sounded more confident than she felt. She stared down at her phone as she dialed Jake's number.
She met the stranger's gaze as she brought the phone up to her face.
"Hey! It's me. I'm on the road behind the con camp," she said cheerily into the phone, pretending there was someone on the other end. All the while, keeping her eyes on the stranger's face.
"There is no way that you have cell service out here." the prisoner said quietly but bluntly, giving her a subtle eye-roll.
Afraid of what his next move might be, Gabriella drew her gun from her bag and pointed it at the stranger.
"Whoa. Hey… Easy… Easy," he said, raising his hands up beside his head.
"Get back," Gabriella said, staring him right in the eyes.
"Look. Come on," he pleaded, keeping his hands up.
"It's just… I'm fine. Okay?" she said. "You shouldn't be here."
"Look, I'm not going to hurt you. Just…" he paused, his eyes pleading with her. "Let me just talk you through reconnecting the ignition wire," he said gesturing towards the car with his right hand.
"Better yet… you can keep that thing trained on me and I'll do it for you," he said, holding her gaze. He bit his bottom lip and started to take another step towards her.
"You even step onto the road… and you're off property. They consider that an escape," Gabriella warned.
"You got a better idea?" he questioned, raising his eyebrows and giving just the hint of a smile.
They held each other's gaze for almost a minute, then he slowly stepped forward onto the road.
"I guess I just escaped," he joked sheepishly, his hands still in the air.
He walked over to the raised hood of the car and got right to work.
Gabriella took him in as he worked. He was tall. Bearded with blonde hair down to his chin. Thick with muscle. Not the lean, expertly curated muscle of the professional athletes she'd known. This was muscle built by someone who tried (and failed) daily to work their demons out on a bench press. His obnoxiously loud orange shirt was stretched tight over almost every part of him. His broad shoulders. His defined triceps. His chest. She caught herself before letting her imagination go too far.
She looked away, then said "I'm sorry about this," as she gestured towards her gun. "I was scared.. and I carry it around with me in case my car breaks down…"
"...Next to a prison and run into an escaped felon," he interrupted, finishing her sentence with a shy, crooked smile.
She returned the smile, meeting his eyes for a moment. Now that he was out of the darkness of the forest, she could see how blue his eyes were. They were beautiful… but sad… and surprisingly gentle.
He looked back down at the engine as he continued his work. "Are you from here?"
She shook her head. "I grew up in San Diego. My parents got divorced a couple of years ago and my dad moved here," Gabriella replied casually.
"We drove by your ceremony yesterday," he said looking up from the engine at her. "It's pretty cool that you were in the Olympics," he said genuinely.
"Yeah, I was," Gabriella signed, shrugging her shoulders.
"So what now?" he asked.
"I don't know," she answered. "Four years is a long time to wait for your real life to begin."
"Yeah… yeah, I can relate," he said looking up at her, his blonde hair hanging over his eyes.
"I'm sorry," she apologized sheepishly.
"Don't be," he said, reassuring her. "Four years is a long time to wait for your real life."
He looked up at her and smiled. Their eyes met and she felt her heart in her throat. Man, he was charming, but also seemed broken in a way that made her heart sink.
"Try and start it," he said with a smile as he nodded his head toward the driver's seat.
She walked past him and got into the car.
She turned the key and it sprang to life.
"Yep, you're good to go," he said as he pulled down the hood of the car.
"Thank you," she said gratefully. "Let me give you some money for helping," she said as she grabbed her wallet from her bag.
"You seriously don't need to do that," he said.
A photostrip fell onto the ground by the open car door. It was the kind you can get in an old fashioned photobooth. "You dropped something," he said as he leaned down to pick it up.
He paused to look at the photos before handing it back. Gabriella thought she saw him wince slightly. "Your boyfriend?" he asked quietly.
"He wasn't really on the phone, but he exists," she replied jokingly as she took the photostrip from his hand.
"Thank you," she paused. "Really," she said sincerely. "Good luck," she said with a nod, closing the car door and putting it into gear.
"Yeah, you too," he said with a sad smile, watching her drive off.
