this place haunts me.

zzyzx

A gentle nudge on the shoulder and the dreamy humming and swaying of the cabin eased her into consciousness.

"You're doing it again." Dominic smiled reassuringly, eyes pointing at her hands. He always masked his own uneasiness with a disarming grin. 

"Ugh! I'm so sorry!" Kaitlyn groaned, not quite awake yet. She knew immediately what he was referring to and quickly scooped up the small silver ring from the passenger side floor, securing it back onto her fourth finger.  She was always fiddling with it in her sleep.

She stretched out re-ringed hand and he met her with his right, keeping the other on the steering wheel. 

"See, if you just hold my hand for the rest of the drive, I can't take it off anymore." She simpered apologetically. 

"Oh, that's all I have to do?" He laughed and raised her hand to kiss it gently. 

"How far are we?"

"Almost to Barstow."

"About halfway..." Kaitlyn considered. "We should stop there for gas and bathroom." 

"I mean, I did fill up before we left. We can easily make it on a tank." 

"Bathroom then?" She pleaded, picking up the drained large iced coffee and shaking the residual ice for effect. 

Dominic groaned playfully. "Alright you win. I don't know how you could drink that much caffeine and still sleep the entire way."

Kaitlyn shrugged and protested but the road was already lulling her. She had begun to find herself dreaming more often than she was awake. 

The mugging was how it started. She was walking from her car to her East Hollywood apartment after work one night. A man had come up to her from the side, and said "Excuse me, Miss?" to get her attention. When she stopped and turned to acknowledge him, he sucker-punched, threw to the ground, and robbed her. She'd been too tired to stop at the ATM to deposit her tips, but considered herself lucky that nothing worse had happened. Still, her head had bounced off the sidewalk, and although she had been thoroughly examined and cleared by multiple specialists, something in her never quite recovered. 

After the immediate pain from her injuries had gone, a nagging remained. It was as if she was wound; like strings on a guitar run from the back of her neck to her wrists and her shoulders, and from her hips to her ankles. Some merciless tuner always twisting the keys to tighten them, and she, always wondering what it would feel like for one to finally snap. Even in a place like LA, with every pain killer and alternative therapy known to man at her fingertips, no relief could be found. Only in sleep could she find brief respite, and so that's where she went. 

Dom had been a godsend. They'd only been together maybe a year before the attack - barely a blink of an eye for a relationship in the class of young, broke, aspiring coastal elites. He could have easily stuck around for an appropriate amount of time, avoiding staying overnights so he wouldn't have to lose sleep quelling her night terrors, and then quietly ghosted. But he didn't. He stayed boldly, presently through the tears and countless doctors' appointments. Every time she worked past dark he would meet her wherever she parked and walk her home. It wasn't long before they made the decision to pool their resources and find a new home, together, on a well-lit street with gated parking to boot. His one caveat, if they were moving in together, he at least wanted to be engaged. 

So here they were, on their way to Vegas the weekend before Valentine's Day to celebrate. He'd met her family briefly before the move while they were in town visiting from Dallas. Plans were set to drive down next month to meet his extended family in Ensenada. They kept the engagement quiet up to this point. Both sides were... traditional. An elaborate wedding would be expected that neither could afford.  There'd be endless speculation that they were too young or it was too fast. The pressure was starting to get to Kaitlyn, on top of everything else she was experiencing.