Sweet and Spicy [COMPLETED]

Police Station

"May I help you?" A man in a police uniform stood up from his seat at the front desk. 

"Do you have a piece of paper, first of all?" Ransom refused to release Kaya's waist, his arm firmly planted there as if it grounded him to reality. 

"Uh... sure." The officer rummaged for a notepad and pen, then slid them onto the top of the desk. 

"Someone just tried to run us off the road and we're here to make a report." Ransom scribbled a small string of letters and numbers. "This is his license plate number. Our vehicle is parked in your lot."

Kaya could hardly make herself breathe, let alone think, in that situation. How did Ransom manage to snag a license plate number in the middle of the chaos? Truly, his intellect stunned her. 

The officer took the note quickly. "Is everyone alright?" 

"We're fine, just shaken." Ransom's arm flexed around Kaya's waist again. "Is there a blanket or something warm to drink?" 

"Yes, sir. Come on in, I'll get someone to take your statement." 

Ransom's grip was the only thing guiding Kaya at this point. Why did her life have to be like this? Why did everything go well until it sank into an abyss of horror? Kaya could handle it if her life went well all the time, or if everything always went wrong. But why, oh why, did life have to throw such a confusing mix of good and evil at her? 

"How are you feeling?" Ransom asked. 

Kaya shrugged a shoulder. She shouldn't retreat into her head again. That coping mechanism never worked out well. 

"Please have a seat here." The officer motioned to a bench along the wall. "Someone will be along shortly." 

"Would you kindly hurry up with that blanket and warm drink?" Ransom settled Kaya onto the bench and tugged his jacket off his shoulders. "Please?" 

"Yeah, okay, I'll see what I can do." 

"Thank you." Ransom didn't look at the man or try to sound cordial. Clearly, the man's indifference tested Ransom's patience. 

Ransom wrapped his jacket around Kaya's shoulders and pulled it closed around her. "You're uninjured? Nothing hurts, does it? Do we need to go to the hospital?" 

Kaya shook her head. She didn't want to go to the hospital again. She had visited too many times in the past few months. If she had to go again, it would be solely based on how sick she was. Right now, she wasn't sick. 

Ransom's fingers ran over her cheeks, cradling her head in a motion so warm that Kaya considered going to sleep. "Are you sure?" 

"I'm sure," Kaya managed to answer. 

Ransom released her face to take her hands in his. "We're going to get to the bottom of this." 

And, like always, Kaya believed him. Ransom didn't make idle promises, no matter the content. 

A commotion from the front of the station echoed through the air, even louder than the murmured conversations between officers. Ransom and Kaya both turned to look, though they couldn't see the cause. 

The officer from the front desk sailed through the doorway, shut it, and shook his head. He quickly turned his attention to the strange duo on the bench. "You wouldn't happen to be Ransom Lee and Kaya Parker, would you?"

Ransom's grip tightened around Kaya's fingers. "Why do you ask?" 

"Because if you are, there's a couple crazy kids out front looking for you. If you want to see them, it might help calm down the situation. What about it?" 

Ransom looked to Kaya for permission, which she easily granted. What could someone do to harm them in a police station? It would be safe to find out who came looking for them. Right?

After he got Ransom and Kaya's permission to bring the "crazy kids" back, the officer returned to the front. The yelling immediately died down. Strange. Things were rarely so easy.

It only made sense when the two crazy kids in question came barging through the door.

"Oh, thank God, you're okay." Jacob adjusted the black ball cap on his head.

Alicia pressed a hand to her heart, between her blonde braided pigtails. "We thought you died."

For the first time since the car hit them, Kaya found herself present in the moment. So many questions pounded in her head. How did Jacob and Alicia find them? Why did they come? And for what possible purpose were they dressed entirely in black?

"Did you two go to a funeral?" Kaya asked sarcastically.

In unison, Jacob and Alicia looked down at their outfits. Jacob winced. Alicia laughed.

"Okay, no, no, no. Let me explain." Alicia shuffled to the bench and dropped down beside Kaya. "I may not like you, but I'm pretty convinced that Ran does like you, so when that stupid Leona person showed up with her ridiculous plot I got so angry. You know me when I get angry, right?"

Yes. Kaya most certainly knew about angry Alicia.

"So, anyway, I said to myself 'Leesee, you can't let Ran get stolen by some floozy like Leona', and then I hatched a plan."

Kaya nodded, because she saw where this story was headed.

Ransom must have, as well, because he sighed. "You followed us on the date?"

"Followed is a strong word," Jacob interjected. "We just came along. And it's not like we could get into some of the places you went. The movie was stellar, though, thanks to Ali."

"Would you stop talking about that?" Alicia shot him a glare. "I told you, it was a fluke thing."

"Not my fault that jump-scares actually scare you."

"It was a scary movie!"

"It was a comedy." Jacob arched his brows at the little blondie.

Alicia stuck her tongue out at him.

Ransom cleared his throat. "I see no relevance to why you are both standing here in the police station with us."

"Oh, that?" Jacob hooked a thumb at Alicia. "She drives like a maniac."

Alicia grinned. "A maniac that managed to keep up with the car chase."

"Which I got on tape." Jacob held up his phone. "How's that for solid evidence?"

Every fear and doubt that Kaya had settled. The police had always refused to help without evidence. Now that they had evidence, Kaya found a hope she didn't know still lived in her heart.

Ransom pointed to Jacob's phone. "Send it to me now. Have you told anyone else that it exists?"

"Dude- I mean, sir. Who else did I have time to talk to between nearly dying in a racecar and this conversation?"

"He didn't. For sure." Alicia hit Jacob's arm to shut him up.

Ransom nodded. "Good. Don't tell anyone. Keep a couple copies. Alicia, you haven't posted to the fan club for a while. Would you like an exclusive bit of news to spread?"

"I'm all ears."

Kaya could only sit still, swathed in Ransom's jacket, and wonder at how things had turned out. Perhaps, just maybe, Alicia's spying and tabloid-like tendencies weren't always a bad thing. And maybe Kaya could find it in her to like Alicia. Just a little bit, just this once.