Her eyes, his lies

Chapter 36

The rain had truly picked up, soaking Jane's hair. It clung to her neck as she crawled into the van and shut the door behind her.

Ryder sat at one end, ancient brick of a cell-phone in hand. The glow of the screen was the only source of light in the dim interior, illuminating his features from beneath. His eyes were ringed by dark circles, his cheeks gaunt.

"Hey," Jane said, dragging herself next to him on the floor. The insulation of the van was thin, and she could feel the cold of the weather through the walls.

A picture of a woman adorned Ryder's screen, her hair the same shade as Ryder's. His mother.

The sounds of rain striking the roof of the van were muffled from inside, blending together in a comfortable beat. Jane began laying out the feast she had procured for them, a veritable buffet of artery-clogging junk food and sugary snacks.

The liquor bottle clicked as she placed it against the floor. Ryder's gaze snapped to it, eyes narrowed, phone still clenched in his hand. Jane rested her hand on his knee, having finished preparing their stolen meal.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

Ryder lowered his phone. "Feels like we ask each other that a lot. Normal couples don't do that, do they?"

Jane felt a silent thrill at the fact that he'd referred to them as a couple. "You didn't answer my question."

There was a pause before he spoke. "Yeah. Just thinking about how we ended up here."

Jane smiled, thinking about how small her problems had been before, how much she had taken for granted. "Remember when you bumped into me in that hallway? You must've been so distracted."

"You know, I bumped into you intentionally," he admitted, a dry chuckle punctuating the admission.

"You did not!" Jane's mouth fell open.

"Come on." His hand found her own, still on his knee. "The cute new girl, looking lost? I couldn't help myself."

Jane shook her head, still smiling. Physically bumping into girls was a truly terrible way to start a conversation, not to mention some form of harassment. Perhaps Ryder had a touch of teenage awkwardness in him after all.

He reached out, ignoring the food entirely, and instead uncorked the bottle of liquor. The familiar chemical stench bloomed from the mouth, before Ryder pressed it to his lips.

The smell brought back memories for Jane. Painful ones.

"Don't hog it all," Jane said, taking the bottle from Ryder.

She had to suppress the memories. Even just for tonight.

It burned in a way Jane had never encountered, the liquor. She gagged as soon as it entered her stomach.

"I don't know what to do anymore," Jane admitted, wincing in revulsion at the drink.

Ryder's chuckle was different this time. Bitter, and a touch regretful. "Neither of us do. They'll find us eventually. It's just a matter of time."

Jane rested her head against the cool wall behind her. The liquor was buzzing through her veins, softening the pain in her mind. The voice was gone, suppressed by the chemical force of the alcohol.

"I've been trying to escape for so long, and now that I have..." Ryder made a clicking noise with his lips, taking another draught from the bottle. "Hey, what happened between you and Victoria?"

"Well... there's something I never told you about all this. I was working with an undercover cop."

Ryder nodded, unsurprised. "Right. The mole."