His Identity

Because...

"Urgh! come on, the guy has about ten more SUVs! He won't mind if we steal the only car he got," Alec said, a sudden look of pride falling over his face.

"Where is Jett?" I asked when seeing that the passenger seat was empty. Alec's face fell as he raised his brow at me.

"I'm here," Jett's voice came from the back. "Riding shotgun makes me nervous. That's all."

We heard a clatter of heavy boots from the opposite direction. "There!" one city guard yelled and about a dozen more came running down the stairs. 

Alec cursed. "Quickly, hop on."

I pulled open the back door. Marlene and Carla threw themselves to the backseat, leaving me to close their doors and hurry to the front.

Alec started the engine and hit the accelerator even before I could close the door. Somehow, I managed to slam it shut with a gasp. "ALEC! I could have died!"

"I would never forgive myself if I let that happen to," he mumbled to himself, "someone I love."

I heard it. I turned to him with wide eyes, disbelieving what I just heard. No, I might have imagined the last part. Right?! I shouldn't be overreacting. It's something normal coming from a friend. Right?! 

But it's not something normal coming from Alec. He rarely put weight in his words. He didn't show emotions, at all. He believed showing your emotions can turn into one of your weaknesses. 

His words kept bouncing inside my head like a damn rubber ball.

He glanced at me and caught me staring. Immediately he looked away, focusing ahead. Colour rose to his cheeks like he just realized what he said. 

A moment later, he cleared his throat, "Put your seatbelt on."

I obeyed but my mind was singing love, love, love like some Christmas carol. To clear my head, I turned to check the three in the back. "Everybody g-good?" I managed to ask.

The two girls gave me a thumbs up. I raised my eyebrows at Jett because he looked as if about to throw up any minute. Jett shook his head and looked outside the car window. He slowly closed his eyes, taking shallow breaths. The poor boy is car sick.

I turned again and watched Alec as he  continued to drive. I couldn't seem to take my eyes off him. His focus was on the road but he appeared to be deep in thought. I thought of a good way to start a conversation. I can't bear to be awkward around him. 

My eyes happened to notice the speedometer. I gasped. We are going a hundred miles an hour. "ARE YOU REALLY TRYING TO KILL US?!" I screamed.

"Huh?"

"Slow down for Satan's sake!"

"But we need to make sure the city guards can't follow us."

"It's not a highway, Alec. We might crash!" I accused furthermore. 

I held on to my seatbelt and shot a panicked glance outside. The tall buildings of the city were just a blur of brown and black as we drove past them. Ahead, the road was clear as usual, so it felt like a highway even though it really wasn't. Alec smirked noticing my terrified state.

"Jett is about to pass out," Mar shouted from the back.

"The guards aren't following us! Stop the damn car, Alec!" Now, I was more irritated than scared.

"Fine, fine." Alec laughed and reduced the speed. Relief washed over me when the speed limit gradually drifted down to seventy, then fifty and thirty.