Wanderlust.

Steer

I sat in the passenger seat and watched the town I've been in my entire life speed by. It no longer seemed familiar to me. There was a new found thrill that Noah had shown me in the twenty minutes I had known him that I couldn't seem to obtain in my entire lifetime. I felt like I could stay in this car forever without a care in the world and for once experience freedom, not just wish for it.

"What about me seems different?" I asked without thinking.

He paused for a second and replied,

"It's a shame you don't see it."

This eccentric and witty boy was physically incapable of giving me a concrete answer. Everything that came out of his mouth compelled me to ask more questions. I hated my obsessive need to control and analyze every tiny, irrelevant detail. There was never a time I was jealous of someone's material items. For me, I envied those who remained blissfully ignorant and were capable of shrugging anything off. As hard as it was for me, I kept my mouth shut and decided to finally let a question go unanswered.

"Am I worthy enough of your real name now?"

My heart sank.

"Clara is my real name." I wouldn't have even believed myself with that shaky delivery.

"I think we've forged a strong enough bond to be honest now."

"Strong bond? I met you in a parking lot not even an hour ago."

"Exactly, we're practically best friends," he beamed.

I rolled my eyes and looked out the window again.

"It's Cassandra."

The attitude in my tone was quite clear. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Noah half smile and he quietly repeated my name.

"I like it, it suits you much better than Clara Vaughn."

For once there was no snide comment or relentless questioning there was just a normal statement. I leaned my head against the window and felt absolutely at peace. Until I read the sign in front of me.

Now leaving Mystic, Connecticut

Needless to say, my tranquility was shattered into a million pieces. Immeadiately, I turned to Noah and practically screamed,

"LEAVING! ARE YOU INSANE? TURN THIS CAR AROUND,"

Noah wore a blank expression and didn't even have the decency to face me. He kept his eyes firmly on the road ahead.

"NOW!"

This was not the adventure I had signed up for. Going down to the docks or the park or something innocent was more along the lines of what I expected. I knew Noah was a weirdo but I never believed he was capable of kidnapping. My throat tightened, my heart beat uncontrollably, and my entire body trembled.

I was having a panic attack. It wasn't my first rodeo and if I couldn't calm down in the next 10 minutes, I was certain I would pass out. Nothing scared me more than fainting next to a total stranger who I sure as hell couldn't trust.

I was utterly screwed.