Away

Chapter 8

~Aspen~

He smiled widely at my happy answer, and shrugged.

"Maybe we can go to the movies," He said, "I know that you really love movies."

I tried to ignore his comment on knowing what I loved. It was creepy, and I needed to be as positive as possible right now so that he didn't get suspicious.

"Sure."

"I'll get you a jacket from downstairs. We can leave now."

I closely followed him down the staircase.

He pulled a jacket off of the doorknob of the front door and handed it to me. I pulled it over my shoulders, and whispered a quiet thank you.

"What movie do you want to see?" He asked. I shrugged my shoulders.

He pushed open the front door to the early morning.

"Will any be playing right now? It seems so early," I told him. He frowned.

"Maybe you're right," Darius said, "We can just get food if nothing is open."

I nodded my head, and followed him to the car. We were using Darius' car. I was happy that we had disposed of Ashton's old truck.

I watched the roads carefully as we drove away from the mountain. It was very necessary for my escape to be planned, and not spontaneous. Knowing where to go after leaving the house was very crucial.

We made our way past a campsite, a large group of cabins, and a massive stretch of forest before the paved road appeared. This paved road continued for many miles, and then lead to the freeway.

I remembered this part of the trip from my house, on the night he took me off of the street.

"I think it's too early to go to the movies, or any place at all. There's a restaurant over here, we can just go there, if you're alright with that."

"Sure," I said.

I wasn't exactly hungry (I think he had forgotten), but I needed to scope out the nearby town so that I could plan an escape route.

We left the freeway through an exit to the right of the freeway (that was all I happened to gather from watching), and entered a small town.

I saw people walking by, holding their children close to them, or petting their dog gently while waiting at the edge of the street to cross.

I spotted a young girl sitting on a bench, the arm of a young man around her small shoulders. They were both smiling, and talking happily.

I felt a pang of anger and sadness hit my heart.

This was Derek and I before his devastating death, and me being kidnapped.

A heavy silence overtook the atmosphere in the car as Darius noticed what I was staring at. He looked down at the steering wheel and gripped it tightly.

"Is that what you wished we could be like?" He asked suddenly, and turned to look at me.

I met his questioning gaze.

"No," I told him.

He looked at me.

"It's what I miss from my life before. . . this."

"Oh," He said in a bored tone with a slight scowl.

His anger helped to lift my mood.

"We're here," Darius said, sounding annoyed.

I pushed the door of the car open, and he rushed around the front of the car to meet me as my feet touched the asphalt of the parking lot.

The restaurant was small, with a big, colorful sign, and many windows on the front wall as we walked in. To be honest, it seemed like a very nice, cozy, clean place.