Fire Meets Gasoline : After Ashes

Chapter Ten : Growing

MIKE TORRENTES. I looked at Yujun's eyes and tried my best to speak to him without any words, we didn't have much time to think especially with murders going around us everywhere we would go. He was calm though, he held my arms and gave a quick comfort to my cold body, I then let go of him and went to the truck.

"Go to your car!" Lin screamed as he turned the car around "I'll give Mike the address and he'll send it to you."

Yujun and Jen nodded and made their run to the car as Lin drove with the truck across the city of angels that was covered by dark lights.

The drive would take a few hours, and throughout most of them all of us stayed quiet. It wasn't awkward, but no one was in the mood to have a conversation. All I did was stare at the window and see the buildings slowly getting smaller, the landscape getting natural with every turn, and lastly the mountains making up the horizons, it felt like Arizona all over again.

"I just sent you the address-" Lin finally spoke after an hour of silence "-You can send it to you-your boyfriend".

I nodded and took my phone and did what he told me, while I was inside my messages with Yujun, I took a moment to look over our old conversations, it was like sadness struck me like the lightning at the pier, I asked myself the same question I did to John when we were at Jen's house, did things have to go that way? Was it necessary to go through all this trouble? Couldn't we just go to the police? Truth was Yujun reminded me of a life that I didn't have to worry about me getting killed, or me needing revenge, he was the life I wanted to have since I started to live alone.

I grew up without having peace, there was always something getting in my way, First was my father, then the bully that crossed the line, then the hitman that tried to murder me, then at the peak of the Sun's Lair, it was me who was the obstacle, and now it was a mysterious organization hunting me and my friends. And that was my biggest concern, through everything I was able to pass, was I changing? Was I growing up for the better? Or was I stuck being the same statue in different museums ?

To be honest, I did have the answers for most of the questions I asked myself while looking at my phone, but something was telling me that it wasn't the right time to think about them, there were too many odds that could change my viewpoint, so what was the fucking point into thinking about them. But one thing was for sure, I wanted to go back into having the mind of a kid and return to Wonderland.

It wasn't long until the morning sun took over the mountains and raised its light across the arid land, the palm trees turned gold and the glasses of the car shined like a meteor. Lin stopped at a gas station and took off to the inside without sharing a word, from the three of us in the car he was the one who felt the greatest disappointment in how things were between me and John, even though he was not even in the picture for most of our relationship. I looked up to the other side of the car and saw vehicles passing by on the highway. Everyone was in such a rush it felt like we could all blend with them, but of course that wasn't possible with killers going around and following you.

"I think he knows..." John spoke for the first time ever since we got into the car.

"What does he know?" I asked him quickly.

"That it's been almost three years since we talked".

"You mean 'we' as me and him?" I tried to clarify for myself.

"No, I mean us!" He moved his body a bit and stayed with his eyes on the gas station.

"I mean-" I tried to find something to say "-it doesn't take a genius to notice that though!"