Fast Car | Escapes #1

Chapter 31: Brayden

It took everything in me to leave her alone. After everything she had been through, and now all the pain I had put her through by asking her to walk the whole way from Denver to here, she deserved something more. But every time I thought that, I asked myself what that meant. Did she deserve more than me? Did she deserve more than this hotel?

Did she deserve more than my selfish desires?

When I left home, I drove like a mad man through the night to get to this place. I didn't second-guess the notion when I said I would come here for her. Even though we have to go home. Even though home is dangerous for her. Even though it could become dangerous for me, as well. If that happened, would I really be able to protect her? Would that even be an option?

I rubbed my face and sat back on the couch. She was sleeping a short distance away. Her long legs were mostly bare in her shorts, and I'd had the privilege of touching those legs. The skin was softer than my own, and surprisingly smooth. I rubbed my hands on my jeans as I remembered the sensation.

She had been sitting on her suitcase on the side of the road when I got there. Her hair was an absolute mess, her skin was blotchy and red, scrapes covered her legs, and exhaustion seemed to weigh heavy on her shoulders. 

Despite all of that, she was the prettiest thing I had laid eyes on since I left her.

She'd leaped at me in the middle of the road and began to cry. I was at a complete loss over what to do - especially since I myself had felt like crying. Just being able to hold her close like that did weird things to my heart. 

When I managed to get her to our room, I was able to get a better look and confirm that she was in a bad condition. Small scrapes and scratches covered her legs and hands, and her skin was already beginning to peel from the terrible sunburn I knew would hurt the next day.

Seeing her not feeling her best tugged on my heart. I wanted to ease her pain. So I did the one thing I knew would make her feel better: a massage. I pulled off her shoes and started with her feet. She had the beginnings of blisters all over her soles. Carefully, I began rubbing them. When the first moan came from her, I jumped slightly. It was very unexpected. My gaze snapped to her face. She was flushed and her head pushed into the pillow.

My heart skipped a beat as I felt something stir in me at the sight. As I kept rubbing her foot, she would let out a moan every once in a while, and the same as I rubbed her other foot. By the time I was done, I had a strong urge to keep going, to see when she would stop me. My hands slid up her calf and gently massaged the muscle. While she didn't moan, I could see her features relax. 

After a few minutes, I felt so stupid. What was I even doing? The massage wasn't a bad thing, but I was going too far. I moved to her other leg and repeated the process. She relaxed further. I could tell she was half asleep. I knew she needed rest. But I had a deep-seated need to touch her and in any way she would let me. 

When I was done massaging her, I got up and called the front desk for a first-aid kit. Someone brought it up and I rummaged through it until I found the stuff for cuts and scrapes. I pulled out an alcohol pad and began cleaning her leg wounds. Well, the ones on her calves. I could see that she even had cuts on her thighs, but I knew I shouldn't touch those without permission. 

She hissed and her eyes opened as I cleaned her up and then applied the medicine. I skipped the alcohol wipe when I started on her hands. Not because I thought I didn't need it, but because I just wanted to keep touching her. 

Her eyes stayed closed but her breath caught when I grabbed her hand. I hesitated for a brief moment before I began rubbing the medicine in. When I knew I should move on to her other one, I kissed her fingers and gently placed her arm along her side. I took the other and again rubbed the medicine in for longer than I needed to. I was bracing myself to let her go, but as I was bringing her hand up to kiss her fingers, her other arm came up and both wrapped around the back of my head. Her eyes opened and we looked at each other for a long moment.