Invisible

Chapter 7

Running.

That's all I had been doing for what felt like hours.

My heart was pounding, my chest was burning, and my vision was blurred from tears.

Finally, I reached the park that Liam had taken me to just a few hours before. It seemed like a lifetime ago.

I didn't stop running until I reached the bush Liam had showed me. I crawled underneath, sighing in relief when I heard the silence in the park.

I was starting to turn visible again, which was bad because my clothes were still in the parking lot of the motel.

I rummaged through the plastic bin Liam had hidden, and found a large sweatshirt.

Sorry, Liam.

I pulled it over my head and pulled my legs into it, trying to warm myself up.

I had never been so terrified in my life. What had just happened was slowly registering in my mind. My own mother abandoned me, I had almost been captured by the government, and I had nowhere to go.

I struggled to keep my sobbing quiet, but eventually, the adrenaline that saved my life wore off and I drifted off to sleep.

"Christina?" A harsh whisper woke me up. My heart started hammering against my chest.

This is it. They found me.

"Dovev, are you here? It's Liam. I'm alone."

"Oh my gosh," I let out a cry in relief. He came toward the bush and offered a hand to help me up. I launched into his arms, bawling like a crazy person.

"What happened?" He asked, hesitantly hugging me back.

"How did you find me?" I asked, struggling to keep my voice steady. I was ruining his shirt with my tears, but it's not like there was anything I was willing to do about it.

"I don't live far from the motel so I heard the gunshots. I went over after the SWAT team left, and when you weren't there I thought maybe you came here," he explained, "Where's your mom?"

I shook my head, crying even harder. Liam froze and pulled me away from his chest in order to look at me.

"Was she killed?" He whispered, looking scared. I shook my head bitterly.

"No. She... she's the one...who... who called..." I tried to explain, but I was hyperventilating. Liam sighed and pulled me back into a hug.

"Come on." He whispered, and took me by the hand, leading me to his car.

He opened the door for me and helped me into the passenger seat. He then grabbed a water bottle and a blanket from his trunk and handed them to me before getting into the driver's seat.

"I'm really sorry this happened." He consoled, staring at me intently. I didn't respond, instead, I chugged the entire water bottle and laid my head on the back of the seat.

"I don't know what to do," I choked out after an eternity of silence. We were still sitting in the parking lot.

"I can take you back to my place. I'm sure my parents wouldn't mind." He suggested.

I shook my head. "I can't let you get involved. I'm on my own now, I'm not going to ruin anyone else's life just because I'm incapable of being normal."

"Yeah well, you're not on your own." He said, putting the car in drive.

"Please don't take me to your house. I don't want to get anyone else into trouble." I begged.

"You won't," he answered.

"Stop the car now." I snap. He laughs.

"Well, I'm the one driving so it looks like you don't get a say," he argues.

I turned to look at him, glaring at the side of his head. "Liam, you've known me for two days! You cannot possibly think it's a good idea to drag your entire family into this mess."

"They won't get dragged into it. You're just gonna stay for the night, then we'll figure out the rest from there," he explained.

I scoffed. "I cannot believe what I'm hearing! I will not let you put yourself in danger like this. Pull over," I demanded.

"Absolutely not. You're exhausted. You won't survive the night on your own," he argued.

"But what about your family?"

"Christina, they'll be fine. If it makes you feel better, I won't tell them who you really are." He sighed.

"What lie could you possibly tell them that would explain why I look like this?" I demanded.

"Oh right, I wanted to ask you earlier, but you were too upset. Why are you wearing just my sweatshirt?" Liam finally broke the silence with an amused smirk.

Turning bright red, I pulled the sweatshirt further down my legs to cover them. "I had to... um... take off my clothes in order to be completely invisible and escape," I muttered. Liam laughed a little too loudly.

"Well, as much as I'm enjoying this, all my clothes are in the trunk if you want to grab a pair of shorts when we get to my house." He offered.

I shook my head, leaning back against the seat and closing my eyes. "This is absolutely insane."

"I'll just tell my parents you're my girlfriend." He suggested.

I scoffed. "Absolutely not. They wouldn't believe it. And even if they did I don't want them to think I'm that kind of girl." I said, gesturing to his sweatshirt that I was wearing.

"Well what else should we tell them?" he groaned.