On The Run With James Dean [UNDER RECONSTRUCTION]

Twelve - "You are a strange girl, sugar."

We didn't really talk much for the next few hours, save for the occasional small talk and arranging pee breaks. It wasn't that I was still annoyed at him for not explaining things - and I was still annoyed - It was just that I didn't want to talk. My life had flipped upside down in the last few days and I had no idea where my head was at.

My brain was constantly switching from one emotion to another. But the one emotion I couldn't understand having, was the small feeling of excitement. My life was in danger; a fucking gang was after us and yet being on the run with Killian; the 2 of us on the road together, made me feel... alive. It was a feeling that was overshadowed by the feeling of fear, of course, but it was still there.

Excitement was never an emotion I ever really craved. I had a normal life. Aside from losing my mother, it was an average, run of the mill life and i was content with that. I was never one of those teenagers who felt stifled and looked forward to the day when she could leave for the 'big city' or see the world, and yet it was a craving that sat inside me like it had always been there and I'd never noticed.

But the feeling of excitement was quickly followed by the feeling of guilt. People want to hurt me, and by extention hurt my family. And Killian - this isn't exciting for him, and why would it be? His life, and the lives of his family, have been in danger long before he met me - how could I be excited about that?

The scenery flying past my eyes slowly changed as we drove further and further. Towns came and went and fields passed us by to be replaced with pine and fur trees.

I attempted to stretch my aching body for the 200th time and just like the other 199 times, it made no difference to the dull pain in my muscles.

"We're almost there. About another 5 minutes."

"Thank God. I think my ass is going to fall off if I sit in this car much longer." I complained; earning a chuckle from Killian.

"You are a strange girl, sugar." He said

"Normal is boring, I always say." Well, twice. Probably.

The road we were on started to get darker as we found ourselves sandwiched between rows of trees. He slowed the car down and we veered to the left to go down a lane that was barely visible from the road. If you didn't know it existed, you would easily drive past it without even seeing it.

A few hundred yards along we approached a set of iron gates. They were gothic in design, and painted black, with flecks of rust dotted here and there.

"Wait here." He said as he got out of the car and walked up to the left hand side of the gates. There was a wooden mail box attached to a metal post which Killian pulled and it opened revealing a computer pad with a screen on the top and buttons below.

He lifted up his right arm, pulled his sleeve up and placed his hand, palm down, on the screen.

It was a finger print scanner.

The screen behind his hand emanated an orange glow for a few seconds which then turned green, followed by the loud mechanical whirring of the gates opening.

He got back in the car and we drove through the open gates, before they closed behind us with a clank. The road up to the safe house was tree lined like the previous road we had been on but the trees were stunning shades or orange and red, reminding me why fall was my favourite season.

Having never been to a safe house before, and my only 'experience' of them being what I had seen tv, I expected a plain, unassuming building. I was wrong.

As we turned the corner at the end of the road I was greeted by a beautiful log cabin. The colour of the wooden building surrounded by the amber hues of the trees was stunning. It was huge, too. Two stories and at least a few thousand square feet in size. The sound of my car rolling along the gravelled drive way added to the perfect scene in front of me.

I was so busy staring at my surroundings that I didn't notice the car had stopped and Killian had already gotten out. He knocked on the hood to get my attention and I my mind jumped back into the now.

I got out of the car and stretched my body more than it had been stretched in its life. I swear I heard every single one of my bones clicking. As my body relaxed i felt the cold, autumnal air biting at my face and I closed my eyes absorbing it all.

My conscious was brought back again by Killian shutting the trunk. I turned to see him carrying our bags up to the front door. I took my purse and backpack from the back seat of the car, before closing the door and crunching my way through the gravel up to him.

There was another finger print scanner on the wall to the right of door, which he used again. He then took out a set of keys from his pocket and unlocked the door, before opening it and immediately punching a code into the alarm system by the door. 'Safe house' was an understatement.

As i walked into the house and I was in awe. It was just as beautiful on the inside as the outside. In front of me was a big wooden stair case leading to a mezamine floor that ran above the living room to the left of the staircase.

I was immediately drawn to the giant log fireplace on the far wall of the living room, and I couldn't help imagining sitting in front of it, wrapped in a blanket and reading a book. Above it was a huge stag head mounted onto the wall.

To the right of the stairs was a dining room, complete with a giant table in the center of the room surrounding by 12 chairs. There was another log fireplace with a stags head above, on the far wall, and a book case filled with books on either side.

"What do you think?" Killian asked me.

"It's just... beautiful." I reply.

"Wait to you see out back." He said, gesturing me to follow him. Both the living and dining rooms lead into the kitchen which, I don't even have to say, was gorgeous. The modern appliances mixed beautifully with the rustic look of the wood. At the back of the kitchen, behind a breakfast table were a set of french doors.

Killian opened them and ushered me out and my jaw instantly hit the ground.

There was a garden, running the full width of the house, after which was a decked area leading to an incredibly beautiful and still lake. It was surrounded by the oranges and reds and yellows of the season. It was breathtaking. I was in the most perfect place in the world.

"Not a bad, huh?"

"Killian it's breathtaking." I told him.

"There will be plenty of time to enjoy the view but right now I think we should get settled in and eat. I don't know about you but I'm starving." It wasn't until he mentioned food that I realised I was very hungry myself.

I turned and followed him into the house and he shut the French doors behind us.

"I'll show you to your room." He said grabbing our bags and heaving them upstairs. We turned left at the top and walked along, over the top of the living room and came to a set of 2 doors - one on the left and one on the right.

"This is your room." He said opening the door on the left. Again I was blown away by the beauty. There was a huge dark oak four poster bed in the center of the room, along the side wall, and a very comfortable looking window seat underneath a giant bay window.

Opposite the bed were 2 doors - one was a closet and the other lead to a bathroom, complete with a jacuzzi bath and shower - each of which could fit at least 3 people.

"Wow!" Is all I can say.

"I thought you'd like it." He said with a smile. "My room is opposite, so I'm going to unpack and have a quick shower and then we can do something about food okay?"

"Okay." I said with a smile as he left my room, closing the door behind him