A Rose to Change a Life

Chapter 23

Being honest, had it not been for my dad we would not have been able to find the hide-out. Thankfully we hadn't spend much time earlier, as it took us two hours to reach the northern side of Mileston, only an half-an-hour-drive from my home town, this had always been a town which made my skin crawl. It looked horrible, my parents and I twice passed through it to drive to a different state, but back then, it was in an okay-condition quite different to the condition it was in now. It was truly far in the outskirts, surrounded my nothing, disastrous conditions all around – the only living animals were rats scurrying around here and there, but aside from them nobody lived here anymore.

I was not the only one who got goosebumps when seeing this, Devin visibly tensed in front of me, in comparison to this, his ex-place looked like La-La-Land. My badass attitude started to quiver a bit when I looked around, poor Elise and Kean who got dragged into this hell town, there was no other word for it. ‚Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. The fearful are caught as often as the bold.' Helen Keller once said, and crisp, if the woman was not right – there was no going back now, as if I had even considered that option.

The nearer we got, the sweatier my palms turned, my heart started to race and I could feel myself turning slightly dizzy. Therapists described this as psychosomatic symptoms caused by immediate stress or bad experiences where your body tried to cope with it now. I had hoped until now, that it was just weird psycho talk they were paid to tell people, but at the moment, I sadly had to admit that they seemed to be right.

On the spot: I was terrified. Majorly so. I might be a badass with a mouth and a mind which were working on its own, but even I had fears. I simply tended to hide them better than others. It was a mechanism I perfected in my early youth, where a classroom full of pre-puberty kids equalled the environment of being in a cage with a bunch of starved hyenas who feasted on fresh blood. Got the image? 

Being on a motorcycle I couldn't use another panic attack, so I pressed myself even harder into Devin's back the nearer we got. I could already see the outlines of the old cottage where... the police rescued me years back. With the sight came the smell – oh boy did it smell! As if someone had not showered in a years! Now, it meant 'breathing as little as possible'. Lovely. Another impossible task in addition to getting both of them out of there alive.

My plan was still fixated in my mind, I planned on following it through – let's see whether I was born to be the master of plans. Tapping Devin on the shoulder, I tried to make myself hearable over the soothing roaring of the motor, 

"Slow down. We are almost there. Park in that alley over there." I pointed out an alley on the left side of the road, dumpster filled or not, it would suit our needs. Being hidden was a good step of making a good approach – he wanted me to come alone and I tended to keep that promise. I could not risk the safety of my friends and beloved ones just because of something that happened in my past. It might not have been fully my fault, but letting others pay for my mistakes was not how I operated.

The alleyway was dark, filled with bad-smelling dumpsters as predicted, occasionally a rat would scurry around – Perfect for an Indian sleepover!, I thought sarcastically. Both of us got off the bike feeling a bit wobbly, I straightened non-existent wrinkles in my clothing out of nervousness and took a deep breath.

"Well, well, isn't it cozy here?" I spread my hands, taking in the alleyway. "Thank you for coming with me, Dev. You should not have to." I said with an unsure voice.

As soon as the words have left my mouth, he wrapped his arms around me, building a barrier of warmth against the evil of the world.

"Don't be silly. Wherever you go I will follow. After all, you made me your personal hot-cycle-riding-dog, loyalty to no end, now you have got to deal with it." Devin smirked.

Innerly my heart melted, it might not have been sappy #101 straight out of the book, but I was satisfied with witty-humorous-loyalty-sayings. Releasing me he stepped back, letting me walk away, which was easier sad than done because I did not get farther than two steps away from him, before I turned around, ran back and pressed our mouths together for a small peck. I actually wanted to leave it at a small peck, he on the other hand had different things planned and did not hesitate in returning, hence deepening the kiss, he teased my lips. Pulling my lower lip into his mouth, simultaneously exploring my mouth with his tongue, this time more caring, stroking motions. I let out a moan of satisfaction, to be honest it felt so good I could do it all day. Sadly, he broke away first, sporting a loop sided smile. 

If I had not seen his throbbing vein on the neck, he would not have looked out of breath at all. Me on the other hand, I was breathing heavily, "What was that for?"

Replying good-naturally, "Oh, that? That was for good luck!" He turned me around by my shoulders, "Now go and save them, superwoman." Pushing me forward, he clapped me on my ass, causing me to glare at him evilly – he surely will receive payback late. Well, now I was more than ready to kick some monsters, my heart currently performing somersaults in my chest.