Trapezoid (The Base)

Chapter 29

Author's note:

People, it's really long. Over 3,000 words. Grab some chips . . .

The breeze was hardly felt by Levi as he cruised down the highway to the countryside. But somehow the rumble of the engine and the two wheels moving against the road drowned out all else. He was well aware of the speed he was on and Hopper's diaphragm paralyzing grip around his middle. He'd promised her he'd be careful—which he believed he was being, but there was no telling how far Greenwood had gone with his business. It was his "assigned" job to get her back to the estate as fast as possible.

The city was soon behind them, parked cars were getting replaced by trees by the side of the road. He tried focusing on his driving and the view but he couldn't keep his mind from straying to other things. He still couldn't grasp how the woman behind him didn't retreat from him after all he'd done today. She knew all his shades—except Fiona. But she didn't need to know, right? She didn't mean anything to him in that way. She couldn't mean anything to him that way. She would be just like all the rest. Maybe she'd attacked him the last time he'd tried to prove it, but it had been his stupid mistake to think she felt anything for him. But if she did, she'd be no different. And he wasn't game to be toyed around with anymore.

But there wasn't any danger of that. She showed a caring spirit of a friend. Right there when he'd let go of his reins of emotion, her attempts at comfort warmed him, broke him! Chris hadn't been very good at physical comfort, but somehow it was as if the essence of Hopper's brought him back to life. Her stout belief that God was tenderhearted astounded him if anything else. Whatever she had, it was genuine.

He would hate to ruin that.

...........................................

Chris made a mental note to never ride on a motorcycle with Stevens ever again. Her heart hammered in her chest apprehensively. All this was worse than motion sickness. She was so sure the menacing machine would tip over with the sharp turns he took.

She dared open her eyes once it stopped. Her legs trembled beneath her as she swung her leg off the thing. She fought to remove the helmet on her head. Her hair was a ghastly mess for sure. But all that dimmed with the wonderful facts that she was off that machine and she was standing behind the large Greenwood property. Great motley of trees stood tall before her, modestly hiding the electric fence that bordered the old apple orchard.

Getting beyond the wire fence was the next obstacle. She handed Stevens her helmet without a glance and strode into the trees. She heard the monster rumble away. Stevens had to stash it somewhere. A bike randomly standing at the side of the road could make unwanted heads turn. She walked along the length of the electric fence, its silent hum warning of its power. To her surprise, there was a gate—which wasn't locked. But she knew better than to just reach out and push it open. She had no idea how many volts would travel through her body within contact—or if they were powerful enough to kill. But that was unlikely.

Her head and hope rose at seeing Stevens jogging toward her. She was amazed how he held on to his emotions. It would seem like a lie if she dared say out loud that he had any at all. But she knew he did. She literally knew. And the deepest desire of her heart was that God would somehow reach out and heal. Nothing she could say would change him or make him understand he didn't have to carry guilt.

She cared about him. She couldn't dare admit anything more, although the thought that he'd turn into a stranger once all this was over was more than horrifying. But why should she be feeling anything anyway? She didn't even know his first name! Although she couldn't deny calling him by his last name was getting to her.