Safe and Sound | ✅

Alex tightens his grip on the steering wheel and drifts around a narrow corner, causing Leah to plunge sideways into the side of the car. When she manages to grasp the handle beside her, she reaches for the buckle and fastens her seat belt. It's 2:37am according to the time on Leah's phone and Claymore's streets were quieter than the usual on a Saturday night. She looks up from her phone and glances forward, staring into the distance, barely being able to see anything in front of them besides the gravel road. Her heart is racing so fast, she feels as if at any moment it will rip open her chest. She shifts her head to the rear view mirror and examines herself, noticing how her face looks as if all the blood was drained out it. She's trembling with fear, nervous as to what could happen if they got caught. She feels her insides coil in a knot as anxiousness slowly grows in her chest. Several thoughts flood her mind and she mentally questions herself, should I be doing this?

Alex carefully presses his foot down on the accelerator, hearing the faded sound of the car's engine rumble as the speed gradually increases. The anticipation and eagerness he gives off silently makes Leah feel even queasier than she was before. Assuming she needs fresh air, she winds down the window letting the cold night breeze softly brush against her pale white face. The speed of the car increases and she holds onto the handle once again. Alex swiftly slows down just to skid around yet another tight bended road, only to repeat the same process of picking up the car's speed. He drives down a street full of unoccupied run-down houses and they hear the familiar noise of dogs barking at nothing. Alex lays his foot down on the break, cautiously slowing down as the car is driven over the gutter and onto a field of grass. They've arrived at their destination.

Alex continued down the hill, driving as close as possible to the middle of the park to make sure they were out of sight. He turns the key in the ignition left, hearing the low rumble of the engine come to a complete stop. Clearly eager, Alex had already gathered bottles of alcohol in his arms. He shifts his gaze to Leah for the first time since they stole the car, giving her a reassuring nod. She nods back, knowing what she has to do. Unbuckling her seatbelt, she stretches down and grabs the remaining bottles, then reaches for the matches in her pocket. She feels her stomach drop for the one hundredth time that night and stops midway getting out, only to let a weight of pressure sink her back down to the seat. The familiar overwhelming feelings overcome her and she questions herself again, should i be doing this?

Leah pushes all of her thoughts to the back of her mind and lifts herself up from the leather chairs, cradling three bottles in her arms. Closing the door, she raises her head and fixated her gaze on Alex, who appears so composed and carefree while pouring the toxic liquid over the roof of the car. She strolls over to an empty spot, setting down two bottles. Whilst walking back, she pops open the lid of the spare whisky bottle and opens the car door, pouring the contaminants over the seat and gear box.

“All done" Alex says, filling the silence in the air.

Leah jerks her head out of the car and gives him a slight nod. At this point, her hands are shaking and light goose bumps have erupted all over her skin. An uneasy feeling settles in her stomach and she twists her face in disgust. Alex notices the nervous tension in her and swiftly walks over to her, wrapping his arms around her in a tight embrace. She looks up at him, what she heard next stunned her. She thought she'd never hear those words come out of him again.

"There's no need to worry. Everything will be okay, and we won't get caught . I love you" he easily reassures her. His voice is soothing, and for some reason, what he says comforts her just like he used to do. Actually, she's used to him doing the complete opposite. Maybe he's changing she thought to herself. Mentally, she slaps herself for thinking such a thing. He won't ever change, not even for her.

Alex's arms drop from around her and Leah opens the hand she clutched the matches in, and encloses them in his palm. She walks over to where she had laid the two bottles, picks them up and walks back further. Sliding open the box in his hand, Alex pulls out four matches and glides the red tips across the side of the box, burning a minor flame. He doesn't hesitate, but steps back a bit, throws the contents in with the lit matches, and swiftly jogs over to where Leah is standing. A huge flame ignites the inside of the car and engulfs everything, slowly burning the car.

They stand there, his arm wrapped around her waist and her head peacefully resting on his chest, feeling the warmth of the fire that's gradually growing higher every second. For some unexplainable reason, just him simply enclosing her in his arms makes her feel safe, even though she knows she shouldn't. But their bond won't ever change, well at least that's what he convinced her to believe. Ever since he'd transformed into the monster she knows today, she'd noticed how wrong it was for her to stay around. But his manipulative ways had kept her from, only from fear that he would somehow find her again. I should've left when I had the chance, she thought.

As the light of the flame grows in brightness, Leah screws her eyes shut and erases as many traumatic memories as possible, only deciding that reminiscing the good experiences will put her at peace. As she stands there in the arms of her boyfriend, a half hearted smile forms on the brims of her cheeks and she flutters her eyes open, shifting her gaze towards the night sky, thinking and hoping for one hundredth time that the monster that had grown in Alex would fade someday.