Drive All Night

Chapter 5

Chapter 5

The radio played slow song after slow song as the night wore on. The late night host talked in dulcet tones, luring their late night audience into a relaxed state, but Ally was not quieted at all. It had been two hours since they left their hidden spot and the car had been mostly quiet. After the moment had dissipated, a sort of awkwardness fell over them both. Ally had no regrets but she also didn't know where to go from here.

"There is a motel about thirty minutes up the road," Sebastian said. "Might be a good place to stop, it's getting late."

"I'm feeling wired," Ally responded. "Do you mind if I keep driving? You can sleep if you want."

"Naw, if you're good, I'm good."

Ally glanced over and returned the smile Sebastian was already giving her. She really was awake, but there was also nervousness about finding a spot for the night.

"You're not worried about getting a room with me tonight are you?" Sebastian asked, as if reading her mind. "I'm not after anything more than you're willing to give, Ally."

Ally glanced over at him. "It's not that. It's just, we're friends. And then we kissed. So are we friends with benefits? Or..."

"I'm hoping for more," Sebastian replied. "I'm kind of at your mercy here, so please don't dump me on the side of the road, but I've had a thing for you for a long time."

"You have not!" Ally said, shocked. Sebastian shrugged. "Why didn't you ever say anything?"

"A couple reasons, you didn't really seem to have any interest in me that way."

Ally couldn't argue, she hadn't really thought of Sebastian that way until this trip, but now she was wondering why she hadn't. There was so much about him that seemed worthy of at least a crush.

"The other reason was I didn't really want to let anyone in. There is so much going on in my life, it didn't really seem fair to try and drag you into it."

"I would have listened, even just as a friend. You could have come to me," Ally said softly.

"Would you listen now?"

"Of course," Ally replied, her hands gripping tighter at the wheel.

Sebastian was looking down at his lap, picking at some loose skin beside his fingernail. He looked utterly focused on his task but Ally could feel the tension in him, he was building up the courage to talk. He had asked her to listen, but that didn't mean it was going to be easy for him to share. She didn't rush him, she kept her eyes on the road as he took whatever time he needed to collect his thoughts.

"Probably best to start at the beginning. The first time was when I was sixteen. Vince and my mom had just gotten engaged a week earlier. He was always a dick but he'd never gotten physical, and to be honest, I probably deserved that first one."

Ally bristled in her seat, wanting to argue with him, that no one deserved what he'd been through, but she also didn't want to interrupt him.

"I was a bratty kid, always breaking curfew. I strolled in for the third time that week an hour late. Vince and mom were in the living room watching TV and I heard my mom sigh when I walked in, that disapproving sigh only a parent could give. I walked right by them and headed to my room, but on my way I heard Vince tell my mom, 'he had it'."

He got quiet again and when Ally glanced over at him his eyes were glazed, lost in the memory for a moment.

"I was in my bedroom and he walked in and slapped the back of my head. It wasn't much but it pissed me off. He told me that I needed to respect the house rules. I made some smart ass remark and he punched me in the gut so hard I hit the floor. He turned without another word and left me wheezing on the ground."