Drive All Night

Chapter 6

       

Chapter 6

2.5 Months later

Ally nuzzled against Sebastian's naked chest as she began to wake up; it had become her morning ritual, which was usually followed by kisses and touching and then sex.

The cuddle was cut short when Sebastian's phone beeped, he made a groaning sound as he reached a hand over to retrieve it from the nightstand. He pressed the voicemail button and Ally felt herself holding her breath so she could hear the message as well.

"Mr. Rhodes, this is Detective Antar, we are hoping you have reconsidered our offer. Please give me a call at your earliest convenience at..."

As the detective listed off his phone number, Ally lifted her head so she could see Sebastian's expression better. His face was mostly blank and she had no idea what he was feeling.  He hit end on the phone call and put it back on the nightstand.

"What are you going to do?" Ally asked.

"I don't know. They want me to come and testify. It's the best way to get the charges to stick."

"I'll support you in whatever you want to do." She paused for a moment. "But I do need to start heading back tomorrow."

The words hung in the air. Ally knew that Sebastian was as crazy about her as she was about him, but that didn't mean they were solid enough for him to go back if he didn't really want to.

"Are you sure you don't want to stay here with me instead?"  Sebastian replied, half teasing.

"I want to give us a chance, but we can't exist outside of the real world, I have friends and family back there," Ally explained, the mood half sombre.

"I know," he replied but there was no promise in his words. Wherever he was at in his head, he wasn't ready to commit to anything.  "I'm going to take a shower and then we should do something. If it's our last day then we should have some fun."

Ally didn't know if he meant it was their last day there, or ever, the latter put a heavy feeling in her chest.  She kept quiet as Sebastian got up and went into the shower. Part of her wanted to join him, but she wasn't sure she would be able to hold herself together enough to be vulnerable with him.

She picked up some of her things around the room and started to put them into her suitcase. They had been travelling every few days still, so it wasn't that her stuff was everywhere, but it was soothing to fold and pack her things neatly away.  It hadn't taken her long to fall for Sebastian, he was funny and smart and caring and very handsome, but the connection felt even deeper for her than all those things. The thought of losing him felt like too much. She had a brief thought of calling her mom to talk through it and then that loss gutted her a second time.

She sat on the bed as the tears pricked her eyes but a buzz from Sebastian's phone pulled her from her grief and she focused on that. She looked over and saw a message from 'Mom'.

I'm sorry baby. Plz call me.

Sebastian had been getting messages from his mother over those few weeks. The first were accusing him of lying, of ruining her life, and then they got more desperate. She didn't want Sebastian to testify and she was trying every trick in the book to appeal to him. Ally rolled her eyes but the annoyance was welcome as it replaced her earlier feelings. 

She was fixing her hair, already dressed, when Sebastian came out of the shower. He smiled, looking refreshed, and he kissed her.

"I want to go to the carnival."

~~

The narrow walkways through the games of the carnivals were exactly as any other carnival. There seemed to be a layer of grime on everything that added to their charm. Large stuffed toys hung from the ceiling of each individual tent, and a band of green aliens were swaying softly in the breeze above a ring toss.

The carnival workers shouted words like darling, sugar, and sweetheart, attempting to lure women of all ages in to try their luck at the games. The men were being shouted as well, their masculinity questioned if they couldn't win the perfect prize for their lady friends. It was a tired shtick but Ally was enjoying every minute.

Sebastian's hand was wrapped around hers and he laughed and shook his head as another man tried to get him to shoot some hoops in order to win Ally a giant Scooby Doo.

They ate corn dogs and cotton candy and then rode the rides until they felt like they would throw up. Neither of them mentioned their impending separation. Even when he pulled her close in the house of mirrors and kissed her, and Ally wanted to beg him to come home with her, she said nothing, unwilling to break the spell of the perfect day.

When the sun went down and they rode the Ferris wheel, seeing nothing but the carnival lights, Ally felt as if her heart would burst. The pressure had been building in her chest all day and yet still she dared not let it out.

"Ally," Sebastian whispered.

She shook her head. "Not yet," she answered simply and he nodded as they finished the ride in silence.

Back at the hotel, they made love frantically. Their bodies saying everything they were afraid to utter. When they finished, Sebastian wrapped his arms around Ally, and too drained to cry, she fell to sleep quickly.

When Ally awoke the next morning, Sebastian was sitting dressed already on the chair at the end of the bed. His body was hunched over and his hands were in his hair.

Ally immediately felt queasy and she sat up.

"It's okay," she said softly. "I get it."

"I'm coming."

Ally blinked, wondering if she was still sleeping. "What?"

"You're right, I can't run from this. Well I can, but that's no way to live."

"Are you sure?" Ally asked, because by the anxiety in his face, he didn't look sure.

"No, but you'll be there with me right?"

Ally crawled out over the covers and down off the end of the bed. She straddled Sebastian and wrapped her arms around him.

"Always."

~~

The two of them sat quietly in the car, it was a lot like the trip had started, but this time, their hands were joined between them. Sebastian was tense, he didn't want to go confront Vince, but he also knew that he would be taking back his power by doing so.  Ally had promised him that no matter what happened between them, she would be there for him until the end.

"Tell me something else about your mom," Sebastian said, wanting the distraction.

"She would have loved you," Ally started and Sebastian smiled.

"You think?"

"I know."

She squeezed his hand and began to tell him another story of her mother. It was a bit easier to talk about her now. It didn't always hurt so much. It made her smile to think of her mostly.

She looked over to Sebastian and she knew that her life had changed again, but this one was a welcome one.

-

The End