One Balloon Away

28

It was about 8-9 hour journey to Paris from Bormes Les Mimosas. Renée hadn't blinked for longer than a second, and mentally thought of ways she could fight him by strangling his neck from the backseat and punching him in the eyes if something were to happen, even though the driver barely glanced at her. He pulled up the car into a gas station after about three hours, as the sun neared the horizon. They were an hour away from Lyon.

"You can go have something to eat, there's a shop there" he said monotonously, pointing towards a store which said Café et Brioches in blue neon light.

Renée's stomach was grumbling with hunger. She bought two croissants as they rather cheap and savoured a cup of hot coffee. To her surprise, when she returned to the car she saw a short blonde girl who looked around her age leaning against the hood of the car.

"Hey! My name is Zephyrine, but you can call me Z" she waved at Renée, smiling.

"What do you want?" Renée asked in a harsh tone, panic creeping up her back.

"Umm...I was wondering if you could be kind enough to give me a ride. I need to get to Monéteau, but you don't have to take me all the way there, just as far as you could, I won't cause you any trouble I promise, please!" Zephyrine said, her eyebrows arching up and down with insistence.

Renée hesitated, she was desperate to avoid any tracks at all costs. 

"I even have some Reeses peanut butter cups to share!" she said casting a perfect smile, her eyes glittering with hope.

Renée sent a cold glare towards her, pondering over the situation. Zephyrine's blue eyes suddenly flashed with realization as her expression turned serious.

"I'm sorry if you're uncomfortable" she started in a low voice, pushing her bangs behind her ears,

"But uhh...my grandma is sick, this is really urgent, please help me?" she requested.

Renée's eyes softened as she finally gestured the girl to sit in the car. The driver hardly batted an eye when he returned, proceeding to ignite the engine.