That goddamned thing

Chapter 20

"We should stay the night in a hotel." Alex says after a while.

"We can't risk staying around anymore." I say looking briefly at him.

"You can't drive all night and I am in no condition to drive. We would be safe in a hotel and besides I have a plan."

I nod and he guides me to a small hotel. We reach there after 10 minutes and I park the van in the small parking lot. I look at Alex whose shirt is covered in dry blood, "I think you should change that before we go in." I say taking out the shirts from the shopping bag. I hand him the large one and help him take off the blood stained shirt, dumping it in the back of the car and put the new one carefully on him.

"You should wear the shirt too." He says eyeing the second shirt in my hand. "It is clear that you are not wearing one and well, it's awkward."

I feel heat rise up to my cheeks. "Okay, turn around."

He protests, "You didn't turn around when I was changing my shirt. I am not turning around."

"That's because I was helping you put it on. Now turn around." I say motioning him towards the passenger's door.

He pouts but turns around anyway.

Without looking at him, I quickly remove the cardigan and wear the shirt. It is a little loose on me but looks okay. I wear the cardigan on it and fix my hair.

"Okay you can look now." I say.

"It's not like I wasn't looking." He smirks turning around.

I look up at him, knowing that he is joking but then notice the side mirror beside the passenger's seat. From his vantage point, I can be clearly seen in it. I gasp while Alex starts to laugh, "It was quite a view."

I know I am redder than a tomato by now but I just keep looking at him with wide eyes. I want to throw myself at him, giving him a few good punches but I know I can't do that at the moment, seeing his injured shoulder. "I will save the punches for later. For now, you are sleeping on the couch tonight." I say as coldly as I can and turn around to leave the car. "You look so cute when you are pretending to be angry at me." He says from inside the van.

"I am not pretending." I say casually. I cannot keep the cold tone for a long time. I take the shopping bag out of the van while Alex stays rooted to his seat.

"Well, come on now. We don't have all night." I say looking at him.

He makes a pained expression, "Well I need a little help." I can see the devils blazing in his eyes and I know that he just wants me to help him. I roll my eyes and put the shopping bag back on the seat, moving toward him, around the van. I open his door and take his hands in mine. "Come on." I say. As I lean down a bit, he pulls me into him. I crash on top of him but I am too quick for him, mainly because of his injured shoulder. Before he can grip me tighter I pull back and I am out of the van in no time.

Sticking out my tongue at him I whisper from a distance, "I am too quick for you, Alexander Gonzalez." I immediately regret what I say.

He is laughing until he hears his surname and suddenly his expression turns grave. I realize that I have hit the soft spot. Moving toward him, I take his hands again and slowly help him out of the van. This time he doesn't do anything but simply gets out of the car.

"I am sorry." I whisper.

"You have nothing to be sorry about." He whispers back putting his arm around me. I am relieved that he is not angry at me but I am the one who reminded him of it. I lock the car and together we walk toward the hotel.