Sparks

Chapter 4

She wasn't sure why she trusted him. He was everything that she had been warned against. He was dark, mysterious, and secretive. And yet she found herself climbing into his car and willingly going wherever he was taking her. Maybe it was her act of giving up. Perhaps she just didn't care what happened to her anymore. Or it could have been that Sander was the total opposite of this stranger and yet he had caused her more pain than she could have ever imagined.

No matter the reasoning behind her sudden agreement to follow this man into a hidden world, she found that a childish excitement was bubbling in her body. She adored surprises. Of course, deep down her conscious was screaming that she shouldn't be so stupid. That not all surprises were good. Remember Sander's surprise for you? Her head taunted and laughed at her.

She physically cringed at the thought. Her nose curled up in disgust as the memories began to play in her head like a movie. A never-ending film that just repeated itself, only showing the worst of moments. She knew that she could drive herself crazy by just thinking of all the bad that had occurred in the house where she had been raised. All those men that her mother had brought home, who had given her the same look that Sander did, they started the whole chain of events.

She knew it was all her fault, but she had never meant for it to go this far.

"I'm Romelius, by the way," he murmured. His voice was deep but soft as if he were trying not to frighten her by fading into the background. His eyes never strayed from the road. Cars went on about their duties as each person in the city went on with their lives. She hated driving for that reason. Everyone had an agenda and if you got in the way of that, you better watch out.

"Romelius? So, do you go by Romeo?" Her voice came out lighter and more joyful than what she had expected. Humor wasn't supposed to be in anyone's emotions after traumatic events. And yet she was joking with this stranger. Hoping she could call him Romeo and enjoy the thought of being his Juliet.

And suddenly she realized what she had been thinking and wanted to slap herself so hard her head ricocheted off the window. But his cringe at the name caused her to stop that thought process. He hated the name, it was obvious. Not a romantic. She thought to herself.

Instead of replying, she allowed the cringe to be his answer. She settled back into the leather seat and forced herself to be content with watching the scenery. The rain had stopped sometime in the night and had left generous puddles on the road. The sun shone into the windows and onto the world as life continued on. People milled on the city streets, moving from one business to the next and avoiding the drasted puddles.

She craved the idea of being like them. Normal and able to go on about her life without a worry about creepy men behind her. But she supposed that one of those creepy men had created her and another had created Lacy. So they all couldn't be that bad.

She had to laugh at the thought and Romelius looked at her from the corner of his eye. She seemed so down, so suppressed. But something was funny to her. He attempted to find the source, glancing everywhere to see if someone was making a fool out of himself. He found nothing. Only when he turned his attention back to her did he find that what had caused her to laugh wasn't funny at all. In fact tears rolled down her face, silently as emotions danced through her eyes.

He was so shocked by her turn of emotions that his complete gaze fell on her and he forget for a moment that he was driving. She turned to look at him, meeting his thoughtful look with one of pure sadness. But like a switch, the sadness disappeared and was replaced with something he couldn't identify.

"You might want to watch the road," she murmured, but didn't break the gaze. He gasped before yanking his attention to the street, narrowly missing a head-on collision with a car whose owner was flashing him the bird. Only after getting the car under control and back into his own lane did he look back at her. She winked at him, all soft and playful that he felt sure he was seeing things. How could a woman so broken and bruised as this one appeared to be, act so . . . So sweet?

He shook his head, ridding himself of the thoughts. It's better this way, he reminded himself. Him not knowing, her dealing with it herself. Or was it? He couldn't remember what was right and what was wrong as he got closer and closer to the place he wanted to be farthest from. How was he supposed to think when memories were crowding his vision?

Pagatti took notice to the slight glazing of Romelius's eyes but deemed she could do nothing to help. He saw her as broken and expected nothing more. She allowed him to think that simply because it was the truth. Well, part of the truth. The full truth was that she was broken and mistreated but she was willing to look past it. Something told her that Romelius was broken and mistreated but couldn't and wouldn't see anything beyond that.

So, she took notice of the fleeting city and the slowing of the car. Romelius was dreading this outing, she decided as the car crept along the road. No other cars followed or led, it was just them. Two strangers in a simple car on a quest to somewhere. Pagatti liked the mystery it created in her head, even if warning bells were ringing with it. They were getting farther and farther from civilization. Taking twists and turns that went from asphalt, to gravel, to dirt. The car slowed even more and she thought she heard Romelius whisper something about deer.

The trees were thick, blocking the sun from reaching them. Only the flashes in between the leaves told her that the big star hadn't disappeared. She watched as a squirrel raced up a tree and a rabbit dove into the underbrush. Escaping from the approaching vehicle. She wondered if she should be trying to escape. Her mind began playing gruesome scenes of her death out here in the woods all alone.

But when she turned her attention back to the driver, the scenes vanished and she felt silly for thinking he would do that. He had ample opportunities to slit her throat or rape her or whatever else her brain thought. Yet, she was still alive and breathing.

A flash caught her eye and she found her vision being drawn to glistening water. A pond to the right of the road. The dock looked long abandoned and in need of some TLC. Tied to the dock was a rocking paddle boat. A tire swing dangled precariously from a slanted tree. The rope looked ready to snap. But it was in this broken scene that she realized they were close. This place had to have been used at one point and from the way Romelius was gripping the steering wheel, she was willing to bet it had been used by him.

They came to a halt in a rocky driveway in front of a log cabin. It looked like it should be in the mountains, not the woods. The logs were strong and sturdy-looking. The wooden shutters were locked tight to the abode. Everything was made of wood. Dark, oak wood. Wood that looked like it came from the trees that they had just driven through. They were within walking distance of the brilliant pond and Pagatti craved stripping to her underwear and submerging herself in the cool liquid.

But one look at Romelius and she knew that that wouldn't be happening today. His face was pale, splotchy even. His eyebrows drawn tight together, while he scowled in disgust at the building before them. She thought it was beautiful but he obviously thought different.

He led the way up the sidewalk and onto the large, wrap-around porch. Then he just stood in front of the door. Not moving. Not saying anything. She wasn't even sure if he was breathing.

"Well, are we going to go in?" She questioned, trying not to push harder than was needed. He sighed and shoved the door open. She stepped around him and entered the home. He only took a few steps behind her, shutting the door, and then freezing and not moving at all.