ghost [k. parker]

• CHAPTER 10 •

CHAPTER 10: extra luggage

"I'VE FORGOTTEN TO PACK SUNCREAM, TURN THE CAR AROUND!" This was most likely just Roma's own paranoia overtaking her character- it was very well justified, however. She was about to let Kai Parker fly her to Arizona (in an aeroplane, if that wasn't already clear). Sure, she couldn't die properly but that didn't mean she would be a willing volunteer to sign up for her own funeral.

It'd probably been about the fourth item that she'd used to delay their trip and Kai had begun to get visibly annoyed. Although Arizona was a destination of Roma's choosing, Kai was very willing to make the trip- in fact, he welcomed this break away from his normal life. He'd been so engrossed in magic and escaping for the past few months, ever since Bonnie and Damon arrived, that it was only when he was faced with no options left that he was [metaphorically] free. Literally, he was still stuck in the prison world. However, with all hope of an escape eliminated, he'd never have to be concerned over anything in his immortal life again.

"No. You can borrow mine. Now, shut the fuck up before I'm tempted to drive this car off a bridge somewhere," Kai managed out through gritted teeth. Though the two were going on 'holiday' together, they were still not the best of friends yet (unsurprisingly).

The ride was mostly silent from there on out, with neither of them bothering to make small talk. What was surprising however, was the fact that Roma fell asleep in the car on the way to the airport. Mystic Falls was a fairly small town and was an hour-ish drive away from the nearest airport. Roma couldn't quite believe she was exhausted enough to fall asleep in a car with a known psychopath in such little time. It was the blare of the car horn that woke her up, Kai chortling as she threw him a death glare for nearly scaring her to death.

"Grab the luggage, Miss Roma, the pilot has some work to do."

She assumed that they were boarding some rich man's private jet that Kai now commandeered. Roma was in charge of dragging both their suitcases on board whilst Kai sorted out whatever he needed to do to get the jet ready. Once on board, Roma was immensely pleased by the luxurious interior and even more pleased by the comfortable looking seat which looked like a leather armchair. She plopped herself rather ungracefully on it and nearly immediately fell asleep (she really was fatigued!)- if the plane were to crash now, at least she would hopefully die in her sleep.

The next time she woke, she woke naturally, feeling replenished. However, she was not where she last was. Now, she was in a car that was parked on a dusty road and she had a psychopath staring at her very intently. These changes would normally be a warning sign of imminent danger but Roma knew better now.

"Are we there yet?" She asked sleepily, yawning in the process.

Kai snorted in response, chuckling to himself. "You know I had seven other siblings? We went on multiple road trips and you can only imagine how many times that phrase was uttered. I've been here for 20 years and I still detest those words."

Roma waited patiently for Kai to answer her question- he looked like he was reminiscing on the past and she thought it best not to disturb him.

"Yes. We're here, but we have to walk for a while to get where we want to go."

The moment Roma truly looked at her surroundings after she got out of the car, her mouth dropped in awe. She was in Arizona, visiting the Grand Canyon and it was so much more than she ever expected. Her line of sight was filled with rust-coloured hues and textured rock that looked like stories had been written all over them. She supposed the rocks had seen some things (considering how long they'd been around) and they had some tales to tell. It was now probably mid-afternoon and the sun shone warmly, lighting the canyon so it looked like it was burning. Roma had never seen anything so beautiful.