CHAPTER 22: THE BULLET OR THE CHEESEBURGERS
"I'm hungry"
Jack glances at me and chuckles, "seriously?"
I shrug, "I haven't exactly been feasting if you remember clearly"
My words have their desired effect and I sigh when he winces and falls silent, "you're not going to make me feel guilty for making you feel guilty"
He nods, "I deserve it"
I scoff, "you deserve a lot of things"
I turn to face him properly, studying his profile as he tightly grips the steering wheel, "you deserve to be happy with your sister, to not have to look over your shoulder for the rest of your life and you deserve to be with someone, for real" I turn away from him, staring back out the window, "we both deserve that" I whisper.
"It wasn't all fake" he says quietly.
I sigh, "Its headache inducing trying to differentiate. Trust me"
The silence in the car is uncomfortable, till my stomach growls, bringing us back to the original topic.
"There's a little diner a few minutes away" he informs me.
"Is it safe?"
He nods, "no one knows us there, no connection with me or Sam"
I look at him skeptically, "are you sure?"
He shrugs, "not about anything anymore, but we need to change cars and we need to stock up on food"
I exhale and turn back to the window, my body suddenly live with nerves. Is this how it's going to be now? Constantly questioning everything. Will the next breath I take be my last? Can I really trust Jack to keep me safe? Especially when he's the reason I'm in this mess in the first place.
Joel's diner is small and very much like Jack's apartment, one sneeze away from collapsing. But it's nice and homey, with the sweet scent of cinnamon in the air, calming my nerves a little.
There are no costumers at this time so Jack and I find a table, at the center, furthest away from the windows that surround the diner.
The waiter greets us with menus. As he leaves, Jack calls him back, "are you new?"
The blonde waiter bows gently and my hand flies to my wig as paranoia floods through me, I donned my disguise before we left the car, he can't possibly know who I am.
"I started working last week, Joel is sick today so you'll just be seeing me" he says politely, his hands folded behind him.
I exhale inaudibly and Jack places a hand over mine, "it's fine, you're fine"
I try to settle down as he serves our food. I eat my turkey salad with one eye on the waiter and another on the door. Jack seems to be extremely sure that we're safe here and it irritates me to no end. Has my life quickly lost its value to him now that he can't trade it for his sister's?
I don't know if it's the adrenaline of the past hours finally fading away but I feel my guard dropping slowly and myself feeling drowsy. I note that Jack's grip on my hand has loosened. The waiter casually strolls to the door, locks it and turns the open sign the other way.
My last thought as he draws all the blinds and I feel my head drop to the table, almost as heavy as my eyelids is that I must have destroyed an entire nation in my past life.
***
I don't bother struggling against the ropes pressed against my still sore wrists, I'm content to watch Jack struggle against his like a wild animal.
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Her Majesty's Bad Boy
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