Because he loved him..

19. Drive

*One of my favourite characters makes a reappearance in this chapter and they literally changed the story's fate for me. They are really special. Can you guess who they are?*

Amay's point of view

"Step away from there, you pervert!" A voice rang out in the washroom.

The shadows moving away from the bottom of our stall told us that Wander had stepped away from it.

"Careful now, that mouth of yours could get you into lot of trouble, handsome" Wander warned the man.

A set of footsteps went out and we heard the man mutter "weird, creep."

We waited a few more minutes before deciding to leave when someone knocked on our stall. We flinched.

"You can come out now." The man's voice asked us.

I opened he door warily asking Arlo to stay put. A familiar, tall young man was standing there, frowning at my dishevelled appearance.

It was the receptionist at the hotel in the town! I sighed in relief and went back to get Arlo out. Arlo looked pretty shaken too. When Arlo saw him, he hid behind me.

"It's okay Arlo. He is a good man. I know him." I reassured Arlo.

"Who was that man? Are you hurt?" He asked.

"What? How did you find us?" I wheezed.

"I was having dinner in the eatery when I saw you. I tried to greet you but you were looking horrified towards the car outside and then you ran inside. I understood that you were hiding from them---"

"Can you help us? " I asked him.

"Of course. You guys need to see a doctor. Let's go to the clinic in the market." He offered.

"No! His men are spread all around the market. We can't stay here."

"Well, then come with me to the town. I have to get back anyway. You guys can crash at my place."

"We wouldn't want to intrude. You can drop us off at a public shelter or something." I shook my head.

I can't endanger his life too in case Wander found us again.

"No. It's not safe for you guys. They must still be looking for you. Stay the night at least, then you can head out, I won't stop you."

"That's very kind of you---"

"Paul, Paul clover. " he replied with a bashful grin. I looked at him.

Could we trust him? Of course, we could.

He went out to his car and looked around for a while, then he signalled us.

We sneaked out to his car and hid in his back seat. Only when we were safely out of the market, did we relax.

"Mr. Clover?" I asked.

"Paul!" He chastised.

"Umm. Paul?"

"Yeah?"

"What made you help us? Weren't you scared of getting into this mess?" I asked warily.

I didn't want to offend him. He looked like he could be trusted but I had to be sure.

"I couldn't help you the last time. Your broken face haunted my dreams since then. When I saw you again today, I knew I had to help you."

I nodded gratefully. I was touched that someone could be so driven by the plight of a stranger.