Cold Blooded \\ Kellic

15

For the first time in a long time I woke up feeling safe and protected. For once I wasn't sleeping on edge with one eye open. And when I awoke I was still in the arms of the person responsible for that. I didn't fight it. I didn't freak out. I just woke up, facing him, and looked at him. He was already awake and looking at me. I should have moved away but I felt content here.

"You okay?" he asked.

I just nodded and we fell into a silence. I knew that as soon as we got up then we would forget about last night and go back to normal, so for now I just wanted to embrace the comfort while it lasted. Vic trailed his hand up and down my back in the most soothing way. No one ever treated me like this so the feeling of having someone caring for me was just overwhelming. As confused as I was that it was Vic doing this, I didn't even question it. It just felt right. Well it felt right for now.

"We should get going," he finally spoke, bringing me back to the reality that we were on a cross-country trip and trying to evade the mob and police.

"Yeah," I said but I didn't move. I looked away from him, but almost as soon as I did he brought his hand to my chin and moved me head up so I looked at him again. He let go and put his arm around me again.

"Are you sure you're okay. You were pretty upset last night," he said.

"I'm fine," I said quietly.

Once again we went silent. I felt like falling asleep again, but I knew I shouldn't. I was getting too close again and I told myself not to do that. Vic's nose brushed against mine and I felt his hot breath against my lips. Even though I had already kissed him last night I knew I shouldn't do it again. Not when I'm in my right mind.

"I'm going to shower," I said abruptly, stopping his lips from pressing against mine.

"Was that an invitation?" he smirked.

The normal Vic was back. I rolled my eyes and pushed away from him. I felt lonely again the second I was out of his arms. I got out of bed, found some clothes and went into the bathroom.

While I was showering I couldn't help but think of that dream last night. It was horrible. Absolutely horrible. I was surprised at how much the thought of losing Vic affected me. Part of me had planned on killing him the second we got to California, but now I was second guessing that. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad to keep him around. I guess I looked kind of stupid last night trying to wash off blood that wasn't there, but Vic wasn't making fun of me like I thought he would. He was being different to what he's usually like.

When I was done with my shower I got out, dried, and put my clothes on. When I went back out to Vic he was already dressed with our things sitting on the bed.

"You ready?" he asked.

"Yeah, let's go," I said and picked up my bag from the bed. We left the hotel in silence, got in his car in silence, and drove out of town in silence. The silence was fucking killing me to be honest, that was until Vic spoke and I wish he hadn't.

"You totally like me," he teased. My eyes shot to him in a glare. He was smirking at me. 1

"I do not," I snapped.

"Yeah, you do. You cried over the thought of me dying. Face it, you like me," he said.

I crossed my arms and looked out the window.

"No, I was crying because I woke up and realized you're still alive," I lied. 4

"Oh, ouch," he said sarcastically.

I rolled my eyes and ignored him. We drove mostly in silence with just the radio playing quietly. It wasn't long before I saw the sign telling us we were entering Nevada. It wouldn't be long now before we were in California. We were so close I could almost taste the freedom.

"We're almost there," Vic said, basically reading my mind.

"Yep."

"Any idea of what to do when we do get there?" I asked.

"Yes. I have a name and an address," I said, remembering the note my mother had been so kind to leave me.

"And you're not going to pull any tricks on me? No surprise killing? No ditching me while I'm asleep?" he asked.

I looked at him to see that he was looking at me kind of nervously. I thought hard about the question. Earlier I had decided that I didn't want to kill him anymore, but would I ditch him? No, I can't see myself ditching him. I didn't get a chance to reply to him though because one second we were driving along and the next, well, all I could remember was my world turning upside down and then there was nothing, just blackness.

When I awoke the first thing I noticed was how much my head hurt. It felt like someone had hit me over and over again with a baseball bat. My vision was blurry. For a moment there it hurt to even move my eyelids. On the inside I was panicking and too afraid to move.

"Kellin, come on, wake up," Vic's voice echoed around the room we were in. Where were we? I was laying down on a cold floor which was a little damp. I got the courage to flicker my eyes open and the first thing I saw was Vic sitting up against a pole, giving me a worried look.

"Are you okay?" he asked. Does it look like I'm fucking okay? I groaned and rolled over onto my back.

"What happened?" I croaked out.

"We were driving and were hit on purpose. I think, no, I'm sure it's the mob. Two men brought us back here. Kellin, I'm tied up. You need to untie me. Hurry," he whispered. 2

It was a lot to take in. Car crash? Mob? Were we kidnapped? My head was too clouded to think straight.

"Kellin, come on, untie me," he whispered harshly.

Apart from my head, the rest of my body felt okay so I was able to slowly crawl over to Vic. My vision was still blurred though, but I found the ropes. His hands were tied behind his back and around a pole. I felt so weak and my fingers weren't working properly. I managed to loosen the knot a bit when Vic stopped me.

"They're coming back. Lay back down," he whispered frantically. I was in no state to make my own decision, so I went back over to where I was and collapsed back onto the ground. I was still confused as hell. What was going on?

I heard footsteps and the squeaking of a door. The next thing I know I'm being yanked up by my shirt shoved against a wall, still sitting down.

"Hey fucking watch it!" Vic barked at them.

The man said a profanity and then my hands were roughly pulled behind my back and tied to what felt like a pole. When the man was done I heard him move away. My head hung low, still unable to find the energy to pick it up or do anything really. I felt like I was going to be sick.

"So it turns out Mr. Perry is a little caught up and won't be here to deal with you for a few hours," a man's voice said.

"You know what that means though, right?" a second voice asked.

"Oh yeah, it's torture time."