Chained Heat

Chapter 1

If Peter would have known that one day he'd be sitting at the back of a police car with handcuffs around his wrists, he would have tried to avoid this situation with all of his might. Or maybe he wouldn't have changed anything at all because the fact was that he had never been in a police car before and he was always eager to try new things. Even if those things were illegal. If he was honest, his situation sucked. But at the same time he was excited, maybe less on the edge as he has been these past few weeks. Somehow the cold touch of the cuffs made him feel more free than ever.

As he sat there in silence, looking out of the window of the small city view passing by, Peter started to think about his life choices. You know, the choices he had made that made him end up in this situation in the first place. He had been a good kid before who always knew to do the right thing. He was one of the best students in his class - no, the whole school, passing every subject with ease because he was passionate about his studies. He had always been the role model for others despite not being too popular with the other kids. That was until two months ago when his uncle Ben passed away because of a shooting, and everything in his life just went worse. He was too sad to study or even go to school anymore. He felt trapped in his own room because he didn't want to face the world knowing that his second father figure was now gone, too. Even if his friends and his aunt May had been there for him, Peter had never felt so alone. And in order to fight that feeling of loneliness, he decided to be even more alone. He ran away from home.

The money he had been saving for his own car had been almost spent. His general attitude had changed from cheerful to a handful, always picking fights, always glaring at people, always feeling like shit. Sometimes Peter wondered if running away from home was really a good idea since it had changed him as a person completely and ruined his whole life. But a part of him had enjoyed this adventure and tried to see it as some kind of learning experience. That way of thinking was proof that the old Peter was still in him, just now hidden underneath a hard surface. He didn't regret his choices. He had felt free. And that's what he wanted to be - free from everything that held him down.

"Have you ever been to Washington before?" the cop at the front seat suddenly asked. Her eyes were piercing as she looked into the backseat, quickly returning her eyes back on the road. She was almost middle aged, a little overweight but still fit enough to run after someone - like she had ran after Peter and caught him easily. Her hair was probably colored red a few months ago, but by time it had lost its color and turned kind of orange. Her nails were short and she had no make up, which showed that she knew what she was doing.

"No", was Peter's answer.

"You live in California, don't you?" the cop asked, raising her strong eyebrows a little. "You sure have ran faaar away from your family. Were you abused or something or ... what made you run this far?"

Peter really wasn't sure. Uncle Ben's death took a big toll on him. So did aunt May's idea to move to New York, which meant that Peter would have to say goodbye to his old friends, his whole life, and move to another big city where everything would be a mess first. He didn't like it when things changed without his approval. Maybe he ran away so he could make his own choices and build his own future, where ever that would be. Maybe he secretly didn't want to grow up yet.

"Just wanted to have some fun", Peter said quietly, looking back out of the window. He pressed his head against the glass, starting to feel sleepy. And it wasn't even that late yet. But after sleeping outside for weeks, having a little nap on this comfortable seat would be Heaven.

The cop huffed at him. "Well, the fun's over now. You've worried your relatives so bad they've been sending your little 'missing person' - poster all over the country."