The sound of bird morning calls woke me up. Initially I thought I had left a window open as they were so loud. Then I saw my surroundings and remembered where I was. I was still lying on top of Jake in an old barn that had miraculously not fallen down on us through the night.

"Good morning," Jake kissed my head.

I squinted at him, "Oh God, what time is it?"

He was doing something on his phone, but I couldn't make it out. He swiped to check the time, "Almost 6."

"Mmm, I can't believe I actually fell asleep," I nuzzled my face against him to block out the light. "You should've woken me up."

"No, it was fine. You needed the rest," he rubbed light circles on my head with his fingertips.

"What are you doing?" I tried to work out what was on his phone screen.

"Playing Candy Crush," he answered nonchalantly.

"Wait, what? Seriously?" I lifted my head up. "You're wasting your phone battery on Candy Crush?"

"Well, no, this is your phone," he admitted.

"Hey! Give me that!" I grabbed the phone from his hands and sat up.

"I was bored!" he defended. "Bored and trapped!"

"You could have pushed me off and gotten up!" I shook my head as I closed the app.

"You were too cute," he smirked.

"Here I thought you were doing something sensible like working out how the hell to get out of here and... shit! We've got like 10 hours to get to Colville!" I exclaimed.

"We only need four," Jake assured. "And yes, I've already checked our location."

"We still need to get out of here," I looked around the barn, then back at Jake. "How are you feeling?"

He sighed and lifted himself to a sitting position slowly, wincing as he moved his limbs, "I'll live."

"That's as reassuring as ever," I rolled my eyes.

"And you?" he gestured to my lower back.

"Sore," I touched it gingerly. "But I'll live."

"Think you can ride the bike again?" he questioned.

"Hang on, it's you we should be worried about!" I argued. "You really think you can get back on?"

"I have endured far worse," he pointed out. "I'll go slower this time."

"You most definitely will!" I glared at him.

He tried to keep a straight face, but started laughing, "You saw me kill seven people yesterday and yet you don't hesitate to threaten me. It's cute, endearing even."

"I'm not scared of you," I shrugged. "Especially in your current condition, I could out run you."

"Maybe I let you believe you could out run me," he smirked. "Who doesn't love a good chase?"

"You can't fool me," I got up and stretched my back. "I know you're in a lot of pain."

"But I know how to shut out pain to get what I want," he grinned devilishly.

I poked his shoulder and he yelped in pain, "Real scary, monster boy."

Jake grabbed my wrist with a growl and yanked me down to the ground beside him. I hit the hay on my side, then was immediately forced onto my back. Jake pinned my limbs down with his before I could react. I tried to move my arms, but he held them down firmly.

"That hurt, you son of a bitch!" I yelled.

"Remember who you're dealing with," he hissed. "I got myself out of those mines, I can ride that fucking bike."

"Give me the other Jake back," I frowned.

"No, he's weak," his expression grew darker. "If it wasn't for me, he would've died in those mines."

"We're not in danger, give him back," I insisted.

"Maybe I don't want to," he leant over and licked my cheek. "Maybe he doesn't want to, either."

"We don't have time for this," I struggled to remain calm. "Fine, you can handle the bike. Point proven."

"Do you think anyone would hear you if you screamed right now?" he smiled sadistically. "There's no one for miles! You could scream all you want and no one would hear you."

"Are you done?" I raised my eyebrow. "We have to get to Colville, remember?"

"But look," Jake gestured to the side with his head. "You'd look so beautiful tied to the wooden beam there. I could've done it while you slept, you know. You wouldn't have even noticed."

"What, do you want a cookie for being a good boy?" I rolled my eyes.

"I don't think you understand how much I have to restrain myself with you," he turned back to me. "You act so strong and brave, but you're oh so vulnerable. It'd be a pity if I were to abuse that."

"Stop," I bit my lip.

"Stop," he mocked. "Make me."

Jake leant down and started alternating between kissing and sucking my neck. I wiggled underneath him, but I couldn't escape his hold.

"Red light, Jake," I shook my head. "We need to go."

Jake immediately pulled up and pouted, "Mood killer."

"Save it for after we get Richy denied parole!" I poked his stomach. "Think of it as motivation."

Jake laughed and stood up to stretch out, "I didn't need any, but I'll take it. On a more serious note, we need to work on your self-defence because that was pathetic."

I got up and dusted myself off, "Gee, thanks. How about you teach me a few things then?"

"Gladly," he smiled as he picked up his helmet. "When I'm not so sore. For now, let's go find something to eat and maybe pick up a new ride on the way."

"Sounds like a plan," I chuckled as I bent over to grab my helmet to put it on. "You have a place in mind already?"

"Yes, there's a rest stop with a diner not far from here, which meets both requisites," he explained as he put his gloves on.

I lifted our bag off the ground and slung it over my shoulder while put his backpack on. He grabbed the dirt bike and pushed it across the barn. I held the door open to give him extra clearance while he exited. Before joining Jake on the dirt bike, I took one last look at the old barn that had sheltered us.

Jake rode considerably more slowly and carefully across the empty fields until we finally reached the road 30 minutes later. The one lane road was empty and weaved through densely forested areas. On a normal day I'd appreciate the clean, fresh air. However, that day was anything but normal.

Eventually the road merged with a busier two-lane highway. Not even five minutes later, the bike started to sputter. Jake pulled off immediately to the side.

"That's as far as the tank can take us," he sighed as we got off. "Help me move it into the bushes."

With one of us on each side, we pushed the bike through the trees into the middle of dense bushes and dumped our helmets with it. Jake grabbed some fallen tree branches and tossed them on top to cover everything a little more.

"The diner shouldn't be much further," he assured me as we took off on foot again.

Truck after truck sped past us as we walked down the shoulder of the highway. Thankfully, Jake was right, the diner was just around the bend, but given the last day of travelling, I was already feeling rather worn out.

Navigating through the parking lot of the diner, Jake scoped out potential new rides. Most of them were trucks of all sizes, some with trailers and some without. There were only a couple of cars, which meant his choices were limited. Breakfast first though, then car theft.

Being the gentleman he was, Jake opened the door of the diner for me to enter first. The inside was like a normal trucker's diner with a long bar space for individuals and a few booths for the occasional group when they had them. Beside the kitchen window a TV was mounted to the wall airing the morning news.

The bar itself was full of truck drivers shovelling breakfast into their mouths in silence with one lone middle-aged waitress refilling their coffee mugs. She looked at me and said something in German to us. I barely knew any German, but by the tone of her voice I could tell it wasn't a greeting.

"I have no idea what she said," I commented quietly to Jake.

"She said we look like shit," Jake put a reassuring hand on my shoulder.

He responded to the woman in German. It was the first time I heard him speak his native language and although I had no idea what he was saying, I felt like I understood him just by watching him. They spoke back and forth a few times until Jake responded with one of the few words I knew, "Danke."

"I told her that our car had broken down and we've been walking all night to find reception," he explained. "She said the bathrooms are at the back, if you want to freshen up."

"That sounds good," I smiled at the woman. "Danke."

The waitress kept her eyes on us as we headed to the back. Even the truckers started giving us sideways glances. I wasn't sure if it was because they don't get many tourists or if they had somehow recognised us, but Jake was calm and collected so I tried to mirror him.

There was a single stall each for men and women so we went our separate ways. Washing my hands after using the toilet, I eyed myself in the mirror. The woman was right, I did look like shit. I only had a few hours sleep in the barn after all. I washed my face as best as I could, then applied some basic make-up up to try to resemble a human being again. It wasn't the best transition, but it'd have to do.

After I finished up, I surprised to find Jake wasn't waiting outside the bathroom. Stepping out, I spotted him sitting at the closest booth facing the front door. He was busy reading the menu, or at least trying to pretend he was. One of the more hardened trucker's was watching him from the bar. Surely Jake had noticed, right? He just determined the driver wasn't a threat, right? I rejoined Jake at the table and tried my hardest to not look back at the driver.

"Anything good?" I asked picking up my menu.

"Just your standard range of breakfast food," he shrugged.

"I, uh, can't read any of this," I admitted once I realised it was just a laminated text printout with no pictures, all in German.

"What do you want? I'll order for you," he offered.

"Eggs, bacon, toast... the works really," I sighed. "I feel hungover without the alcohol. Where's the fun in that?"

Jake lowered his menu and smirked smugly at me, "I'm glad you're starting to appreciate the necessity of food and eating well when you can."

"I'd rather not think about it right now," I shook my head. "Is it just me or are they staring at us?"

"Oh, they're staring. Truckers don't really care for civilians invading their hangouts. It's like we're interrupting their secret club meeting," he answered nonchalantly.

The waitress came over to take our orders. Jake ordered for us in German. There was something about the way that he spoke the language that had me entranced. Even though he was just literally ordering breakfast, I was hanging onto his every word.

"Is my Deutsch making you that flustered?" he laughed.

"Um, the language just sounds better from your lips," I blushed.

"Ich liebe dich," he smiled.

"I have no idea what that means," I looked at him confused.

"Guess," he teased.

I stared at him and tried to read from his expression and the context the meaning of what he said to me. "You think I'm cute?"

He chuckled, "No, I definitely think you're cute, but I said 'I love you'."

"Oh! I love you too!" I felt so bad for not getting it. "I am glad though that you remembered to say it outside of a life threatening situation."

"See? I'm trying," he joked.

"Oh my God! It just occurred to me that the hearing is going to be in German! What am I going to do!?" I gasped. "It's not like you can go with me!"

"While I'm sure the board can understand English, your friends will be there and they could translate for you?" he suggested.

"Oh, of course," I rolled my eyes at my own stupidity. "What am I even going to say?"

"The truth? That he betrayed and used you to bring a legend to life in order to terrorise you and your friends just because he couldn't face his own guilt. That he used his good nature to deceive all of you, so even now, any good behaviour should not be trusted. It is just a show to get early release. He doesn't actually feel remorse," Jake suggested.

"Yeah, I guess," I sighed.

"You'll work it out," he put his hand over mine assuredly.

A special news bulletin suddenly interrupted the morning news. I couldn't understand what was being said, but it was very clear to me that they were issuing a warning to the public that dangerous fugitives had crossed the border and they were to be on the lookout for us. To my surprise, they were still using the old photo of me and the police sketch of Jake. They showed some of the CCTV footage of the train, but the quality was so poor that you really couldn't make out our faces. Nevertheless, I turned back towards Jake and sunk into the seat, hoping that no one in the diner would put two and two together. Jake squeezed my hand to get my attention. Glancing up at him, he held himself with confidence and strength, but his eyes were piercing, as if he was telling me to get my shit together. He was right of course. Every time I panicked I risked us being exposed. I took a deep breath and tried to relax. Out of nowhere our waitress plopped down our dishes, catching me by surprise and nearly causing me to jump out of my seat. She looked at me oddly, like I had three heads, then said something in German. Jake responded in German, obviously trying to cover for my skittish reaction.

"You need to get a better handle on this," he whispered while frowning at me. "If you keep acting guilty, people are going to know you're guilty and that will expose us both."

"But I'm not even guilty," I whined. "Well not until yesterday."

Jake sighed and said nothing. He just ate his breakfast while avoiding eye contact with me.

"What? You're meant to say something snarky or whatever," I pressured.

"It's nothing," he lied. I kicked his leg under the table. "Ow! What the fuck was that for?"

"I am a woman. It is never nothing so spill," I glared.

"Just wondering if I should've just killed you," he mumbled.

"What for?" I narrowed my eyes.

"Maybe asking you to handle this is too much for you," he grumbled. I kicked him again. "Ow! I am definitely going to kill you if you keep kicking me!"

"I can handle it," I gritted my teeth, then started eating

"Good," he went back to eating.

I glanced up from my plate and realised I needed to cut the tension between us, "Any thoughts on a ride?"

"Well I always wanted to drive a semi," he mused.

"You're not serious," I laughed.

"How hard could it be?" he shrugged.

"Uh, very?" I shook my head. "Besides, I don't think we should be crossing any of these guys."

"I could take them," he insisted. "But you're right, their cabs are probably vile cesspits."

"So a normal sedan?" I proposed.

"Unless you want to walk all the way to Colville," he said sarcastically, earning him another kick. "You're really asking to be punished later."

I stuck my tongue out at him like a true brat and kicked him under the table again.