THE thought of someone else being in his bathroom was too much for him. There was an unexplainable intimacy in letting her use his bathroom while he transferred his photographs from his camera to his laptop. It was something couples did, wasn't it? He was most likely over reacting. He doesn't remember being physically close to someone for more than a day. He never stayed someplace for more than a week, never with the same hookup for longer than a night. He always walked away, never returning again.

They approached a table and flipped through the menu. Aahana ordered pancakes and coffee while Everett chose an omelette and plain sugar. As soon as the waiter with neon green hair and an unused packet of cigarettes under his notepad walked away, Aahana gave him a look.

"Omelette and milk?" She repeated his order. "You don't even have to try to be boring."

"Are you always this judgemental or am I your special victim?" He countered. The canteen chimed when a pair of muscled dudes walked inside. The men, with chiselled jaws and black t-shirts that barely fitted their broad chest, sat four tables away from theirs in the empty canteen. One of the men pulled his sunglasses down and made direct contact with Everett, a predator looking at its prey-–ready to hunt, ready to tear limb from limb.

"Who are you looking at?" Aahana was about to turn around when Everett quickly grabbed her hand, shaking his head. A grave look on his face. "Everett, you're scaring me. What's wrong?"

"Is there another exit other than where we came from?" His eyes didn't leave the men's.

"Um, yeah. Behind you. About seven tables away. Why?" There was visible confusion and fear in her voice.

"Now, listen to me. Do you have your stuff with you?"

"Just my phone and wallet. My bag is in my room."

"Shit." Everett bit his tongue. He processed his thoughts for a minute. "Leave your bag in the room. We'll come back for it later. Once our food comes, eat it fast, okay? Don't make any sudden movements and if I say run, just run. Back to Breezy. Got it?"

"Yeah but—"

"I'll tell you why once we're away from here."

Much to his surprise, she simply nodded. No further questions asked. Soon, their food came in and as discussed, they ate the food in silence. Everett frequently looked at the men. The two men were sitting silently, staring at their seats. When their food didn't come even after Everett and Aahana were done, his suspicions were confirmed. The waiter walked with the bill and in the moment to reach for the bill, the men began to stand up. Everett grabbed the milk glass with one hand and Aahana's arm with the other.

"Run," he shouted and in the flash of moment, he threw the glass towards them and they ran through the other exit. He heard the glass shatter but he didn't look back. All he cared for was the girl running with him and reaching his van as quickly as possible. He spotted Breezy under the banyan tree, safe and sound. He dug his hand in his pockets and pulled his keys out. Everett thrusted the keys in the door and pried it open for Aahana who quickly climbed inside. He hopped in and started the car. His Breezy didn't betray him and brought the engine to life in a millisecond. He paused to look at the men running to Breezy. He made an easy drift and drove off.

"Are they following us?" He asked hurriedly. Aahana pushed her head out of the window to look back. She shook her head with an inaudible sound of negation and Everett relaxed on his seat. She sat back and stared at him.

"Who are you?" Fear and dread in her voice. "Why were we being chased? Everett, are you a shady dude? Do you owe them any money?"

"What? No!" He said. "Calm down. I think they were local robbers. They come to such motels and diners and rob the people on a road trip. I'm sure the motel owner already knows them."

"I want to believe you," she said quietly and looked away.

It had officially been three hours since Aahana last spoke. And as much as he would love the silence, her mouth being shut brought nothing but doubts and worries in his head. He looked at her constantly through the mirror, trying to decipher her impressions but so far all he had was a sack full of nada.

"You're awfully quiet. Did your vocal chords finally give up?" He joked.

Nothing.

"Aahana..."

Nothing.

"Hey." He extended his finger to poke her bare shoulder. She shrugged and scooted away from him. And as much as he hated to admit it, his heart dropped. "Are you mad at me?" She still didn't answer. "Aahana, come on, talk to me. At least, look at me. What's wrong?"

She snapped her head to him. "No, Everett. I am not mad at you. I am mad at myself." She rubbed her temples. "All this was a mistake. I shouldn't have come with you. Just drop me at the next bus station. I want to go back to Oakside."

"Wait, no, what? Are you serious?" He was shocked. Mostly upset but also shocked. "Why now? We're not far away. Just a night more and we'll be in Peakview."

"I know but this is wrong. I feel...scared and unsafe. I don't trust you. I don't know you. I was impulsive and desperate and this...whatever happened at that motel, it hit me like a brick."

"I..." Everett wanted to argue—say something that could stop her but he couldn't. He had nothing. He swallowed a lump down his throat when an idea arose. He swerved the van smoothly and parked the car in the middle of nowhere. Without giving her a chance to respond, he got down. "Come with me." She didn't. "Come on, Aahana. One last time. Follow me. You'll like this, I swear."

Aahana tentatively got down and went to his side. He led her to the side of the road, into the wide forest that stood before them. There was a smile on his face when the warm sun rays fell on his body. The sweet scent of dried leaves reminded him of home—the first place he learnt to run away from.

"Is this where you are going to murder me?" She said. Although she was cracking a joke, at least he hoped she was—she showed no signs of doing so. She looked guarded and, in some way, scared. She rubbed her hands over her biceps as if protecting herself from...him.

This realisation stung him.

She didn't feel safe around him.

His heart began to feel heavy.

Why did he care? She was just a stranger to him too.

A sound reached his ear. "Do you hear that?" His smile returned. He began to run in the direction of the sound and hoped for her to follow and his heart bloomed when he saw that she did. In front of them stood a river. Not just any river, the same one that they stopped by last night. He took his shoes off and sprinted in the cool water. At the sight of the river, even Aahana couldn't hide her smile. The birds chirped, the water played a mystical tone as it flowed. His heart felt young again.

A mischievous smile warped on his face. He took a handful of water in his hand and threw it on oblivious Aahana. She yelped at the sudden splash. She turned to him, an accusing look on her face. "You..." She repeated what he did and before they even knew, they were soaking and shaking.

"I don't have any clothes!"

"You can borrow mine temporarily. We can buy new ones. Sounds good?" She nodded at him. He smiled and climbed on the tree that acted as the bridge over the water. He sat on it with his ankles dipped in the water. He didn't say anything but his smile grew when Aahana came and sat beside him—a hand distance away but still close enough for him to feel her warmth.

"I was thirteen when I first ran away." He surprised himself by revealing this. "My mom and dad had a big fight with my elder brother. They didn't tell me what it was about but Ajay was beyond furious. So much that he wanted to run away. The night after the fight, Ajay packed his things and came to my room to say goodbye. I couldn't see him go away so I went with him. I packed my clothes and sent a goodbye text to the girl I was dating and ran with him."

"And you never returned?"

"On the contrary, when Ajay told me his plans—I couldn't. I couldn't bring myself to run away with him. He was prepared, he was goal-oriented, he was motivated and most importantly, he was an adult. We said our goodbye on the train and his friend came and dropped me back home. After that, I would go to the train station every night. I am not sure why I went there. I knew he didn't want to return. Maybe it was my getaway, of some sorts." He blew a breath. The memory of his brother was fresh on his skin.

"Did he come back?"

"Yeah. A year later. But the old Ajay was gone. He was just not the same anymore. And strangely enough, I wanted to be him. He had so many experiences, stories, and friends. I wanted that." He looked towards the stream of water for a moment before looking back at her. "So...yeah, that's my story."

"Do you miss him?"

"Always."

Aahana kicked in the water, her eyes fixed in an underwater plant. "I love my family," she began. "But my parents can be a little too controlling. The reason why I ran away was because they grounded me for the rest of the month for dating a guy...well, more like—dating an American. I was tired of that, tired of the same routine, same arguments, same...I don't know, secretly dating. I needed to be away. And yesterday was fun but...I think it's time for me to go back."

"So you still wanna go?" Everett asked with a pinch of hope.

She nodded. "Yeah. It's not you. I just...I don't think I am made for this kind of life. I can't run away like my sister did. I have to go back. I promised myself that I won't be like her."

"Okay, if that's what you want." He chewed the inside of his mouth. "There's a bus stop just a mile away. I think it's near a flea market so we could get you some clothes and you could return to Oakside."

She was right. Her decision was impulsive and careless. Running away with a stranger was dangerous and though he didn't mean any harm, he knew that asking her to accompany him was too much. Besides, it would be selfish. She wasn't an adult yet and he could even get in trouble for letting her come with me. But despite all this, he couldn't ignore what his heart was telling him.

For the first time, he wanted someone to stay.