-Before They Make Me Run by the Rolling Stones-

Mark had thought of everything. From the decor to the amenities. There was a kitchenette, a shower, a toilet, pull out table, spice rack, storage space, a mini-fridge, a bed - everything you needed - on wheels.

"I've seen a lot of cool things in this lifetime, but this takes the cake," Denise stepped out of the van. She sat on the edge beside Mark, who had been smoking a cigarette while she looked around.

"You've really outdone yourself," she gave him props. "Could have repainted the van though," Denise looked at the bright orange paint in distaste.

"Why? What's wrong with orange?" Mark cocked an eyebrow.

"Nothing, it just happens to be the ugliest fucking color in the rainbow."

Mark looked away, holding in a laugh.

"Just saying," Denise lifted her shoulders, crossing one leg over the other.

"Yeah, well," Mark turned his head and looked down at her, "guess we'll have to agree to disagree."

Purposely, Denise avoided his gaze, looking off to the side.

The first time they met, Mark was the one uncomfortable under her gaze, and now - it was the other way around.

"When are you leaving?" she asked.

Putting his gaze forward, Mark held the cigarette out to her, "soon as possible."

Denise took the cigarette without thinking, "hm," she took a drag.

She closed her eyes and blew the smoke in the air, letting the nicotine do what it did best - calm her nerves.

If she didn't get her shit together, cigarettes were going to kill her a lot faster than she wanted them too.

"You wanna come?" Mark turned to look at her.

"Come where?" she questioned inquisitively with her eyes closed.

"With me - on the road."

Denise snickered, amused, "why the hell would I want to do that?"

"It was technically your idea," Mark pointed out.

Unsure if he was serious, Denise opened her eyes to look into his.

There he was, wearing that look of sincerity that Denise couldn't quite figure out was real or night - despite falling into it.

"Mark," she grazed her tongue across her bottom lip, "I don't know you."

"Denise," Marks takes the cigarette away from her, "we're sharing a smoke, I think we're pretty much besties at this point," he recites her exact words.

A perplexed Denise scoffed, while a grinning Mark stood, putting the cigarette to his lips.

So the teddy bear had a sense of humor, Denise thought.

She stood, crossing her arms over her chest, "why?"

"Why, what?" Mark kept his back turned.

"Why are you inviting me?"

He shrugged slightly, "I could use the company."

"Right," Denise scoffed, unamused.

"Why does it matter?" Mark turned to her, "you talked about wanting to leave. Here's a chance."

"It matters because you don't look like an angel, and I'm not a saint. I have no money to contribute, and a month ago, you saw me almost beat a guy with a chair right before I ruined his car. I'm calm right now, but you say one wrong that, and I'd start tearing apart your van if I felt like it in the moment."

Denise walks up to him, glaring, "you're asking a ticking time bomb to travel around the country with you. I can only assume that you're insane, or you want something from me."

Gazing into her bewildered angry eyes, Mark tosses the cigarette on the ground and steps on it.

"Guess I'm crazy then."

Denise held in a scoff, shaking her head lightly, "who the hell are you?"

"Not an angel, according to you," he joked.

But Denise wasn't amused at his charm that time. 

She was offered a ticket out of hell and wasn't sure how she felt about it - especially when the devil was always in the details - at least in her life.

"Let's do it this way," said Mark. "I'll give you three days to think about it. Not too long, not too short. I'll come back here on the third day - noon. You'll either be packed and ready to go or waiting to turn me down; either way, I get my answer, and I leave town with or without you."

He holds his tattooed hand out to her, "deal?"

Denise eyed his hand, dubiously.

"Deal," she walks past him, toward the stairs. 

Mark turns around, watching her reach the top.

"Hey!"

Denise leans over the railing to look down at him, "what?"

"You've got nothing to lose," he flailed his arms.

Denise only responds with a "hm," and goes back to her room.

__________

"Wake up!" Ana snatched the covers off of a sleeping Denise.

Denise groaned, stirring in the bed with her eyes closed. 

It wasn't until Ana started opening the curtains to let the sun in that Denise sat up - and she was pissed.

With only a tight t-shirt and a pair of pink cheekies on, she glared at Ana, who was frantically looking around.

"Ana, what the hell?" Denise gritted her teeth threateningly.

Ignoring Denise's bad attitude, Ana noticed an empty book bag on the floor and grabbed it without responding.

Since she had respect for Ana, Denise took a deep breath, calming herself down. She hated getting pulled out of her sleep.

Especially since in the past when she was woken up, it was to argue or fight with her boyfriend - usually both.

It was very traumatizing for her.

Ana places the duffle bag on the edge of the bed and starts packing Denise's clothes. 

"Ana, what are you doing?" Denise sighs.

"It's been three days; you have less than an hour until Mark gets here. You need to be packed and ready to go."

Denise let out a tired laugh, grabbed her pillow, and laid on her stomach. 

"I told you an hour after he left, I wasn't going."

She grabbed the covers to pull them over herself, but Ana snatched them away.

"Ana," Denise sprung up, warningly.

"I'm sorry," Ana poked her hip out. "Did you figure out how you're going to pay Erick back?"

Rolling her eyes, Denise looked away.

"Exactly, and you don't have a job, and with your track record of men ruining your source of income, it's gonna be some time until you find one. You don't want to do anything that'll involve the cops, but you also don't want to sleep with a guy who's rich as f -"

"What's your point, Ana?!" an agitated Denise snapped. "Is there even a point?" 

"The point is, the only way to avoid Erick is to leave town."

"I -"

"I don't care if you don't want to travel with Mark. You barely know him, I got that part. At least hitch a ride, find a place you don't mind starting over in, and kick him to the curb." 

"You don't get it do, you?" Denise squinted at her. "I'm not letting Erick win. I'm not letting him run me out of town. I'm a lot of things, but I'm not a coward."

"That doesn't make you a coward, Denise. Forget about Erick, the money, and his stupid car. Don't leave just because of him but leave for you. You haven't told me much about your life, but I know for sure, you've been through hell and back. It's all in your eyes, girl."

Denise let out a deep sigh, looking down.

"Denise," Ana sat down beside her. 

Reluctantly, Denise lifted her head to look at her, "what, Ana?"

"What do you have to lose?"

The moment the sentence fell off of Ana's lips, Mark's voice rang in her ears.

Though she was tired of being asked that question, she knew she didn't have anything to lose.

Denise hated the thought of running, but she also hated the idea of being in Erick's debt. 

Many times she thought about leaving Massachusettes, and now she had the opportunity to do so.

Was she just going to let it pass her by?

Already knowing what the answer was, Ana continued to pack up her stuff.

"Alright," a stubborn Denise said softly.

Ana paused while stuffing a pair of jeans in the bag, "what?"

"I'll go," Denise gave in reluctantly.

"For real, for real?" Ana's eyebrows rose in shock.

"For real," Denise stood up from the bed. "You go ahead and finish working; I'll pack the rest of my stuff."

Words couldn't express how happy Ana was that Denise was going to get out of town. She had always hoped her life would end up better, and Ana was sure this was the first step for that happening.

Without warning, Ana hugged Denise tightly, "this will be good for you, girl. I promise."

Awkwardly patting Ana's back, Denise grumbled, "I guess we'll see, huh?"

A smiling Ana pulls away, "I'll leave you to it."

Denise gave a sharp nod, watching Ana leave and close the door behind her.

She turns to the messy half-packed bag, her stomach churning at the sight. 

As good of an idea as it was to leave town, it didn't make it any less nerve-racking. 

She had always thought about leaving it, but doing it was a completely other thing.

Yet, here she was, doing it.

Needing to calm herself, she decided to take a quick shower before she finished packing.

After her shower, she tosses on a white cropped halter top with a pair of ripped light blue jeans and classic black low-top vans. 

At that point, she had been awake too long without having a cigarette, so she lit her first one for the day. 

Letting the nicotine do its job, just as she was about to start packing, she hears a knock on the door.

"Come in," she starts packing again.

Luckily, she didn't have much and was used to surviving with less. In a sense, she liked it that way. It made it so she wasn't tied to materialistic things, something she had learned didn't make your life any better.

The door opens, and she looks back to see it was Mark.

He had his curls down today, and some of his hair tucked behind his ears to show his piercings. Mark wore a simple gray short-sleeved t-shirt with blue jeans and a pair of black boots.

At the sight of her packing, he smirked, and leaned in the doorway, "so?"

"So," she walked over to her perfume bottle that was on the dresser, "nothing to lose, right?" 

Holding her cigarette to the side, she spritzed herself.

Mark caught a glimpse of the perfume, seeing that the scent was rose oud - which confirmed what he thought she smelled like.

She puts the perfume in her book bag and goes to the bathroom to get her necessities.

Coming out, she puts them in her bag, "I'm done."

"That's all you got?" Mark cocked an eyebrow. 

"All I need," she grabbed her scattered sandals and combat boots.

"Cool," Mark nods, "mind if I use your bathroom?" 

"Go for it," she nods before inhaling some of her cigarette.

After placing her shoes by her packed bag, she grabbed her jean jacket and put it on. 

"She's not here!" the sound of a panicked Ana caused Denise to look toward the open door.

"Then I guess you won't have a problem with my checking for myself," the sound of Erick's voice made her cringe.

"You gotta be fucking kidding me," she took a quick drag of her cigarette, went over to the ashtray on her bedside, and smashed it out.

Quickly going over to the door, just before she can close it all the way, it gets shoved open by Erick.

Behind Erick, was a worried and pissed Ana.

"I'm sorry Denise, I tried to -"

In the middle of Ana's sentence, Erick slams the door in her face, "we need to talk."

Ana slams on the door, "if you touch her, I swear I will call the cops."

"Don't worry about it," Denise gulped. "I'm okay; we're just going to talk."

She might have been nervous, but she wasn't scared of him. If anything, she was on guard - things could go left real quick.

Even though they already were.

"Where's my money, Denise?" Erick slowly stalked toward her.

Denise crossed her arms over her chest, not moving, "you gave me a week. I still have some time, Erick."

"Well, times up," he grimaced. "I'm tired of waiting. I want my money, and I want it now."

"Tough," Denise gave a laid-back shrug, "cause I don't have it and honestly," she laughed, "I don't plan on getting it."

"Is that right?" Erick sneered.

She leaned close to his face, so their noses were barely inches apart.

"Yeah, that's right. You wouldn't get a penny out of me even if I were the richest woman in the world. I told you what happened if you ever touched me again. If there's anyone to blame for your shitty little car, it's you."

"My fault?" he let out a half-hearted chuckle.

"Yep," Denise stood her ground, "and if it makes you feel worse, I would do it again."

As if her nonchalant attitude wasn't annoying enough, her menacing tone took him over the edge.

Erick roughly grabbed both her arms, squeezing Denise so tight she winced.

"Look, Denise," he started pushing backward, "what we had, was fun, it was good. I mean, we've had some good times. Whether you believe it or not, I would hate for us to end on such -"

Erick trails off, noticing her bag of packed clothes.

With a mocking laugh, he tosses her on the bed roughly, "going on a trip?"

Denise looks back at the bag, suddenly remembering that Mark was in the bathroom.

She snickered, looking back at Erick with a head shake, "yeah, something like that."

The sound of the toilet flushing causes Erick's attention to go to the bathroom door. He slowly turns his head to look back at Denise, "who is that?"

"Your worse nightmare if you're looking for a fight, I'll tell you that much."

With a scoff, he backed away as Denise picked up her duffle bag and put it across her torso. 

"You move on quick, huh?" Erick questioned.

Denise turns around, noticing how hurt he suddenly looks.

"Aw, Erick," she walked over to him. She placed an around his neck, smiling, "what we had, was fun, it was good. I mean, we've had some good times. Whether you believe it or not . . ."

Denise leans toward his ear, whispering, "I would have for us to end on such bad terms."

She pulled away to look into his angry his eyes, "like I said, I'm not paying for your shitty little car. So, take one last look at this pretty face, cause you're never going to see me again."

Having been watching the last few minutes of the conversation unfold, Mark finally cleared his throat, standing by the bathroom door.

Both of them turned their heads to look at him.

While Denise was grinning, Erick was not - especially since he recognized Mark from a month ago.

"Everything okay?" Mark asked, raising his eyebrows at Erick.

"Everything's great," Denise responds joyfully. She grabs her shoes, "you ready?"

"If you're ready," replied Mark.

She looks at Erick and winks, "oh, I'm ready."

Walking past him, she opens the door to find Ana, who had been listening and pacing the whole time. When she saw Mark eyeing Erick as he walked by, she sighed of relief.

"I'm so glad you're okay," she pulled Denise into a hug.

"I'm always okay," Denise hugged her back and tighter than she would usually. She pulls away, "thanks for everything."

"Same to you, girl," Ana gave her a fist bump.

Mark follows Denise out, getting a wave from Ana, "take care of my girl, alright?"

Mark gives her a salute in return, nodding.

Pissed, Erick comes out of the room, watching them go.

Once her stuff is inside the van, Mark and Denise get inside the car.

Still shocked that she was leaving town, Denise let's out a tense sigh.

"You sure you want to do this?" Mark asked her.

She looked out the window, locking eyes with Erick, who came down the stairs to his car.

"Yeah," she nods, "I'm sure."

She turns her head to look at Mark, "let's get the fuck out of here."

Chuckling, Mark starts up the car. 

He pulls out of the parking spot, backward, and heads to the exit of the parking lot. In the midst, Denise watches Erick checks his pockets in the rearview mirror.

The sight of realization on his face made her burst into laughter.

"What?" Mark furrowed his eyebrows at her.

"Nothing," she dug into her pocket, pulling out a pair of keys, "just managed to get Erick's keys off of him, is all."

Mark's face falls, "Denise, you -"

"You might want to step on it," she pointed to the rearview mirror, which showed Erick running after them.

"Go, go, go, go!" she rushed Mark, who quickly pulls out of the parking lot, speeding down the road. 

Denise rolls down the window and leans her head out, "screw you, Erick!"

Just when Mark thought she couldn't go any further, she tosses his keys out the window, laughing in thrill.

Mark scoffed in disbelief, thinking one thing - what the hell did he get himself into?

**** 

Let the adventure begin. I never wrote a book like this before, so, I'm really excited. Thank you guys for reading and your comments!