Betrayal Down Memory Lane

Night of Asylum at Jean's (17)

Before I left, I wiped my face, ridding of the black smudges of eye makeup and dried tear lines. I opened the drawer closest to Danny's side of the bed, finding the small cash box that held the multiple twenty dollar bills he kept. He never had a problem spending money on me, so I guess he wouldn't have a problem with me stealing it.

I scribbled down the address I could remember, turned off all the lights and shut our room door behind me. I clutched my backpack strap as I walked out of the lobby. Once I stepped outside, I looked around for a taxi I could find.

"Nadia?"

I slowly turned around towards the voice I heard. "Nick."

Sadness clouded his features as he saw my puffy, red eyes. "Are you okay?" He asked softly. 

I attempted to smile. "I'm fine." I nodded, stepping closer to him. "Nick, can you promise me something?" I gazed into his dark brown eyes. He chuckled nervously. "Uh, Sure."

"Don't tell Danny I left. He doesn't need to know where I am."

He searched for something in my eyes, wondering what I was up to. He slowly nodded, but I could tell he was very lost. "Where are you going?" He spoke calmly. 

I faintly smiled, lightly shaking my head. "I can't tell you that, but just promise me you won't say a word to him. Please." 

He sighed. "I promise." 

I smiled. "Thank you." He smiled back. "Yeah, no problem." I stepped away from him, finding a taxi that was parked by the entrance. 

"Nadia?" He called out. I turned around. "Yeah?"

"Just tell me wherever you're going it's somewhere safe. I wouldn't want you to get hurt."

I smiled at his kindness. "Yeah, it's safe. I promise."

I turned away from him and continued walking over to the parked taxi. I took out the address I had written down earlier and knocked on the window. The driver looked at me briefly before rolling the window down.

"What can I do for you?" He asked.

"Can you take me somewhere?"

He chuckled at my question. I rolled my eyes. Yeah, Nadia that's basically what taxi drivers do, why would you ask that.

"Where to miss?"

I handed him the piece of paper with the address. He glanced at it and gestured me to get in the backseat. "Thanks." I got into the back and immediately focused on the meter. I wondered how much the total would be, hoping the two hundred dollars I stole would be enough.

"What happened to you?" He asked.

I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion. "What?"

"You look beat up. Did something happen?"

I saw him take a glimpse at me through the rear-view mirror. "Oh." I chuckled. "I'm running away from the guy I'm spending time with while he left me to go to some house party." I sighed. "I can't face him."

"What, is he abusive? Are you scared of him?" 

I lightly scoffed. "No, no it's nothing like that. We're just mad at each other. I need some time to be away from him you know?"

"Yeah I get it, but you can't always run from your problems you know."

"Well, I can run now, and I'm paying you for it, so I'm sure you don't mind." He laughed, and the sound of his laughter formed a smile on my face. "Well, you're not wrong." He looked at me through the rear-view again. I stifled a giggle.