GUN IN MY HAND

CHAPTER 62: OUTLAWS' GETAWAY

'I'm a world of pain

And you're a safe place

When I run away

You're the only home I know

I'm still runnin'

I'm still runnin'

*DOROTHY'S POV*

"You take the next road to the right."

"You're sure?" Blade threw me another cocked eyebrow as he spun the steering wheel towards a road even narrower and bumpier.

Was I sure? A glance at Spencer behind, and his light nod gave me the confidence to reply,

"Yes, 100% sure." Or maybe 99%...

It would have been easier to be sure with my eyes closed, though with how dark it was, it was almost the same: a thick mass of darkness that the car's headlights illuminated just enough to recognize the dirt road and a maze of tall trees surrounding us.

I hadn't remembered there had been so many, and the more I glimpsed, the less I was sure.

I tried to turn to Spencer, but even if his soft smile was comforting, it had been years, and he hadn't come here as many times as I had. Adding the millions of worries in our minds and the fact that we hadn't slept in about 20 hours, the memories were all blurring.

"Are all your secret places hidden in creepy areas?" Blade's question was echoed with an owl's hoot and the fresh breeze seeping in through the half-open windows, and I had to fight the shudder shaking my body.

"The most beautiful things are always the most hidden." At least, I hoped the saying was true, and my head instinctively tilted to the starry sky for reassurance before I remembered we'd put the hood and that the woods were too thick anyway.

"And the most dangerous too," he added, offering me one of his killer grins, which, on the contrary, strengthened my belief as I shrugged coyly.

"I guess you gotta trust your instincts... and me."

I knew he recognized the words as he chuckled, and the memories of one of our first getaways were as much in his dimple as in his words when he countered,

"I guess I'm crazy then."

Yes, the most beautiful things were always hidden, and the most dangerous too, and I smiled as the trees grew scarcer, and I caught sight of an unmistakable large rock. I would never forget the scary shape almost resembling a gargoyle and its sharp edge from which I still had a mark on my left knee. Then, there was one more turn, and...

"So... crazy?" I leaned over his shoulder, watching from so close the twitch of his dimple and his eyes narrowing at the new shapes the headlights were illuminating.

From my memories, there was still a row of pine trees, and you had to know the place to recognize the human-made lines and angles at first. As I looked sideways at Spencer, the crease slowly easing off between his eyebrows confirmed it was still the same, and when Blade blinked, slowing down the car, I knew he'd caught the reflection of the headlights on one of the upstairs windows. 

Then, it was impossible to miss it. His eyebrows rose and his lips parted to let out a curse word under his breath. He'd caught sight of the layers of logs, assembled together to form the building that still went from the open porch to the small turret, judging by Spencer's gaze wandering from left to right and the nostalgic smile growing on his lips with the movement.