Stranger No Danger

Falling for the Stranger, Part 1

The following day was relatively uneventful. We stayed in the room, apprehensive about the possibility of being tracked and recognized. To pass the time we swapped more life stories, periodically checked the news, and rented a couple of movies from the TV. I found myself becoming more and more drawn to him. The entire day felt almost like a date, and at this point I couldn't deny my feelings towards him, no matter how logically I tried to look at the situation.

Eventually it was time to figure out what our next moves were. After some consideration, we decided that the best plan would be to rent a car, head back to California, and possibly stay in Arlen's hometown until I could return to Los Angeles. I could speak to more police officers there while being safer in a city that at least he was familiar with, Arlen reasoned.

"We'll need to wait until tomorrow to get the rental car. The agency nearby is already closed," he told me after speaking to the motel's receptionists. "That means I'm not letting you sleep on the floor again," he added sternly.

I shrugged, half-joking, "I think I'm going to avoid hotel beds for a while. This whole shit-show started with me waking up on one."

Arlen looked over at me, more concerned than amused. "Fine, but you're getting all of the blankets."

Before I could stop him he constructed a makeshift mattress on the floor next to the actual bed. My sleep was the best that night; sleeping next to Arlen made me feel the most relaxed I'd felt throughout the entire ordeal.

We checked out of the hotel that next evening and walked to the car rental agency, which was an easy five minutes away. I blushed when he grasped my hand in his despite the fact that it was a short walk down the street. As I waited for him to talk to the agency and book the vehicle, my mind wandered back to my dilemma of developing feelings towards Arlen.

I really could've found a police station here or something safer, I realized uneasily. But instead... I'm getting in a car with this man I've just met, staying with him in a hotel... not even bothering to think about how risky this could even be.

My heart started pounding. Am I falling in love with him? I mentally punched myself. There's no way. This has to be the stupidest fucking thing ever- falling in love with a stranger that miraculously saved me from a human trafficking situation?

I shook my head, determined to refocus my mental energy again on reaching Los Angeles safely. And yet... when Arlen pulled up in the rental car, I found myself admiring how he looked driving. Goddamnit.

"It's about 10 hours to San Francisco from here," he told me as he loaded up the car. "We'll get there at around 6 in the morning."

"Wait a minute, you shouldn't drive all night, that's so unfair to you," I protested. "Let's at least find somewhere to stay for the night."

He shook his head. "I've driven long road trips before, I'll be fine. Plus it's our best chance to get somewhere safer. We're less likely to be recognized at night, and they won't have a chance to catch up to us if we're traveling the entire time."

I knew he was right but still felt guilty.

"Seriously, thank you for everything so far," I murmured after some hesitation. He paused his opening of the passenger door for me.

I fiddled with my fingers. "I don't even know where I would be right now if it weren't for you. Hell, I don't think I'd even be alive. So seriously, thank you for the hotel, for the food, I don't even have my own money right now but you're paying for a rental car. And for fucking driving me back to California, you're absolutely insane. Thank you so much."

He smiled shyly and looked away. "It's okay, seriously. I just want to make sure you're safe, I would feel so awful if I knowingly left you in harm's way." He added quickly, "Also just doing for you what I hope someone would do for me, or my sisters, if something, you know, were to ever happen."

I nodded in understanding. Arlen was fiercely protective over his sisters, and rightly so. They were around my age so I knew he saw them in me. Yet I couldn't help but feel like there was something else there. As if to answer my suspicions, he awkwardly reached out for a hug and we embraced. I laid my head against his chest and closed my eyes.

After what felt like 5 minutes I pulled away slightly and found myself gazing up at him, our faces merely inches away. The air was suddenly thick with tension between us. I stepped abruptly away from him, but he kept his eyes locked on mine.

I broke eye contact.

"Okay, let's get going!" I announced, desperate to break the tension. I hopped into the car and closed the door.

Soon we were driving down the highway. Our moment made the atmosphere uncomfortable at first, but soon we were enjoying the ride by jamming out to music that we both liked. I couldn't stop thinking about what had happened outside of the car, though, and kept noticing little things, like the way he would glance at me throughout the drive, or how passionately angry he had gotten when I shared some unfortunate life events of mine back in the motel. Did he feel something towards me too? I tried hard to ignore these inklings.

What I couldn't ignore, though, was the fact that I was falling in love- fast- with this stranger. It was ridiculous; I'd been kidnapped, almost induced into a human trafficking ring, and yet the only thing on my mind was Arlen. Angry that this had happened in the first place, I pretended that I needed to take a nap, and closed my eyes. Instead of sleeping, though, my mind raced, and I went back and forth between stewing in frustration at the fact that I was feeling this way towards Arlen and obsessing over the details of the traumatic past couple of days. Soon enough however I ended up falling asleep, and only woke up when we pulled over to a rest stop.

"Just gonna fill up the tank," he said. "Feel free to use the restroom and get any snacks or drinks you want. Just use the cash I gave you for the train."

I had completely forgotten about the money he'd given me and begrudgingly used it, feeling guilty that he was paying for everything. I picked out some fruit snacks and water for the both of us at the gas station.