Shadow On Your Wall

Sometimes you go places

We are so sorry guys for the long wait. Hope you are still here and reading. 

Love you all so much, 

IWC

♥♥♥

She could feel how tense he was, his knuckles were almost white when she looked how hard he was steering the wheel. But he also looked tired, like he had every struggle possible on his shoulders. And not only his own issues, but hers too. And she felt guilty because of that. After tonight, he looked almost ten years older. The stress was clearly all over his face. And of course she was scared and nervous too, but she hated that she was the reason why Alex's life got interrupted as well. That was not her intention, but she didn't trust anyone else in this town. Probably not even in this world, as much as she trusted Alex.

"Where are we going?" she asked, looking at him with careful eyes.

"West Coast." his answer short and clear, eyes focused on the road but the mind clearly preoccupied with other things.

"That's gonna take a while." she stated the obvious. If she didn't have so little energy, she would've probably make a big deal out of how far away that was. But she had no energy at all right now, and decided not to argue with him.

"Yes. But it's safe." he said seriously after a little pause. "You should probably get some sleep" he looked at her, nodding that it was okay.

"I'm not that tired really." she replied widening her eyes a bit. But soon her small yawn gave her away, finally making him smile. Stubborn as ever. He could tell by the dark bags under her eyes that she needed her sleep. So he turned down the music a bit, and changed to a much more calmer radio station. He fixed the heating, turning it up so the car filled with hot air, clicking the switch to put on the seat heather on her chair. And after only eight minutes she was out for the evening.

He was supposed to meet up for a car trade in Portland, and after that they only had around 2 hours left to seaside, which wasn't too bad. But it was one hell of a drive to do on your own. He wanted her to get her rest, as this situation was probably not only emotionally but also physically draining her. And to be honest, it was getting to him too. That constant fear of losing someone you care about terrified him since he had experienced that before, with his mother. And Norma was probably the only woman he had ever cared so much about besides his mom, and he still couldn't it explain it. At least not in words yet.

As an hour passed by, Alex decided he needed some coffee. If he was going to be driving all by himself he needed something strong to keep himself up and focused on the road. And he needed gas either way, so he pulled into a gas station on the driveway, not really giving up any time since it was on the way. He went in to get his coffee, some water and apple juice for her, in case she was thirsty when she wakes up. He filled up the car with gas and then they were back on the road again, continuing their way to safety.

After a few hours they arrived in Portland, Alex driving through the town to the place they arranged to meet for a car trade. Norma hadn't even stirred in her sleep, snuggled in the passenger's seat, hands wrapped around herself and head tilted to the side, resting against the window. He watched her for a moment, her slightly opened mouth and calm breathing making him feel guilty for having to intrude her peaceful sleep.

"Norma," he whispered to her gently, looking as her eyelashes fluttered a bit, "Norma, wake up."

He drove in a parking garage, only a few cars left there which wasn't unusual considering the hour. His cop's eye immediately recognised the car that was send by the station, black range rover parked at the very corner, even though it was an unmarked one, exactly as he asked for. He parked next to the car, as the two men dressed in casual clothes stepped out of it, one leaning at the hood and looking around, other waiting at the opened passenger's side door.