A Dramatic Turn Of Events

Chapter 27

Chapter 27

We must have been walking for eight or nine hours, though it felt like days, before I finally collapsed onto the ground. Laying back in the leaves and sticks, I ignore the poking pains in my back from the upright twigs and rocks. I can tell by the look on Ashton's  face that he wants to protest, but he takes to opportunity  to rest anyways.

As I rest I think of the decision that I made hours ago. And as I thought of it the dull ache in my chest grew. He is the only reason that I keep fighting anymore. But I know, no matter how much it hurts, that is is the only solution. Damien will not relent. I killed the woman that he supposedly "loved". If if any part of that is true, then he won't stop looking for me.  And when he finds me, I'm as good as dead. I don't want Ashton to be involved in that. The first day we met he saved my life, and now it's my turn to save his.

I didn't notice that he was saying my name until he was hovering above me, both hands on either side of my head.

"Astrid, what's the matter? Are you sure you're alright?" He says. I didn't answer him. I grabbed  the collar of his shirt and pulled him down, and roughly brought my lips to his with a new overcoming hunger for him. For a moment he didn't respond, taken aback by my sudden affection. But it didn't take long for him to catch on. He put his hands on my hips and propped himself up with his knees. His soft hands worked their way up to my neck, grazing my bare skin with goose bumps. Meanwhile, my hands play with his hair on the back of his head. I arch my back to be closer to him, I never knew this kind of hunger for him lived inside of me. But I felt it now. And it was strong. He broke the kiss for just a moment. Long enough to take his shirt off. My hands roamed his bare, muscular  back. It seemed like I could never be close enough to him.

If there was ever a time or place to do this, it wouldn't be here. Not right now. But I didn't care. I couldn't stop. It was like all of my morals, all of my inhibitions went out the window the moment he touched me.

The thought of me having to leave him was like a stick in the back of my mind. Poking me, reminding me how stupid this is. I'm just going to hurt myself more by doing this. I try to ignore it.

He moves his lips down to my jaw bone, leaving a trail of hot kisses on my neck. I lean into him, still trying to push this horrible feeling away. But I can't. A strangled sob escapes my lips. Ashton jolts up and looks at me with worried eyes, his hands up as if surrendering.

"What? What happened, did I hurt you?" He asks, looking very concerned.

I sit up and slump against a nearby tree stump. "No, you didn't hurt me." I say, barely audible.

"Okay. Then what happened. Did I do something wrong?" He says, obviously hurt by my sudden rejection. 

"Nothing. Nothing happened. I just.." I trail off, casting my eyes to the  ground. "You didn't do anything wrong. I just can't stop thinking about what comes next."

He looks confused for a moment. I know can't change the fact that I have to leave. But I just want to see what he thinks is going to happen to us. If he somehow thinks that we could possibly figure something out.

"How are we ever going to get away from him. He will just keep coming back. We will never be free of him." I say. My voice not so much breaking, as already broken.

"Hey, listen to me. I will protect you. Always. Do you hear me?" He scoots closer, grabbing both of my hands and bringing them to his lips placing a tender kiss on my knuckles. "And we've made it this far haven't we?"

My heart swelled at the sound of this. His words should have comforted me, but they didn't.  Those words just confirmed my fears. Now I know that he wouldn't leave me, ever. Even if he knew it would cost his life. 

I had always longed to find the kind of love that has you smiling like an idiot, full throttle, all guns blazing, "I love him so much it hurts" kind of love. Well, I did it. I found it. And boy does it hurt.

Now that I know I have to leave the slightest things hurt me. Like his smile. The way he looks down at me every once and a while to make sure I'm alright.  His optimism. The way my hand seems to fit perfectly inside his. His little curly hairs on the back of his head. His beautiful eyes. His selflessness. And the list  goes on.

All of these things that I loved, are now cutting into me like a knife.

After thinking in silence for a while, we finally got up and began walking again until we reached a road. An empty road, but if we had any chance of making it to a town then this would be it.

We walked on that same road for about an hour and a half, taking the necessary turns needed to follow the road. And eventually we stopped at a convenience store and asked for directions to the nearest motel. Not that we had any money to get into one. We hadn't figured that part out yet. I waited outside due to my lack of clothing, and gave Ashton his shoes back.

He was told that there is this little motel called The Chestnut Inn about three and a half miles down from the store. We had planed to get money by pick-pocketing people. On the way we say a diner, Ashton walked in and pretended to use the bathroom. On the way out he grabbed a trench coat from the back of someones booth and walked out as fast as he could without being suspicious.

"Thank you." I said, as he walked out and handed me the coat. I wrapped it around my hospital-like gown. It covered it nicely. Why did they  put this gown on me anyways? Had they planned to kill me?

Oh well, it doesn't matter anymore.

I reached my hands into the pockets as we walked away from the diner. There was nothing in the right pocket, but the left one was a little weighed down. I grabbed the thing from the left pocket and pulled them out. There was a mint, a wallet, and some chapstick.

Wait.

A wallet?

I dropped the other stuff and opened the wallet. After I counted it, I ran to catch up with Ashton and jumped on his back. He stumbled at the sudden contact, but he grabbed the back of my thighs quickly enough so that I didn't fall.

"Guess what." I say in his ear. He turns his head a little, smirking.

"Huh?" He says.

" I found a wallet." I said teasingly, making the wallet sound like some kind of holy grail.

"A wallet? How much?" He said putting me down and looking at me with excitement.

Instead of answering him I open the wallet and look down at the stack of bills.

"Oh my god, there has to be like six, seven hundred dollars here." He cracks that adorable, dorky smile again and the twinge of pain in my chest brings be back to reality. Nothing has changed. My moment of happiness  doesn't change the fact that I have to leave. In fact, it has brought on another realization.

I'm going to leave tonight.

Author's note:

Heyo, I'm going to make this note short.

Keep reading, we are getting close to the end. I'm thinking the next chapter might be the last. MAYBE.

Just don't forget to VOTE &COMMENT.

~Terra