Down The Highway

Chapter Fifty

I added more eyeliner on my eyebrows while staring at myself in the mirror. I don't know why am I even being like this. I mean, why in the world why am I trying to make myself look good for Travis? It's just him. No need to panic. I took a deep breath to ease my nervousness at the same time, my doubts. I heard a car beeping in front of our house so without hesitating, I ran down our stairs with my hair bouncing through my back. As usual, on weekdays like this day, mom and dad are both at their workplaces. An advantage for me because no one anymore is going to interview me about where I am going.

I opened the door and left the keys under the mat in front of our house if ever that my parents would come unexpectedly. It's a usual thing we all do whoever is left at home and will leave the house in case someone might come home. Long story how we adapted this tradition but it is usually for emergency purposes. It was the same car that he used to pick me up when we went to Starbucks.

Deja vu huh? His window was held down which made me see his smiling face and his golden blonde hair that suits his blue sweatshirt very well. A snow piece dropped from the sky to my skin. I opened the front passenger seat door and fastened my seat belt while he kept both his hands on the steering wheel.

"Ready?" He asked and I nodded. While driving, I noticed how we passed through different familiar houses and some places like St. John Street where all these things started. "Where are we going?" After three minutes of driving, I got bored so I leaned at the window and sighed. "Somewhere," was the only word he mentioned next to my question.

I raised my shoulders while closing my eyes. This moment couldn't be more mysterious as a crime. "We just passed by Starbucks," I complained after seeing that we passed by the place I was expecting us to go to. "Who said we are going there?"

I gulped, "no one, I just thought," my voice got lower than before.

I know he didn't mean to embarrass me but he just did.

"So tell me, where are we really going?" I pointed the word really just for him to notice.

"Soon, you will know where. Or you might not even want to know right now," he sounded so serious, that all I could afford to do is to gulp.

"Why not tell me now so I would have a clue?" He didn't answer next to that. He kept quiet like how he was before.

Without looking at him, I asked after the one-minute interval of awkward silence. "What came into your mind to get me on a date?" While still driving, he narrowed at me.

"This is not a date, Jade" he only mentions my name when he is either sad or mad. But I have only seen him be mad for one time so I am not that sure yet. But I am pretty sure that my predictions make sense.

"Then what is this, Travis?" To play the little game, he started, I called him by his real name in response.

"Stop calling me that," I looked at him like a devil.

"Travis!"

"Travis!"

"Travis!"

"Travis!"

"Travis!"

I repeated several times to catch his attention. I didn't just catch his attention but I also frustrated him. "Enough! I said stop calling me Travis!" He screamed his lungs out. I jumped off my seat. This is the first time I am seeing him shout as loud as this one.

"What the heck is wrong with you? Why don't you want me to call you Travis? Oh, I forgot, it's because you are now living differently, trying to forget about the memories that Travis made by replacing them with memories soon to be made by Shawn now tell me, am I right? Don't say no because it's as clear as the daylight! No more denying, Travis!" I don't know where those words came from but all I know is that I didn't mean them.

"I am not Travis for the last time!" He screamed, but this time, it was a little lower than before.

"Then who are you?" I asked in frustration.

"I am Shawn. S-H-A-W-N. It's different from Travis. T-R-A-V-I-S," I rolled my eyes.

"You can't hide under a name and an identity that you don't know. Why are you scared to tell me the truth Travis? Tell me why are you scared to tell me the truth? Why?" I couldn't even afford to look at his eyes because each and every second, they captivate my heart.

"I am trying to tell you the truth," he motioned closer to the steering wheel.

"Where the heck are we going?" I started to panic once I noticed that we passed by a store which is my clue that we just got out of our town. "Are you kidnapping me?" I asked louder but he didn't respond. So I screamed again. "Where are we going, Travis?" He bit his lips in frustration and for the first time, I heard him saying, "Shut up!" And that made me stumble.

I looked for words but once again I was lacking them. He kept on driving for half an hour and silence filled us as he drove off through the roads of an unknown town. But then, he finally stopped and parked together with several cars.

I carried myself out of the car as he did the same thing. He held my right hand but I immediately let go of it. "Take my hand or you would be lost" I sighed and with no choice left to take, I took his hand after he offered it to me. We walked a few steps more until we reached a gate with a big sign above is saying:

"London Memorial Park"

I gulped, not knowing why he had just taken me here.

Tell me he is not going to kill me or anything.

"Why are we here?" I looked at his eyes but while holding my hands, he continued walking until we made it inside.