𝐁𝐎𝐍𝐍𝐈𝐄 & 𝐂𝐋𝐘𝐃𝐄. ˡᵘᵐᵃˣ

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐕𝐈𝐈

Through his peripheral vision, Sinclair can see the not-so-sleepy beauty stretching. Max mumbles good morning and massages the back of her sore neck.

"Good morning. Did you have nice dreams? Or was I bothering you in there too?" He never missed an opportunity to play with her, even if she had just woken up from a deep sleep.

"I don't know, but I think they were nice because I slept like a baby. Even though I had a sore neck..." With her eyes still half closed and swollen from sleep, she replied in a sleepy voice.

"But that's because you sleep all crooked," he replied indifferently, messing with her.

She looked at him seriously. "If you had brought me a pillow, this wouldn't have happened. What do you want me to do? Lie on you? Like this?" She teased Lucas by lying on his shoulder and pushing him against the left side of the car door with her weight.

"Hey! Be careful with my arm." And once again the car was filled with deafening laughter. In the first morning, they went to the hospital to have his broken arm examined.

In the distance, Lucas could see civilization. It had to be now. He plucked up courage and broached the awkward subject.

"Well, Max, as you know, there's no more food in your backpack, just some crumbled french fries at the bottom of a bag and a half-empty bottle."

"Half full, Lucas, don't be pessimistic. Where is the positive young man I know?" The redhead scoffed, intoning her voice as if she were talking to a five-year-old.

He swallowed his laughter. "Maxine, I'm serious. We need to refill our energy and our walking pantry, and we don't have any money."

She snorted, annoyed by the many negative aspects of that sentence. Suddenly Max looked at Lucas, startled, because she realized what he was getting at. "You've got to be kidding me."

"What other choice do we have?" he said simply. But she noticed a certain sadness in his eyes. Maybe he wasn't proud of doing what he usually did, he was just used to it. Maybe it was time to learn more about his past. But now it was urgent to find food, both for them and for the car.

Meanwhile, the small town is approaching, with modest houses scattered about and grocery stores on the side of the road. That's when Lucas spots a gas station. As he approaches his next stop, he slows his vehicle.

"So, do you understand the plan?" Lucas looks at Max's face after explaining what they're going to do to see if she's ready.

"I think so. Lucas, if it goes wrong, don't hit me."

He laughed at that statement as he parked the car.

"I would never hit you. Also, don't worry, it'll be a piece of cake. You've done it before." He reassured her and tapped the dashboard of the car to remind himself of the stolen item.

After closing the car door behind her, she felt like she was going to throw up. Her hungry stomach turned and her heart pounded uncontrollably. While Lucas prepared to fill the diesel tank, Max went to the small shop at the gas station.

As she pushed open the glass door, the metal bell jingled, warning the shopkeeper that someone had just entered. As she looked around, she saw several shelves and vending machines full of food and drink and packs of cigarettes to her right, and to her left a young man in his 20's sitting relaxed in a chair behind the counter, chewing gum and playing Tetris on his computer.

Her job is to distract him while Lucas slowly fills the tank and take some of that food away for free. So let's do it. She took a deep breath and asked the boy where the toilets were.