Hayden

Chapter Eighteen

The drive seems to last forever, but soon the airport comes into view. Jamie grows excited and finally drags her feet off of the dash. My phone starts to vibrate obnoxiously, but I ignore it for the time being. I do not want to have contact with anyone other than Jamie. 

Jamie sings along to a song on the radio that I do not recognize, hence, I don't listen to the radio very often. The sound of her voice sends butterflies to my stomach, and I find myself wanting to get to the airport sooner than later. 

The rush of escaping this life makes me nervous and excited all at once. Knowing that I am going to be somewhere where nobody knows me or what I have done feels brand new, and I love it. Although, I don't know how I am going to control the urge to carry on my killing. There are too many bastards in the world that don't deserve to be here. 

"Do you want to get some food before we get on the plane?" Jamie asks as I pull into the underground parking lot. I drive around up and down ramps trying to find a good place, and when I finally do, I stop the car and hand Jamie the keys. I slouch back in the seat and turn my head to face her. 

"Do you have a passport or any other form of identification?" I ask, and Jamie's facial expression falls from a smile to apprehension. 

"I have my driver's license." Jamie says monotonously. I nod and move to open the door, but she grabs my arm and stops me. "What are you so worried about?"

I shake my head, and she releases my arm. I open the door and walk around to the back of the car to retrieve my bag from the trunk. Jamie takes her time exiting the vehicle, and stares at me blankly after slamming the door intentionally. 

"James, it's nothing," I assure her. "You know how I am."

"No, Hayden," Jamie's eyes begin to water, and seeing her like this gives me a bother, but kind of breaks my heart as well. "I know there's something more."

I walk over to Jamie and place my hands on each of her shoulders, peering into her eyes as deeply as possible. 

"Jamie Rose, everything is just fine. You and me, we're doing this together. It's us against the world now." 

Jamie nods and sniffles, wiping one of her eyes with her index finger. I quickly pull her in for a hug, and she squeezes my waist tightly. 

//

Inside the airport, Jamie and I were able to walk past all of the people without receiving stares or remarks. We stood in the middle of the lobby looking around for a place to take a plane to.

"We could go to Texas!" Jamie cheers, and I give her a playful glare. She then shakes her head and laughs, knowing that it was a joke. 

"I would like to go somewhere reasonable." I interject, and Jamie raises a brow at me. 

"How about New York City?" she suggests, and I turn my head slightly out of interest. She smiles at me, then takes my hand and leads me to the line that people are buying plane tickets to New York. It is rather long, but it goes by quickly, and soon it is Jamie and I's turn.

"Good afternoon, young sir and young miss," the man behind the counter greets us kindly. Jamie and I nod, but don't say a word. "What takes you to want to head for the NY?"

"Vacation." Jamie blurts just as I turn to look at her. The man behind the counter smiles and nods, then types some things into his computer. 

"Do you have a passport with you?" he asks, and Jamie's face soon turns red. She shakes her head, the digs around in her purse. 

"I have my license," she says. "And he does, too. Will that work?"

"I'm sure we can print you some passports," the man says. "Tickets are going to be one-hundred and twelve dollars." 

"Each?" Jamie asks worriedly, and the man nods. I bring my bag up and set it on the counter, then dig around for the money I had thrown in here, but my heart stops when I feel the cold, hard metal against the back of my hand.  My eyes grow wide, and I suddenly yank Jamie's arm.

"Jamie, we need to go outside. Please." I try to say as calmly as possible. 

"Hayden, we're just about to—"

"Just come on!" 

"We'll be right back, can you put those on hold?" Jamie asks, and the man nods. The people behind us in line stare at us, but I ignore them. My heart pounds so heavily I feel like it is going to burst. 

When we are finally outside of the airport, Jamie stares at me angrily and I move her so that she is directly in front of me. 

"What the hell, Hayden!" she yells. "We were just about to get our tickets and now we have to wait in that line all over again!"

"Never mind about that, Jamie! We have a more serious issue than that!" I raise my voice as well, forcing her to back down.

"What could possibly be worse than—"

"I have a gun." I interrupt, looking around to make sure no one heard me. People just kept walking by as if there was nothing the matter with two people talking in front of an airport. Jamie's eyes grow wide, and she looks up and down from my face to my bag. 

"I have it, in my bag. I forgot about it." I explain in a quieter tone. 

"Why?" Jamie asks in a scared tone, making my heart sink. I stare into her eyes blankly, not knowing how to explain myself. 

I had always kept this gun out of self-protection in case anything serious were to happen. Like if someone broke into my condo, or if I was being threatened in any way. Now as to why I had brought the gun with me, I cannot even explain that for myself. 

"I-I don't know. I don't know, Jamie, I don't know."

Jamie grabs my wrist and drags me to a more secure and private area, which is to the side of the building. There are not a lot of people pacing the sidewalk, which makes me more relieved while we are having this conversation.

"Hayden, where did you get a gun?" Jamie asks sternly, finally releasing my wrist. She stares up at me boldly, making me a little nervous. 

"I don't remember," I answer honestly. "I've just always had it."

"Why did you think you would need it? Why did you bring it?" I shrug my shoulders, avoiding the question because I do not know how to answer it. 

"Okay, alright. I guess. . .I guess we'll just have to drive. I'm not trying to get arrested, and neither are you. Not again." Jamie says, starting back for the underground garage. I begin to follow her, relieved that she did not fear me and run away much like Jade would have. 

Jade.

I pull my phone from my pocket and press the middle button to make the screen light up. There are missed calls and texts messages from people ranging from my foster mother, Zephyr, and lastly, Jade. I slide on one of Jade's message and open it.

Where are you? Zephyr and his guys raided your house. They made me come with. I didn't take anything, but I saw you take off. Please answer me.

Another one said: Hayden, I'm getting really worried. I'm sorry for everything I did, but can you please just come back? 

And another: Please at least answer me so that I know you're not dead. Are you with anyone? Zephyr is looking for you. . .

I pondered whether or not I should reply, and after a few moments, my fingers start to move before I can stop them. 

I cannot tell you where I am. But I am safe. Tell Zephyr to fuck himself.

"Hayden!"