Guilty (A Ghost Bird FanFiction)

3. A Bird in the Hand

Luke

I watched her goof around with Hobbes in the grass near the rest stop's parking lot, her laughter something Gabe would probably want to bottle up and keep if he could. But really I wanted to bottle it up. Carry her around in my pocket, actually. Her and her too freaking cute puppy. I smirked at her as she waved, Hobbes barking as he weaved in between her legs, clearly the happiest pupper on earth. And honestly, if I could trade places with him—

"By your silence I'm assuming she's fine?"

Fine is one word for it. "She's just your average bird," I deflected, eyeing the rest stop's other wandering patrons briefly before I let my gaze drift back toward Sang.

"Well Vic checked her out anyway," Kota continued. "He can't find much on her."

"What do you mean?" I caught Sang's eye and indicated with a thumb that I was headed inside the welcome center. "Marc said she goes to Easton."

"She does, but before that there's hardly anything on her," he explained. "I mean, what college girl doesn't have a single social media account?"

"A smart one," I heard Victor shout in the background and I smirked.

"She said she used to have Twitter," I said idly, my finger drifting over the brochure case they had set up before I noticed a display full of personalized license plate keychains.

"I just find it suspicious," Kota offered.

Of course they don't have Sang's name, I thought, looking over the other keychains briefly before a different one caught my eye. "Have patience young grasshopper," I quoted, palming the ones I wanted as well as a rubber ball Hobbes would love. "All will be revealed in time."

"Is that Luke?" I heard North ask. Kota must've passed him the phone, since his voice suddenly seemed to fill the small store. I turned down the volume to protect my eardrums. "Stop messing around and get back here."

"She doesn't plan on stopping," I said, exasperated. "Don't worry, despite the traffic we'll still be in Columbia tomorrow. Plenty of time."

"Good."

Yeah, I guess it was good for the job, but it also meant I only had a day with her. I sighed before exchanging goodbyes, quickly paying for the items I'd found. I tucked the small white paper bag in the back band of my jeans as I headed outside, deciding to surprise her later. I heard Hobbes's low growl before I spotted Sang, surprised to see her chatting with someone. From her body language I could tell something was a little off, especially with the way Hobbes was standing in front of her like a shield.

"He doesn't seem to like me very much," the guy was saying, leaning forward to pet Hobbes, who barked once loudly before pushing back against Sang. Yeah, if Hobbes didn't like this guy neither did I. Dogs were a good judge of character.

"He's usually super friendly," Sang replied, reaching down to rub Hobbes behind his ears as I approached.

"You traveling alone?" he continued. Who the hell was this guy?

"Babe, there you are," I said loudly, catching their attention. I casually hooked an arm around Sang's shoulders, leveling the guy with a glare you'd only be able to master if you had North for a brother. I nodded at him, an acknowledgement but not a greeting. I didn't trust his close-lipped smile or those mirrored Raybans.

Sang glanced up at me uncertainly, a small crease settling between her eyebrows, but Hobbes had my back, jumping up to lick my hand happily —which was enough to sell it, I think. "Oh, so you're not alone?" Mr. Creeper asked, looking between the two of us.

"Nah, but we've got to head out actually." I shot him a tense smile before abruptly leading Sang back toward her car, feeling his eyes on us. "Don't look back," I whispered, sensing that she was about to do just that. "He's not someone you want to remember you."

"Is he bad?" she asked, pulling back on Hobbes's leash slightly.

"Just a feeling," I replied, waiting until she was safely in her car before I glanced back and spotted him getting into his own. I sighed. I didn't want to chance him following us. Maybe Academy paranoia was my default after the Ashley Waters job, but better to be safe than sorry. "Hey Sang?" I asked, ducking my head in. "Mind if I take over?"

She glanced up from setting our destination in her phone. "You want to drive?"

"What can I say," I said with a grin, idly drumming my fingers on the roof of the car. "I've always wanted to get behind the wheel of one of these babies." She laughed, which was my intention, and when she met my gaze there was something in her eyes that was different somehow, some emotion I couldn't interpret.

"Sure, yeah. Thanks." She unbuckled her seat belt and slid out, and I only let myself look at her legs for a second. Ok, two. We switched seats and got resettled, Hobbes happily smushing his face up against the back window as I adjusted the driver's seat. "Luke?" Sang asked, briefly touching my arm.

"I'm an excellent driver," I assured, starting the car and flashing her a wink.

"No, I was just going to say thank you," she said instead, smiling. "I should've said it before, but I'm glad you came over when you did." I smirked, not wanting to think about what could've happened if she was driving all this way on her own. No wonder Marc had been worried.

And what I was wondering now was how she'd fare on the drive back.

"Don't mention it." I maneuvered us back onto the highway and wasn't surprised to see Creeper tailing us. Academy paranoia had its perks at times, I thought, calculating the best way to lose the guy without alerting Sang. "Want to cue up some music?" I suggested.

"I want to learn more about you, actually," she replied, and I glanced at her, surprised.

"Me? There's nothing to know," I hedged, switching lanes.

"Nonsense," she said, repositioning herself and tucking one of her legs up underneath her. "Let's play 21 questions."

"Perfect. I always win at this game." Her laugh was infectious, and I realized then that I wanted to know everything about her. I was sure now that a day wouldn't be enough, and the thought was slightly unsettling considering everything about my life was a hundred degrees from normal thanks to the Academy.

Because of that, a girl — especially a normal, funny, beautiful girl like Sang — would never fit into it easily. It wouldn't really be fair to her either, which was part of a larger conversation I'd had with my brothers often enough.

"I'll start then," she said, thinking for a second. "If you could only hear one song for the rest of your life, what would it be?"

I smirked. "Easy. Bohemian Rhapsody. There's enough in there to never be bored." She laughed as I moved us back into the fast lane. I think we'd lost the guy from the rest stop, but there were a few more trucks I wanted to get us past before I felt comfortable easing up.

"Solid choice. Next question — favorite food?"

"There's too many," I replied easily. "But more importantly: do you consider candy a food?"

"You eat it, so it's a food. It's definitely a food."

Oh my god, she was incredible. "Exactly!" I exclaimed. "You and North should meet," I thought aloud. "He'd never believe someone agrees with me."

"North?"

"My health-nut of a brother," I explained. "If he sees glucose in it, he'll try his best to make sure you never look at it the same again." He'd almost ruined Twinkies for me that way.

"He doesn't like sweets?"

I leveled my most serious expression at her. "It's a travesty, Sang. It really is. Maybe you could talk some sense into him."

She smiled. "Well if I ever meet him, I'll try," she promised.

I grinned back at her. "Good. I'm gonna hold you to that."