Eva's Expedition

Chapter 45: Arrival

He had some seasoned ribs while I had cheese covered stir-fry. I smuggled a bit of Logan's leftovers in a napkin to give Nix a tasty treat.

For a couple hours, we relaxed and watched tv. At around ten o'clock, I turned off the lights and curled up to Logan.

He dragged his fingers along my back soothingly.

"I love you," I said quietly, burying my face in his chest.

"I love you too, Eva," Logan said happily, his voice rumbling through his chest.

"Whatever happens tomorrow, I'm going to stay with you," I said, my fears for tomorrow clouding my mind.

My parents could be powerful people if they wanted to. They had their connections, rich, shady friends and god knows what else. I worried what my father would try to do to Logan if he was angry enough.

"I know Eva, don't worry. I'm not about to leave you there," Logan said reassuringly.

"Don't listen to them, if they catch us, okay? I know they'll be mean and rude. They'll say things," I sighed, trying to prepare him incase we were caught. Which was more than likely.

"I'm not worried about them. They can scream and yell all they want, but that's not going to change anything, okay?"

"Okay," I mumbled. We both fell silent and I quietly rubbed Nix's head after she squirmed in between Logan and I.

Everything's going to be okay.

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We were on the road early. Neither of us wanted to wait around, we were too restless.

But once we get onto the interstate, we were in no hurry either. I drove in the slow lane so the people rushing to work could just zoom around me.

I may have miscalculated yesterday's drive. We could've stopped earlier if we wanted to because now, we were about three and a half hours out from New York.

Logan snoozed beside me, having refused the hotels awfully cold coffee. I'd have to pullover somewhere for him when he woke up, he can't go without his coffee.

Nix was particularly excited today. I think she could feel the tensely staticky atmosphere in the truck. I watched her in the rearview mirror as she rushed around in the backseat, going from one window to the next.

She clutched Barry in her mouth as if she wanted him to see the traffic too.

I have to say, Nix is starting to look like an adult now. She's still naturally thin but definitely taller and a little broader. She's grown into her ears and paws. Her puppyhood would be over in about a month and a half.

I couldn't get over how beautiful her pure white fur was. Her looks could be compacted to an award winning show dogs, but her restless spirit would be too much for any handler.

For about an hour, my thoughts wandered randomly while Logan slept. I avoided yelling at idiot drivers so I wouldn't wake him up.

I felt a little bad for not switching with him yesterday, I didn't do the math and he ended up driving more than me.

Once Logan was half-dozing, I took the liberty to get off on an exit and find a Starbucks. He smiled at me sleepily when I handed him his cup of black coffee.

We both enjoyed coffee and chocolate croissants as I got back onto the interstate.

I jabbered on to fill some of the silence and Logan just sat peacefully next to me, listening to my twittering.

I'll admit it, I'm nervous. That being the explanation to my yammering. I tend to talk when I'm nervous, until someone stops me.

I was grateful when Louise called to ask how far we'd gotten. She was surprised at how close we were already.

I told her about my worrying and Louise made a decent point.

"You know they work everyday. You were home alone ninety percent of the time. I doubt they're even there, Eva. That's probably a good thing," she'd said.

Yeah, it would definitely be a good thing. Eventually, we got to New York. I scrunched lower in my seat as I was suddenly familiar with everything. My heart had already started pounding.

Logan was noticeably quiet. Even Nix settled down in the back.

I looked at the clock on the dash. 9:23. I would be eighteen in a little over twenty minutes. Wow.

I drew in a breath and rolled my shoulders, attempting to relieve tension. Logan glanced at me and smiled, "Hey Eva."

"Yeah?" I looked at him.

"Happy Birthday," he grinned goofily.

I smiled and shoved his shoulder, "I'm not eighteen just yet."

"But you still share a day with America. It's your birthday day," Logan shrugged.

"Alright, fine," I chuckled. My mood died a little as I turned down the street that led to my parents estate.

I can do this. I can. I swear I can.

"Okay, here's the thing. We get to my room, grab all my shit, throw it in the back and get out as fast as we can," I said calmly to Logan.

He nodded, "Sounds like a plan."

Yeah, a plan. Plans are straightforward and non-nerve wracking. So this wasn't exactly a plan...

The truck rolled up to the big iron gates in front of my house.

"Holy shit, you lived here?" Logan muttered and I nodded.

"It's not all great," I said as I leaned out the window to push the code I remembered into the lock panel.

The little red dot turned green and the whole system buzzed. With a small screech, the gates slowly swung open and I pulled into my driveway.

"Okay. Ready?" I looked at Logan.

He nodded and we both climbed out of the truck.