I was moving. But my feet weren't moving. My body wasn't physically moving, so where was the movement coming from? It felt like I was in a slow-motion moving roller coaster. When I finally open my eyes, I realize it isn't a roller coaster. I'm in a moving car. And Reece is driving with a very stern look on his face. The reason for his behavior didn't come clear until it all finally hit me. Sam. Her confession. My anxiety, and me passing out. How did I get in the car? When did we drive off? How long was I out?
"Reece..." I feel strange. My skin is tingling. My heart is racing. Reece grabs my hand, and squeezes.
"If you don't calm down, you are going to have a panic attack. Breathe," he says, squeezing me a little harder.
"Can you stop the car for a second, please?" I say, weakly. I needed fresh air. Reece pulls over for me, and I step out. He steps out with me.
"How did they find me, Reece?" I ask, facing him. The waft of cool air hits me, and I'm glad no one is around us. This conversation is very private.
"They always have ways to track you, Catherine. But this shouldn't be your concern anymore."
"It always is, Reece! Why don't you understand?"
"When I tell you to butt out of things, why don't you ever listen? Your stubborness is going to get you very hurt one day."
"It relates to me, Mr. Dean. I have every right to know what's going on, and what your motives are. Is this the reason we drove all way down here?"
"I protect you, Catherine. I've sworn to that and you know it."
"You knew what would happen if I found out? This is all a trigger for me! I don't want any fights, I just want to be away from them and live in peace!"
"You're running. Stop running and lean on someone who is there for you, Cat."
"You will get me killed one day, Reece!" I yell. I didn't know what got over me. Maybe it was all the pregnancy hormones. I've never really raised my voice at him like this before let alone accuse him of doing something that's completely the opposite. I didn't mean for my words to bite. Reece is visibly taken back, and for that very reason he has lost his words. Tears well down my eyes, and I open my mouth to apologize but close it immediately when he starts to walk towards me. My heart races again when he inches closer to me. He leans forward and our breaths mingle.
"No one is going to come looking for you anymore, Cat."
"How? How can you be so sure?" Reece chuckles at that.
"I made sure of that while I was gone last night." It takes few seconds for his words to register in my slowed-down brain again. His confession brings back the familiar smell of bourban and smoke again. It mixed well, and explained everything I had to know about last night. The blood on his shirt wasn't his. It was my family's.
"Why did you smell like smoke?" I ask, wiping my tears. Reece smiles.
"Because when I was done with everyone and everything, I set the whole goddamn place on fire."
"With everyone in it?" I stumble against my words.
"With everyone in it." My eyes widen at another confession, and my throat suddenly becomes very dry. Right now, I don't know what to feel. Glad? Sad? Angry? Ecstatic?
"Okay," I simple whisper, unable to form any more words.
"Now, can we relax?"
"I'm sorry, Reece. I shouldn't have said what I said."
"Your silly words don't bother me. Now, can we go?" He says, opening the passenger door for me. I lean against the door, and towards him.
"No more violence, Reece. Please," I beg. He flashes me a smile.
"When I see that you no longer need my help, I will stop for you. Now, get inside." I open my mouth and close it. What the hell do I say to that?
"I can handle myself!"
"You're clumsy," he accuses. My mouth drops.
"You take that back."
"Catherine, get inside. It's cold outside." I pull away from the car, slam the door shut, and start to walk backwards with my arms folded against my chest like an adamant child.
"No. I'm stronger than you think, Reece. I'm not always weak, and I'm not always clumsy." I keep walking backwards until I see a gas station in an isolated area. I don't know where we are, and the gas station looks sketchy. I could do this all day if I have to, but in a more important note, I need to pee. Reece folds his arms against this chest in a more serious tone and waits for me to proceed.
"I need to use the bathroom." I look towards the gas station again, and breathe a sigh of relief that the lot is empty.
"Okay, then. Go," he says, a ghost of a smile on his lips. I raise a brow.
"You're not coming?"
"No. You got this." He opens the driver's door and gets in. I make a face, and head towards the bathroom. Well that's a first. He's never not accompanied me anywhere before. Well, I can handle this. I'm an adult, and I can go to the damn bathroom by myself even if it's in a sketchy place. The gas station was an oddball. I believe, while I was passed out, we had driven somewhere local and this town definately screamed ghost town. Was he really not going to come inside with me? I pushed the door open, and the bell above the door made a sound, attracting the attention of a man behind the cash register. I looked around the gas station, and then at the fifty something year old man.
"Hi. Where's the bathroom?" I say. The man looks at me far too longer than expected, then his gaze falls on my belly. Hastily, he points towards his left and I follow his route with a weak smile on my face. I'm here to empty my bladder, and prove that I can go somewhere without Reece, and that's exactly what I will do. As I start to walk towards the bathroom, two men from the opposite side of the girls' bathroom come out and almost bump into me. All three of us jump back, startled.
"Woah, lady," one of the men says. Where the hell did these two come from? I'm almost shocked, unable to move as two young men look at me. I almost want to laugh, but I hold it in even despite them looking me up and down. Probably because I'm well dressed in this little ass town that screams "City girl". Where the hell are we anyways? Somewhere in New York probably where it screams danger even from miles away. I try to manuever around one of them, but his step matches mine and blocks me from going inside. It's early in the morning, and he wants to play this game with me now? This time, I cannot hold back my laugh. The universe definately played this game with me. The man smiles in front of me.
"Sorry. I need to go inside. Do you mind?" I mumble, pointing towards the girls' bathroom. The blonde in front of me raises both his hands in surrender.
"No, not at all. Please, go in." He moves to the side, but his eyes stay fixed on my every move. I can feel his eyes burning holes in my back. I quickly go inside, and lock the door. Then, I look at my reflection in the mirror and laugh. I definately called it. "Danger" follows me wherever I go. But, this could be serious. Honestly, did they not see my growing belly? Men are dogs. I quickly finish my business and walk towards the door. Dear lord, let them be gone. I take a deep breath, and push the door open. This time, not two but three men are standing by the bathroom door. One of them is blocking me. No one says a word, just stares at me with a goofy smile on their lips.
"Can a pregnant woman pass through please?" I say, emphasing the pregnancy excuse. The blonde blocking me zeroes on me again.
"You look too young to be pregnant. How old are you?" he asks. This time I zero in on him. He looks much younger than me. Probably nineteen, twenty? I sigh, completely bored with this situation now.
"That's none of your business. Now, move." The men don't move. My heart starts to thunder against my ribcage now. I can't handle men for the life of me. Reece is in his car and probably oblivious to this situation. How the hell do I get out of this without causing a scene? I simply don't say anything, just push my way through. These aren't men. They're boys, and they're immature. Considering my youth, they probably thought I was younger than them so they decided to play with me; however, their little game went too far. One of the decides to hook a leg in front of me in an attempt to trip me. And, he succeeds. I go flying forward but had it not been for bunch of boxes next to me, preventing me front falling on the ground, this could have gone extremely south. They do, however, succeed in watching half of my body hit the floor. The boxes prevent me front hitting down all the way. I gasp out of shear shock, hold on to my belly, and look up just as they start to laugh. They say something, start to remark, but it's not their words that reach me. It's the man standing about eight feet away from me that catches my attention. A very angry, vibrating, dangerous man. Reece walks towards us, bringing scorching heat behind him, and pushes his hands into his pockets.. I can see smoke rising from his body. Literally. The boys look up.
"What do you think would have happened had the boxes not been there to prevent her from hurting herself" Reece asks, a very calculating smile on his face. This type of smile definately screams destruction. He pushes his hand out for me to grab, I take it, and stand. The boys stand completely still when they realize this is serious business.
"Reece, they're just kids," I whisper, grabbing his hand. His hand is hot, hard, and made of steel. He ignores me.
"I asked a question. One of you will answer, or all three of you will face the consequences," Reece threatens, his voice dangerously steady. It doesn't waver, not one bit. That's what makes him scary.
"Look, man. It was just a joke," one of them says. Reece looks at the blonde.
"Trying to trip a pregnant woman is never a funny joke. It could have harmed her, and my child." Reece advances towards them, and I know this is business now. I'm not hurt and that's all that it matters. In an attempt to diffuse this situation, I march forward and stand between them. I grab Reece's hand, squeeze as hard as I can, and turn to the boys.
"Leave. Now. And do not look back." I mean business, and the boys understand. In an attempt to escape, the boys run. But, ironically, the blonde manages to trip while running in a full speed. His feet gives out, and he hits the floor face first. The bang of his face hitting the floor is audible. I gasp as he screams in pain as blood oozes from his mouth and nose. He literally busted his mouth open. If this isn't karma, I don't know what is. Reece grabs my hand, and pulls me forward.
"Watch your step, kid."