This chapter is written by icannotfall.
Dre raced down the road. Trees blurred together beyond the window Aidan stared out of. He wanted desperately to ask where she was taking him, but he knew he would get the same answer: "wait and see." She was stubborn, and he hated surprises. Once they got to wherever it was Dre was taking him, he never wanted to see this girl again. She pegged a nerve within him. He didn't like it.
Dre mumbled something before suddenly flooring the brakes. Both Aidan's and her body flew forward, only kept in place by seat belts. The impact of the sudden stop disoriented them.
Once he straightened, Aidan's head snapped toward the crazy female. "What was that about?"
Dre wasn't paying attention to him; she was looking out the windshield at the men outside. "Soldiers are patrolling. Hurry up and hide in the back!"
"Huh?" Aidan followed her line of vision. He saw the soldiers but didn't understand what the big deal was. They always patrolled to reinforce rules and catch lawbreakers. He looked over at her again. "Why?"
Dre ripped her gaze away from the windshield and looked over at Aidan in annoyance. "Because we're not supposed to be together, genius. There's specific laws here about separate genders, who aren't meant together, interacting and you know it." Before Aidan could open his mouth to respond, Dre was already leaning over and unbuckling his seat belt. She gave him an intense glare. "Get in the back."
Grunting in irritation, Aidan reluctantly complied and climbed over to get into the back seat. Five minutes of knowing her and Aidan already knew he didn't like this girl. He hated being bossed around. However, he did lay flat in the back seat. He knew he couldn't put his life in jeopardy. Not yet. Isabelle would have scolded him for something like that.
Dre pulled off her jacket and threw it over Aidan, covering his upper torso and head. From beneath the leather, he irritably asked, "What do you think you're doing?" His words were somewhat muffled.
"Gotta make this as realistic as possible. Now pipe down. They're coming."
"You pipe down," he mumbled under his breath.
There was a knock on the window. Aidan held his breath and flattened himself best he could in the back. Dre rolled down the window and smiled at the soldier. "Hello. How are you today, sir?"
With that stereotypical, frightening authoritative voice, the soldier said, "I.D."
Dre nodded nonchalantly and leaned over to open her glove compartment. She fingered through a few papers before finding her I.D. "Ah, here it is," she said with a smile, handing the plastic card to the officer. She watched as he scanned her I.D. and leaned back smugly, knowing he had just been doped.
The soldier nodded and held his hand out to give her the card. Dre reached up for it, when he suddenly pulled back. The soldier gave her a skeptical look. "Where's your partner?"
"What?" Dre asked with a nervous laugh. Did he see past the scam? Did he know Aidan was in the backseat?
"On your I.D.," the soldier said. He waved it in front of her. "Says here you've got yourself a partner. Joe. Where's he?"
Dre felt her stomach knot up at the sound of her past love. A wave of hurt flooded her and her grip on the steering wheel tightened. She looked straight ahead and whispered, "He wasn't the lucky one in the relationship. He died."
Aidan noted the sadness in her voice. It matched the same sadness in his heart and mind. Maybe she wasn't as different from him as he originally thought. Maybe no one was. The whole world was in fear of when their loved ones would die. No one could have everlasting happiness. That upset Aidan. After despair, all he felt was rage. He had the massive urge to scream but kept his mouth clamped shut.
"I'm sorry about that," the soldier said, no empathy in his voice.
Looking away, Dre rolled her wet eyes and said, "I'm sure."
The soldier handed her the I.D. and she took it without looking at him. She shoved the I.D. back in the glove department and waited for him to walk away.
"All clear!" the soldier yelled to one of his colleagues.
Dre pressed the gas and sped away. She caught Aidan sitting up through the mirror. "Not yet," she muttered. "Wait until we're out of their viewing range." Her voice cracked as she spoke. Aidan decided not to anger her at a fragile moment and laid flat once again.
After several minutes of laying in the back, it was clear to Aidan they were in the clear. Plus his neck was beginning to cramp up. He sat up and cracked his neck. Thinking it was best to give Dre her space, Aidan remained in the back.
He watched as she silently drove onward. Her body language indicated no sign of distress but Aidan knew looks deceived. He was positive her mind was racing with thoughts as she stared at the road ahead.
Deciding to destroy the silence, Aidan asked, "How did you know my name?"
"Everything will make sense in a few minutes," she replied, sounding exasperated. Or maybe she was just drained.
Aidan felt bad for her loss--for he knew the same pain--but not bad enough to shut up and let her dictate his actions. "Why should I trust you? I don't even know you."
"Are you afraid of death?" Dre asked.
The question took him by surprise but he did know the answer. He wasn't afraid to die and he knew he never was. With a single shake of his head, Aidan said, "No."
"Then you can trust everyone. Because you aren't afraid of what they can do. If you don't fear death, there's nothing to fear."
"I don't fear it. But that doesn't mean I want to speed up the process," he said.
Dre laughed then cut the engine. She looked over her shoulder. "We're here." Unbuckling her seat belt, Dre yanked the keys out if the ignition and hopped out of the car. She wasn't worried about Aidan following after because she knew he would.
And with a reluctant sigh, he did.
Aidan jogged after Dre, watching her frosty blonde hair disappear behind a Victorian styled building. It was grand, practically four stories high. Aidan stared wide eyed at the mansion as he crossed the lawn to the back of the house.
He spotted Dre unlocking the back door. He gaped. "This is your house?"
She gave him a weird look, looked up at her house and back at him. "Yeah. Come on." She pushed open the door and walked inside. Again, Aidan sighed and trailed after her. He didn't like this goose chase.
The inside of the house was even more beautiful than the outside, if that was even possible. Aidan stepped into a widespread kitchen with marble counters and a gorgeous tiled floor. The cooking appliances looked like the ones of a restaurant's caliber.
"Keep up," Dre called from ahead, yanking Aidan from his daze. He jogged after her, bumping straight into her. She rolled her eyes in annoyance and turned to look at him. "I need you to be extremely quiet when we go upstairs. Got it?"
"-But why?"
"Got it?" she whispered more harshly.
He nodded in confusion. They silently ascended the stairs together. Even the stairs were nice and polished. Aidan didn't understand how this girl he just met was living so luxuriously. His impatience was getting the better of him. He desperately needed to know what was going on. Why was it him she needed?
Aidan followed Dre down a long hall and into one of the rooms. Aidan scanned the room. There were stacks of papers sitting next to a laptop on a desk; pictures and maps pinned up on a board; books strewn everywhere and one king sized bed in the center.
He swiveled to look at Dre. She was locking the door after her. Aidan frowned and she noticed. "It's very important that no one knows you're here," she clarified.
Aidan slowly walked around the room, assessing it. "This your room?"
"Yeah."
He stepped closer to the maps and picture clippings hung on the board. He squinted, thinking that would somehow decipher what he was seeing. "What is all this stuff?"
"This is the reason I brought you here. I need your assistance."
Aidan turned to face her again, this time with narrowed eyes and creased brows. "With what exactly?"
She grinned. "Taking down the government."
Aidan almost laughed. "You have got to be joking. There's no way." He watched her visibly get annoyed, so he added, "Even if we could conjure up some plan, we have no way of getting close enough to the government. They're packed with security."
Dre strode over to her desk and picked up a picture frame. She walked back over to Aidan and handed it to him. He assessed the picture and his eyes bulged. There Dre was with a smile on her face. And next to her was a man with great power.
Aidan looked up at her in disbelief. She smirked. "Not when your father is king."
Aidan blinked and looked again at the photo. He couldn't believe he hadn't recognized the similarity in their features before. True to her words, in the picture there stood Dre and her father. The man of terror and the one who controlled love itself.
Frances Crypt.
A:N/ Guys, I changed George Bush to Frances Crypt. Until we can think of something better lol.