Chapter Seven

Roadtrip

James glanced at Elizabeth's sleeping figure. They had gotten a car and kept driving, stopping only at a motel. When they had checked in, the clerk saw the two of them and whistled at Elizabeth.

"What a whore you got there, pal," he had said. "Has she got any friends?"

It had taken every restraint he had left not to tear him to pieces. He couldn't afford to lose control and beat him to death. Elizabeth's warm hand clutching his gave him some peace of mind.

He took a deep breath and carried on, placing their bags in the room. She had showered first, and he followed suit. When he got out, she was sitting on the bed, staring out the window.

"Hey," he said softly, as to not scare her. For some reason, though, he had a feeling that she knew when he stepped out.

"Hey," she replied, and though he couldn't see her face, he guessed she was smiling.

"What are you thinking about?" he asked her, sitting beside her.

She placed her head on him, as if it were natural. "Nothing much, really. I'm mostly thinking about my family. It's really big, and extremely complicated."

He nodded, not knowing what to say. She lay down on the pillow and he lay beside her, careful to put some distance between the two of them. She fell asleep first, and he matched her breathing, soon falling asleep himself.

James wasn't sure when they changed positions while sleeping, but he woke up snuggling Elizabeth. He was holding her to his chest, and he never wanted to let go. It was stupid, of course, since they had to leave.

He tried to get out of bed without waking her, but she did. She sat up and looked around, looking confused before her eyes fell on him. She smiled.

"Good morning," she greeted, her voice still groggy and full of sleep.

He nodded in acknowledgement and they both got ready to go. When they checked out, the clerk eyed her up and down again.

"Eyes off of her if you want them in your head," he told him in a low voice.

The guy nodded and looked everywhere except Elizabeth as they exited the place. They got back to the car and got on the move again.

"Where are we going?" asked Elizabeth.

"Wherever you want," he replied honestly.

She gave him another of her sweet smiles and the worry in his heart lessened. She was here, and that was all that mattered.

They stopped again for lunch, in a diner in nowhere. She had ordered two sandwiches, one for each of them, all while glaring at the waitress.

"Jealous?" he asked as the waitress walked away.

"She was ogling at you like you were eye candy," she attempted to defend herself. "You're not eye candy."

"I'm not?" he asked her innocently, smiling ever so slightly.

"Not hers, anyway," she clarified with certainty.

He chuckled. Whenever Elizabeth was jealous, her temper decreased by half. It was amusing, especially since she was often all smiles.

"A penny for your thoughts?" she said, her voice dragging him back to reality.

"I was just thinking," he replied vaguely.

Her exasperated face showed that his response was no help at all.

"I was thinking about you, doll."

"Ah! Couldn't go five minutes without thinking of me, can you?"

"Honestly?" He leaned in to whisper in her ear. "I probably couldn't go five seconds without you."

Her face colored at his words, and she didn't even notice that their food had arrived. James found it amusing; she didn't.

"Oh, shut up and eat," she told him, muttering to herself.

They were on the road again sooner than Elizabeth would have liked. She was admiring the landscape, all while chatting about her childhood.

"So, you were even louder when you were younger?" he clarified.

"I think everybody was."

"I don't think I was, but I'm not exactly sure. Wait. How loud are we talking about here?"

"Well, my mom joked that I was like a wind-up toy, and the only time I would shut up was when I was asleep. It wasn't even gradual; I just fell asleep out of nowhere."

He chuckled, wondering how lucky he had been to have her.