"I long for you to feel loved."
...
"Someone's still following us, Ayan!" I panic, briefly looking at Ayan who is driving the car at a maniacal pace.
"I know, Naira," he groans.
"I'm just trying to remind you..." I mutter, sitting up straighter in my seat as I watch trees zoom past us at a scary speed.
"I'm sorry... I'm just, ugh," he inhales deeply, "angry at myself."
His eyes meet mine, "What did he do to you?"
"Oh," I crane my neck slightly to see if we're still being followed, "nothing much..."
He tightens his hand on the steering wheel, and clenches his jaw, "Have you looked at your arm? Seen your face? This isn't much?"
"I'm sorry, Ayan," I roll my eyes at him. "There wasn't any mirror over there. If there would have been one, I would have surely groomed myself before meeting you."
"Shut up."
I let out a scream when the car takes a sharp turn and swivels dangerously.
Is he trying to kill us?
"Does it hurt?"
"What?" I raise an eyebrow at him.
"Your arm, Naira," he groans impatiently.
"Uh, duh," I shake my head at his silly question.
"I'm going to kill him," he grits his teeth.
I give him my prettiest smile, "I kinda took care of it... I shot him in his thigh.
"Walking would be a nightmare for him now," I give him a grin.
He hides his smile with the back of his hand, "That's my girl."
"How did you find me, Ayan?" I ask, voicing my thoughts.
He turns to glance at me, "I got an anonymous text giving your location. I just dropped everything and came as fast as I could."
Anonymous text? Did tattooed man... ? No, that's not possible. He had several chances to help me and yet, he didn't. Then who was it?
"Anyway," I shrug, pleased for the first time in two days. "It was a good break from you." I tease him.
He scoffs but there's a slight smile grazing his lips, "You're a crazy girl, Naira."
Ayan keeps on driving for the next half an hour or so, only stopping when that black motorcycle loses us at some distance.
I unfasten my seatbelt before glancing at Ayan, who is breathing heavily just like me. He rakes his hand in his hair, resting his forehead against the steering wheel. After a moment, he removes his hands from the steering wheel, and unfastens his own seatbelt before getting out of the car.
"There's a motel ahead, come," he starts walking and I look at him speechless.
I get out of the car and quickly follow him, "Hell no, I want to go home, Ayan."
"Naira," he sighs, "drawing that man towards the house would just be plain stupid. You want Tara to get hurt again?"
Oh, I hadn't thought of that.
"Okay," I say, giving in. "How's Tara though?"
"Not good, she's been constantly crying since you've gone missing. She likes you the most amongst all of us so it's obvious she isn't taking it well. That reminds me, Rudy hasn't been handling it well either."
"Aww," I give him a sad smile, "I can't wait to meet them."
"There!" he suddenly exclaims, "Look!"
I look in the direction his finger is pointing in to see the signboard of a motel.
I inwardly groan, I want fresh clothes and a shower. Especially, fresh clothes.
I plaster a fake smile, "Lead the way."
I watch his retreating back for a second before sighing and tugging on his arm.
He raises his eyebrows slightly and before he can question me, I cross the remaining distance between us. I hug him close and press my face into his chest, my left arm hanging by my side.
"Thank you for coming," I murmur. "I..."
I take a deep breath before whispering, "I missed you, Ayan."
Strong arms encircle me, pulling me close against his chest. His grip tightens even more, nearly squeezing the air out of me.
"I missed you more, sunflower," he breathes against my ear.
Lifting my face from his chest, I look straight into his eyes. This feels...
I shake my head and move away from him. I cough awkwardly and glance around, averting his gaze.
"So..." I extend my right hand, "Friends?"
His mouth drops open, "You're friend-zoning me?"
"I guess..." I give him a flat look.
He purses his lips before sighing and shaking my hand, "Cool, friends it is."
Then he lowers his head towards my ear before whispering, "I promise you that in a month you'll be in love with me, and you'll be the one to say it first."
I scoff, "Yeah, that's never gonna happen."
"Wanna bet?"
Feeling extremely confident, I shrug, "Accepted. If I win, I want you to leave me alone."
"Ouch, sunflower, that hurts," he glances at me, just to give me the poker face, "If I win, and I will, let me tell you, I want a kiss."
I look at him wide-eyed, "On the... uh, lips?"
"Yup," he says, giving me a smirk.
I swallow before shrugging, "Okay."
It's not like I'm going to lose, so there's nothing to worry about. Pfft.
"By the way, do you try kissing all of your friends?"
"What do you mean?????"
When he doesn't answer and heads inside the motel, I yell after him, "WHAT DOES THAT MEAN, AYAN?"
"Ayan?"
"Ayan???"
Ugh. I huff and go inside.
The receptionist eyes us with a smirk when I stand next to Ayan.
"Two rooms," I tell her.
"What?" Ayan immediately protests, "I'm not leaving you alone in this state. Are you crazy?"
The receptionist clears her throat, "Ma'am, the rooms are full. I can only give you a single room."
"Ugh, okay, fine."
"Um," she says, after glancing at her database, "we have the policy of giving single rooms to only married couples. You see we've been in trouble bef-"
I cut her off, "That won't be a problem. He's my fiancé."
Ayan looks at me dumbfounded, "Who are you, and what have you done to my sunflower?"