"HOLY SHIT!" Oliver yelled loudly before pressing the brakes. With a screech and bone shattering jolt the car was stopped.
In the distance, in the middle of the road, he was standing. He wore a black suit, not the regular suit he was wearing earlier that day, but something more luxurious and visibly expensive. Cece could see shining crystals embedded on the edges of the hemline of the coat and some highlighted parts of his trousers. His hair was neatly done. His hands were in his pockets.
What scared her was not the way he had managed to halt their fast moving car, but the way he glowered at them. Cece and Oliver, both of them were at the receiving end of the heated scowl, and none of them enjoyed it.
"Gavin?"
Oliver frowned at the mention of the name. "Is this the man you're running away from?"
Cece gulped. A sense of impending danger engulfed her. She started sweating. Her thin body trembled in the seat beside Oliver. "Can you drive away, please? I don't want trouble."
"Do you want me to take a u-turn?"
Cece started feeling it now. It was difficult to focus on anything. Oliver said something about Gavin. It all sounded like muffled yelling. She was cold, very very cold. Her hands were shaking. She could feel herself surrendering into the soft comfort of the leather seat. Oliver was calling her name. Not the name she had given herself, but the one her mother gave her.
There was a movement around her. She felt the car speeding up, some twists and turns churning her stomach. She wanted to lie down. The car was still speeding through the deserted road. At one point, everything became dark. A memory, not very distant but somewhat foggy, started taking form in her mind.
Three years ago
She could still feel his hands around her waist and chest. He was whispering in her ears. "Be quiet, promise me that you will be quiet," he said. "Be quiet if you don't want to die."
Cece nodded weakly. Her eyes were shut. She had lost her senses of place and time. All she wanted was to leave that place and find her parents. It was not the same room, he had dragged her into the guest bedroom where he was housed for the night.
"Why?" she asked in a shaky voice. "Why'd you do it?"
"I had to," he answered.
"You killed them. You murdered my parents. They were innocent."
Gavin didn't answer anymore. He tied her hands with a piece of cloth and pushed her towards the bed. She fell on her face. Tears streamed down her face. She always thought she was a strong woman. Her father raised her as a woman who could help herself in the times of need. Where was her courage now? What was stopping her from kicking his balls and shooting him with the same gun he used on her parents?
"Why are you not moving?" he asked abruptly. She thought about it too, but she couldn't come to a conclusion. "Have you hurt your head or something?" He took long and urgent steps towards her and turned her half-laid body to face himself. His eyes searched her face eagerly. She didn't know whether it was care or anxiety about making a mistake and killing another soul.
"You look fine," he said. "Look at my eyes."
His eyes were dark brown, menacing, full of doubts. There was a shuffle outside the doors. Someone called her father's name. He pushed himself closer to her body and covered her mouth. She started struggling again, pushing a noise out of her throat. It must be one of their neighbours. If she could just make herself audible, this nightmare would end. At least to some extent.
"Shut your mouth. You make another sound and you will be next. Do you understand that?"
The cold, threatening tone froze her in her place. She could feel the warmth of his body pressing against her. She had kissed him an hour ago, this same man, and he felt so different. He was a sweet and caring man. Not this monster.
When he let her go everything was deafeningly silent.
He had run away in a flash. Just like that, he had disappeared in the thin air.
That was the first time she understood it. He was not a mere man. Not a human. She recalled how he grabbed her in less than a second, how immensely powerful he was, the dark shadows around him, how his eyes changed when he saw her trembling and crying over her parents' corpses.
Gavin was not a man.
Present day
Oliver was still driving. She opened her eyes and found night descending. A crescent moon shone above, veiled behind a thin slice of cloud. There were stars scattered in the sky, partially visible, creating a magic of light.
"You're up," he said.
"What is the time?"
"It's eight-thirty. You have been sleeping for almost four hours now. Are you feeling now?" Oliver looked at the rearview mirror and said, "We are almost there."
"Where?" Cece asked, it sounded like a croak.
"My apartment. Very few people know about it. Honestly, it's a love shack, but trust me, you're going to be safe there."
"Never thought I would end up in a man's love shack someday," she said.
Oliver laughed loudly. His bright smile had returned, along with the sparkle in his eyes. Cece noticed his hands were slightly shaking, but she chose not to say anything about it.
"I am sorry. Somehow I did manage to drag you down with my troubles."
"What are you talking about?" He informed her with a serious note. "Nothing dangerous or troublesome happened, as you insinuated with your actions. You kind of fainted. In between you woke up, and immediately went back to sleep. And that guy you were so scared of, Gavin, he just stood there staring at us. That was it."
"That was it?" Cece repeated. She couldn't believe it. Everything was fine now, was it?
"So, was he your ex?"
Cece nodded. The last time she tried to tell people how Gavin killed her parents, she couldn't come up with enough evidence. She couldn't make anyone believe her truth. Oliver might be someone trying to help her, or someone who was in love with her three years ago, but Oliver was still one of them. Those who never saw the whole truth would never believe the existence of a handsome inhuman individual.
Cece rolled her eyes internally. Did she just call Gavin 'handsome'?
"Listen, you have helped me enough. You can just let me off near a hotel. I will find my way tomorrow morning."
"And here I thought I have finally convinced you."
"Aren't you tired yet? You've been driving for hours, and I've not been too kind to you," Cece grumbled. "You are a kind guy, I like that. I don't know what you're looking for, but whatever it is, I can't give it to you. Trust me, I mean it when I say it. I am broke in every way."
Oliver smiled. It was something perpetual about him, his smile. Even his tired eyes were overpowered by his smile.
"Don't worry, I will not ask you to come with me anymore. That is until you call me yourself."
"I will make sure that I don't," she replied looking outside. They had entered Star City some time back. Now they were crossing a busy marketplace. She could spot some restaurants. Her stomach growled. "You know what, you can pull over here."
"At least have dinner with me?" Oliver pleaded making puppy dog eyes.
"Oliver, in case you haven't noticed, I am running away. It's not a random trip I'm taking. Seriously, dude, leave if you want to have a normal life."
Oliver left reluctantly. Until the last moment, he was staring at her in the rearview mirror. "You know I'm a call away," he texted before disappearing completely from her sight. Cec took a deep breath. Somehow, being alone made her feel better. Oliver was sweet, but she was not used to this kind of sweetness. Even in her youth she never depended on anybody.
But then she was living in a dream, she learnt what true fear was that night.
She was running away once again and she didn't know her destination. The last time she had Mia help her, this time she had chosen not to bother her with anything. If possible, she would keep her completely out of this whole ordeal.
She followed a young couple to a stall which seemed to be popular in the neighbourhood. It was a diverse crowd, people from many ethnicities and different age groups gathered around to eat, and a long queue waited patiently for their turn. She ordered steamed dumplings with stir-fried vegetables, something that looked popular among the crowd. It was quite cheap. An intense smell of garlic, ginger, and soy sauce filled her nostrils.
"It is famous here," a young boy addressed her with a smile.
"I thought so," she said and moved away politely. People seemed friendly here.
She walked for another half an hour after eating. Her tired eyes looked for a decent place to stay. There were many hotels and lodges around, but most of them looked shady. She entered one of them hoping for something good and took an about turn immediately, after seeing a middle-aged man surrounded by two scantily dressed young girls. The last thing she needed was to spend the night at a love hotel, alone and miserable.
She finally found a small homestay with the help of the internet. It was run by an elderly couple, and offered bed and breakfast. She could stay for as long as she needed. The elderly couple handed over an old-fashioned key with a floral motif. They didn't ask her the reason for the visit, nor did they ask for any proof of identity.
She ascended to the room upstairs following the old man. The room was small but comfortable. There was even a small window at the corner.
She was about to throw her bag on the floor and collapse on the bed when she received a text. With a tremor in her heart she opened the message.
"Fuck you, Gavin Atwood," she muttered.
The message remained very still and real on the screen of her phone.
—Let's play hide and seek, then.