1 WEEK AGO
" I think we lost them," I said, collapsing my neck on the chair; my hands hurt from all the shooting. I took out their tires half a mile back. It's a little wonder how they didn't take us out too.
Maybe Damien is more of an expert driver than I would ever give him credit for.
"Good, now we are in the middle of nowhere," Damien said, his eyes narrowed, hands bloodied; so were mine.
"I am just happy to be alive," I said.
"Oh, now you are happy? You didn't seem so happy when I saved your life repeatedly," he said, and I rolled my eyes, giving an ughhh sound that probably didn't sound very ladylike, but I don't care right now.
"What is it, Damien? Do you want a trophy or something?" I asked.
"If there's one thing this near-death experience has taught me, it's that I actually deserve that trophy," Damien said, turning to glare at me.
"I saved your life too; you don't see me talking about it every five minutes," I spat.
"You know what, Jessica? You are ungrateful..."
A thud came from beneath the car, and the car suddenly dropped by inches. Damien rushed out of the car with wide eyes.
"Great, now our tire is flat! Can this day possibly get any worse?" he yelled.
And just like that, smoke started coming out of the hood of the car; this time, it was my turn to rush out of the car.
"You jinxed it," I said. "It can't possibly get any worse than this."
"Yeah, no shit," Damien said, running his fingers through his hair.
"Damien, you are a billionaire. Call someone!" I said.
"There's no service out here," Damien said, his voice sounding strained and frustrated.
"What do you mean there's no service?" I yelled.
"Do you really need me to explain that to you as well?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.
"I know what it is," I said, rushing over to the car seats to search for my phone, only to realize that I probably dropped it in the café during the shootout.
I fell on the sand with a big thud, rather too overdramatic; the sky was already getting gray, showing signs of nighttime or a nighttime storm.
Who knows? I am convinced this night couldn't get any worse.
Shortly later, Damien joined me on the sand, staring at the open space for a while; he was thinking, calculating. I could almost hear him.
"There's a motel about a mile away from here. We could walk there and find shelter," Damien said, standing up and dusting the sand off his clothes.
"A mile?!" I yelled. "I don't want to," I whined, and to that, he rolled his eyes.
"We walk now or risk your dad catching up to us sooner or later. Plus, a storm is coming. Your choice," Damien said, stretching out his hands, and I slapped it off.
"I can get up myself," I said, and he rolled his eyes, muttering under his breath and walking a reasonable distance away from me.
This day couldn't get any worse.
***
The day got vastly worse than before; I can't even lie. It was pouring, and Damien and I were running in the rain.
Let me rephrase that: Damien was running; I had long given up and sat back down on the sand.
Turns out it was a mile or even two miles because we had been walking for quite some time now, and there isn't any motel or house or any signs of human habitation.
"What is wrong with you, Jessica?" Damien asked, water dripping down his face, his curly wet hair falling into his eyes.
"I can't go anymore; my feet are bruised, and I think I have a splinter," I said.
"Are you a child? We would freeze out here if we don't find a place to stay; the storm is getting worse," Damien said.
"I can't go anymore; just go without me. I will be fine," I said, looking down at the pool of blood-mixed water that had formed under my leg, and for the first time, I realized that tears were actually falling freely from my eyes, making everything blurry.
I tried to hide it, but I was already sniffling.
"Are you crying?" Damien asked.
"No, I am praying," I retorted.
"I am going to die anyway; I can't run anymore," I said, looking up at the sky.
Damien stood there. I expected a quip; I expected him to tell me I was so much weaker than he thought I was, how slow I was, and then turn back to leave.
Instead, what he did surprised me. He squatted down, patting his shoulders.
"Get on," Damien said.
"On your back?" I said in surprise.
"Say one more stupid thing like that again, and I am going to leave you here to freeze," Damien threatened.
When I still hesitated, he turned around to meet me, looking me in the eye, his brown eyes glittering with the raindrops.
"I am not going to leave you out here, Jessica," Damien said. He turned his back again, motioning for me to get on.
When I did, I wrapped my arms around his shoulder/neck region, his cologne still intact and filling my nostrils.
"I must weigh a ton," I said.
"Shut up; don't be a pick-me," he said.
"Okay, I will shut up now," I said, and I felt his body vibrate with laughter, and mine did too. Just like that, we had our first genuine moment and probably my first genuine laughter for the day.
"Thanks," I whispered against him, tears coating his back as he jogged.
"No problem," he said gently, running his fingers on my tiny ones, and my heart did something... I don't know what it was or how to explain it, but I know it isn't how your heart is supposed to feel when you are with your best friend's fiancé.
It must be the near-death experience.