This Was Home [h.s.]

| 17. PIT STOP |

  Nothing was being said. We were both still processing what had just happened. The only sounds that consumed the truck were the tires against the road. The dice on his rearview mirror would silently smack together and I would watch them for long periods of time without realizing. It was like I was being hypnotized.

His knuckles were no longer tight against the wheel and his expression had also softened. His other hand was still loosely placed in the palm of my hand. I could feel the fuzziness starting to tingle through my fingertips. Even my ass had begun to fall asleep, hell, my whole body was begging me to readjust. The comfort I felt from his touch was being overpowered by the physical discomfort.

I slowly lifted my hand from his in order to reach for the arm rest and reposition myself. The sudden disconnect startled Harry and his head shot in my direction. His eyes darted to his empty hand and he quickly brought it back to the bottom of the steering wheel. He cleared his throat and opened his mouth to say something, but closed it right after.

I wasn't sure if he was aware we had been touching that entire time. But, to be fair, for awhile I had forgotten our hands were placed on top of one another's, too. I would periodically remember and a rush of warmth would pulse through me. It brought me a sense of peace in this whole messy situation. I didn't feel as totally consumed with the idea of running from creatures and hunting for my lost sister when I was with him this closely.

"Where are we now?" He asked finally.

I think he was just trying to fill the silence because he was always adamant about keeping track of road signs we passed. Even so, I didn't want to question it so my arm extended to reach for the glove box. The map unrolled into my lap, my finger trailing along the markings made earlier.

"According to the map we should just be getting into Denio. It's right on the border of—."

"Nevada, yeah." He said curtly, cutting me off. He cleared his throat again as an attempt to play off his bluntness.

"Right..." I trailed off, peering at him.

I pushed away my annoyance from getting cut off and folded the map back up, tucking it into the glove compartment. Silence filled the air again as I sat there with my hands folded back into my lap. With a heavy breath, I looked out through my window.

The scenery definitely wasn't what I was used to. Outside my window rugged terrain flew by. The colors I was able to catch were different shades of browns mixed with splashes of green. There weren't many trees compared to the Evergreens I was accustomed to in Oregon.

"Can I see that map again for a second?" Harry asked, extending an arm out towards me.

My eyes trailed to his upturned palm as he stretched his fingers out, urging me to get the map back out for him. I shot my gaze up to his face, which was currently glued to the road ahead.