This chapter is written by icannotfall.
Dre raced down the road. Trees blurred together beyond the window Aidan stared out of. He wanted desperately to ask where she was taking him, but he knew he would get the same answer: "wait and see." She was stubborn, and he hated surprises. Once they got to wherever it was Dre was taking him, he never wanted to see this girl again. She pegged a nerve within him. He didn't like it.
Dre mumbled something before suddenly flooring the brakes. Both Aidan's and her body flew forward, only kept in place by seat belts. The impact of the sudden stop disoriented them.
Once he straightened, Aidan's head snapped toward the crazy female. "What was that about?"
Dre wasn't paying attention to him; she was looking out the windshield at the men outside. "Soldiers are patrolling. Hurry up and hide in the back!"
"Huh?" Aidan followed her line of vision. He saw the soldiers but didn't understand what the big deal was. They always patrolled to reinforce rules and catch lawbreakers. He looked over at her again. "Why?"
Dre ripped her gaze away from the windshield and looked over at Aidan in annoyance. "Because we're not supposed to be together, genius. There's specific laws here about separate genders, who aren't meant together, interacting and you know it." Before Aidan could open his mouth to respond, Dre was already leaning over and unbuckling his seat belt. She gave him an intense glare. "Get in the back."
Grunting in irritation, Aidan reluctantly complied and climbed over to get into the back seat. Five minutes of knowing her and Aidan already knew he didn't like this girl. He hated being bossed around. However, he did lay flat in the back seat. He knew he couldn't put his life in jeopardy. Not yet. Isabelle would have scolded him for something like that.
Dre pulled off her jacket and threw it over Aidan, covering his upper torso and head. From beneath the leather, he irritably asked, "What do you think you're doing?" His words were somewhat muffled.
"Gotta make this as realistic as possible. Now pipe down. They're coming."
"You pipe down," he mumbled under his breath.
There was a knock on the window. Aidan held his breath and flattened himself best he could in the back. Dre rolled down the window and smiled at the soldier. "Hello. How are you today, sir?"
With that stereotypical, frightening authoritative voice, the soldier said, "I.D."
Dre nodded nonchalantly and leaned over to open her glove compartment. She fingered through a few papers before finding her I.D. "Ah, here it is," she said with a smile, handing the plastic card to the officer. She watched as he scanned her I.D. and leaned back smugly, knowing he had just been doped.
The soldier nodded and held his hand out to give her the card. Dre reached up for it, when he suddenly pulled back. The soldier gave her a skeptical look. "Where's your partner?"
"What?" Dre asked with a nervous laugh. Did he see past the scam? Did he know Aidan was in the backseat?
"On your I.D.," the soldier said. He waved it in front of her. "Says here you've got yourself a partner. Joe. Where's he?"
Dre felt her stomach knot up at the sound of her past love. A wave of hurt flooded her and her grip on the steering wheel tightened. She looked straight ahead and whispered, "He wasn't the lucky one in the relationship. He died."
Aidan noted the sadness in her voice. It matched the same sadness in his heart and mind. Maybe she wasn't as different from him as he originally thought. Maybe no one was. The whole world was in fear of when their loved ones would die. No one could have everlasting happiness. That upset Aidan. After despair, all he felt was rage. He had the massive urge to scream but kept his mouth clamped shut.
