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Chapter 15

It was a fact that Darek felt he could trust Tracy, and that he valued her friendship, but he had found out the hard way that she was also a royal bitch. The other aspects of her stereotypical blond personality were extreme possessiveness, bossiness, and most of all judgmental. He had to do things her way or else he would be ridiculed. She acted as though she were his mother, she sometimes even called herself 'mommy' in reference to him. She was driving him crazy!

A normal person would probably tell her to get lost, but he couldn't do that to her. As far as he was concerned she was a friend despite owing her a lot. She had sacrificed a life back in Las Vegas for him, and took the risk in travelling with him. She also understood what he was and she wasn't intimidated. Often she would ask questions that made him feel he had to defend his lifestyle. It was like she was humoring him with her supposed belief and he was being tested. How could she not believe him after what had occurred in her apartment? He would just give her a logical explanation and she would shut up.

He worshipped the moments when she would be silent. She talked about trivial things constantly. Ninety nine percent of the time, she knew nothing of what she was talking about. But Darek played his role and went along with it.

He didn't deny that there was an 'us', but not the way she meant it. He considered themselves partners. Their partnership, to her, was similar to an intimate relationship. Sometimes, she would touch his arm or face careingly and he would feel highly uncomfortable. He didn't say anything because she was already emotionally dependent on him and he didn't want to hurt her. He just didn't respond, in kind, to her touches. Body language was used to define his boundaries. So in the long run, he was torturing himself and postponing the inevitable. Right now he didn't much care to upset his stability...what there was of it.

They were currently in Charleston, West Virginia. Between detours, getting lost and unscheduled stops, it had taken two weeks to drive the distance and for him to realize all that he had about her. They had seen neither hide nor hair of the hunters, which was a good sign. His hunts had also been uneventful and consisted of things that didn't impress him.

There was one story he would tell his grandchildren though. If by some turn of event, he ever had any. It had happened a few days ago.

Darek was asleep as usual. He told Tracy that he didn't want to stop for the night in Springfield, Illinois. She cooperated without comment. That was the next stop in her opinion. She drove strait through it however. She just wanted to see it, was her explanation.

They reached the city limits around eight in the evening. She was hungry so they went to a nice restaurant. Dinner was finished in a couple of hours. During dinner, Darek was conducting an experiment with his food. The surprising part was that it was working. He was using his mind to give the food taste. An exercise in mind over matter. He just didn't understand how it was tasting.

Logically, to him, it should be similar to how he once remembered it. However, that's not what was happening. His subconscious was giving it strange properties. He could neither identify nor explain the tastes. But the bottom line was that he was having fun.

Following dinner, they went to a low priced gas station. Darek filled the car while Tracy used the powder room. It was her turn to sleep and she didn't want to wake up during the trip and have to use the restroom. She figured she would anyway, but she needed to use it now too. Judging on how many stops she makes when he's asleep, he had asked her it she had a bladder infection. She only shook her head.

He would never have known about all the stops, but she persisted in telling him all the trivial details of all she had seen and done while driving. It aggravated him to the point of wishing he didn't have to wake up. Maybe he wouldn't mind, if only there were points to her stories.