Unlikely Ordeal

Chapter Nine - Haze

Aimee was confused regarding Lord's behavior, and yet at the same time had found herself strangely enthralled by him.

It almost seemed as if he was forced to take part in her kidnapping.

Also, it wasn't just him; she too had done a great deal of observation in regards to the individual whom she had been forced to sit with.

Lord however, was beginning to feel annoyed at her insufferable eye speculation; she had her arms folded, sitting across from him, and was not intent on looking the other way.

He fumbled with his pants pocket a bit. He needed to smoke.

Aimee directed her orbs at the pocket, then at him.

Inwardly sighing, he proceeded to do what he had set out to. He pulled a cigarette out of the packet and dug inside his pocket again for a lighter.

As he began to light it, he noticed that she was staring at the box of cigarettes in an intent manner.

Lord didn't know for sure.

He took out a cigarette and offered it to her. Without a word, she accepted it.

She then took an end to her lips. Lord pulled the back of her head towards him as he held up the lighter to her cigarette and lit it.

She inhaled, and was taken capture by his sky blue eyes once more.

After a few seconds, she backed away against the window, took the cigarette out of her mouth, and exhaled.

Lord lit his own, and inhaled as he watched her.

She fumbled with the cigarette before taking it to her mouth again.

"Since when?" He questioned, after exhaling.

She inhaled, held it for a bit, and exhaled, as she lazily stared back at him. "Fourteen."

That young.

Lord was surprised. Well, she was in her experimental teens.

"Why?" He wanted to know.

"It's medicine." Was the half sarcastic response.

Lord took an inhale from his cigarette, while she stared off into the distance to her right, holding her cigarette between two fingers.

"Why do you?" She asked, without looking at him.

"It's soothing."

She let out a chuckle. "Similar."

Lord breathed in again, and slowly let let it out again. "You said it like it cures you."

Aimee then stilled her eyes in his. "So?"

It bothered Lord that he wanted to know about her, but there was something off about Aimee that he had slowly noticed throughout the whole ride. He dared to think broken.

"How does it help?"

Aimee shrugged as she looked down. "It just helps me think clearly."

He understood.

He knew what she meant.

Before he could say anything further, she took another smoke, before putting it out and rolling to her side, facing away from him.

Then, a breath tickled her ear.

He didn't whisper anything this time.

She had her eyes closed, wondering inwardly what he was doing.

"I'm sorry." Were words that had come in a whisper.

Her eyes remained closed. "For what?"

There was no reply.

Aimee recalled this as his second apology to her, but felt that this time, he apologized for everything that had to do with her abduction, and things that didn't have to do with her abduction.

She could only guess what those other things were.

Aimee continued to feel his presence very near to her person.

Was he going to pat her back again?

She opened her eyes, and looked up.

He was watching her with curiosity from above in a half lying position.

She opened her mouth to say something, but she shut it again.

Lord then brushed his fingers against her cheek for a brief moment, as he continued to stare at her.

Aimee didn't make an effort to stop him, and she didn't know why.

He began to lean his face down.

She watched him do so and didn't move.

"Get some sleep. We'll be arriving a little more than an hour." He whispered instead.

He picked up his jacket which had been on the floor, and placed it on her.

Aimee turned to her side, as he got back to his sitting position across from her by the window.

* * * * *

After a long while, Aimee woke up to a still car. It was dark outside. She sat up to see Lord sleeping with his head hung, and arms crossed.

She reached out to stir him.

"What?" He asked with a yawn.

"I think we're at the motel."

Lord took a peek out the window to see bright lights shine over the individual white doors with numbers on them.

Indeed.