XANNY ▹ Harry Bingham

RUN BABY, RUN

mention of alcohol, mental illness, drugs, and abuse. this is a trigger warning. please do not read ahead if you'll be negatively affected.

chapter eight

"lust rushes but love waits"

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     Eden admired the lineup of steel and tire, each sportscar capable of intense speed, breezing right through the streets in their stop-start fashion. She picked out her favorites: a Jeep Wrangler, a Range Rover, and Harry's car-- the Maserati. She ran her fingertips against the black steel, internally drooling as she eyed its black rims. She looked behind her at the crowd, searching among the faces for Harry's. He was on the far side of the lot with Luke. They were ogling at a police car that'd just pulled up. Ironic, the idea of a fake cop driving a real cop car. 

     She leaned against the hood of the car, not bold enough to sit on it. An anxious tapping emerged in her right foot, and she felt her head grow hot. The feeling of anxiety had become too familiar. She slipped out the bag she'd left in her back pocket and peeled it open, dumping a pill into the palm of her hand. She shoved the bag back into her pocket and threw the pill to the back of her throat, used to the feeling of dry-swallowing. 

"Eden!"

     She shot her head up in surprise. Harry had finally noticed her presence from across the crowd. He weaved around some of the students apologetically, then approached her with a wide smile. "You showed up!"

"You have a fast car. I couldn't resist."

      Harry unlocked the car door with the click of a button, and Eden felt her heart flutter at the sound. The girl was a whore for cars. She jumped inside and rolled down the window, staring straight ahead at the crowd of fugitives that'd begun to diffuse, quickly making a run for it. 

•

     The roar of the Maserati engine sent Eden's adrenaline pumping. Her mind had become more aware of the sounds around her. The rubber tires would burn against the cement roads in every sharp turn, forcing a joyous scream from Eden's lips. She loved the rush; it was a new addiction to her. She looked down at Harry's phone, flooding with texts from other 'cops' who'd spotted fugitives on a variation of the town's roads. She held it for him as he drove, being exactly the lookout he needed. 

"Fugitives on Maple!" Eden felt a laugh escape her tongue accompanying her words. 

     He looked at her with a new fire in his eyes, then twisted the wheel full right. She felt her body swaying with the power and speed of the car, a rush she desperately desired. She stuck her face out the window, feeling a fresh battle between the waves of her hair and the harsh winds.

      She squinted her eyes to keep them from drying out, and in doing so, she spotted a burry figure sprinting across the road. "Stop the car!!"

      Harry obeyed, slamming on the breaks hard enough to damage both the brake pads and rotor in one fell swoop. Eden lurched forward against the dashboard but used the momentum to throw herself out of the car, sprinting after the fugitive. Her surroundings became irrelevant; they became a black hole. Paying attention to them would only draw away her energy. She didn't notice the blaring horn to her right, or the headlights approaching her at a rapid speed.

      The moment the car hit her, she assumed she was dead. Then she opened her eyes. She barely took notice of the ache in her bones, but rocks painfully burrowed into her skin upon impact with the ground. 

"Eden! Eden!" Harry had bounded out of the car. He was instantly by her side, cradling her torso in his arms. He held one hand by the side of her face to gently brush a strand of hair away from her eyes. 

      She sucked in the nighttime air, forgetting how to breathe for a moment, then released it in the form of laughter. "My heart is beating so fast!" 

      Harry let go, overwhelmed with relief. His lungs forced out a heavy exhale, and he fell back onto the palms of his hands. "Jesus Christ."

     Eden ignored him, and instead jolted off, sprinting after the figure she'd spotted a few minutes before impact. She made a sharp turn around the corner of a house and blindly collided with the very person she'd been chasing after.

"Wren?!" Eden leaned forward with her hands on her knees, catching her breath. 

"Get the fuck out of here." Wren stood up straight and shoved her sister back in the direction from where she came.

"What?"

"I'm running away, cause I haven't been caught yet." 

"Cheater."

Wren grinned and sprinted away, disappearing into the dark just seconds before Harry had caught up to Eden. He wrapped his arm around her waist before speaking, and she felt the warmth of his breath against her neck. "Did you find him?"

She looked into the dark, still trying to catch her breath. "No. Let's head back. Luke said there were more on Winpool." Her neck felt the heavy exhales from his laughter, and she swung around grinning from ear to ear. "Let's go!" She reached for his hand and dragged him back to the car in full sprint.