Just Another Liar

Chapter 10: Aurelio

The car traversed smoothly over the road. The full moon overhead provided some natural lighting while the light of the other cars around us allowed us the ability to see the cacti to the side of the road. The coconut car fresheners swung back and forth from the rearview mirror, spreading its scent around.

Milo sat in the passenger's seat, looking out the window. I could see his tongue run across his teeth. I realized that everything he did I found cute. I had chosen the SUV for this trip, so we were both comfortable. He had been nervous when I told him we had to go meet the boss. This meeting could be the starting point in inducting him into the cartel. I had feelings about him actually joining Río Dorado, none of them good.

I didn't see him as weak in the least. With what he had let me learn about him, his parents raised him to be strong and independent. He had adapted to be mentally strong because that was what his environment called for. His parents taught him that intellect was just as important as being physically strong in the world. That lesson gave Milo the ability to think his way out of dangerous situations, but I didn't want him in those situations.

"You okay?" I placed a hand on his knee, capturing his attention. He rubbed his hand over mine and laced our fingers together.

"I'm fine. I'm just trying to figure out how I got here. I'm going to a gang meeting to meet your cartel boss. I'm a writer, so this feels more like a story than reality. I don't know if that makes sense. I can't get out of my mind right now." He looked over at me briefly before looking outside the window again.

I felt bad for him while also wondering if that was how his mind constantly worked. I couldn't imagine looking at life as if it was happening to me and not the other way around.

"What's your favorite song," I asked. He turned to me, his eyes squinted and his mouth upturned in a smile.

"Teenage Dream, by Katy Perry," he answered.

"Why is that your favorite song out of all the songs produced and released in the world?" He shrugged his shoulders before looking up at the ceiling of the car. "Something about the feel of the song speaks to me. It's about someone who sees you for who you are and embracing the parts you don't want to show. It's also about that stupid and idealistic view teenagers have on life."

"What's yours?" If it wasn't for the car's self navigation, we would have crashed already since I spent most of the ride so far looking at him. "Novocaine, by Frank Ocean. The beat gets me first, then he talks about getting what he wanted and feeling numb. I'm grateful for everything I have been able to earn. But if we are being honest, I feel nothing when I look at all I have. I live like a king but have no one to share it with." I squeezed his fingers between mine.

"I don't know if this makes sense. I feel like I'm rambling about some bullshit." I said.

"Play it for me. I've never heard of it," he said. I told the car's artificial intelligence to play the song, and we began bobbing our head to the beat. It was barely eight, and the ride was only thirty minutes longer, give or take a few minutes if we encountered traffic. We were listening to the song for the fourth time in a row before I heard something I was not expecting.

"Novocaine, baby, I want you," Milo sang. I looked over when I heard his singing voice. It was clear and soft, resting on a high register. There was some breathiness he forced to mimic the original melody, but I could hear the power behind each note he hit.

"You have a beautiful voice," I said, turning the music down. He waved his hand at me. He hated getting compliments, and I hated that he felt that way.

"Sing something else." If I kept him focused on giving me a performance, he wouldn't know that we were getting closer and closer to the safe house.