Give A Little

The Box

Rey missed her car.

She'd been lucky enough to get an old mini cooper for a couple of hundred pounds, only after bartering the owner behind the counter. Unkar Plutt had been kind enough to throw in a radio after she figured out the mechanic was underage and suggested that the knowledge might appear at a police station the next day, should the deal be denied.

If she was thankful for anything in life, it was her detective skills. They came in handy for bartering down. When she was younger, she'd often have to rely on this to get by, week by week.

For the years she had her mini, she took great care of it. Being one of the first things Rey had ever managed to buy with her new paycheck at the resistance, it was one of her most prized possessions. It still is. Sure, it wasn't the most modern car, but it was hers completely and that's what mattered.

It had been over a week since he'd driven off with her car and she missed it. Her nights, if not filled with the memory of his smile, were filled with dread over the thought of him ruining her car. She refused to imagine her car in such an awful condition.

As She had made her way out of her apartment, ready to walk to work, she froze, her cup of coffee spilling all over the floor. There it sat, in the early hours of Monday morning , as though it had never moved.

He'd given it back.

The first thing she noticed is that it had been cleaned, she walked closer to inspect it and realised that every inch of it had been polished, almost glowing under the sun. It looked brand new but it was the same car, she'd know that car anywhere.

The second thing she noticed was the plain, white envelope tucked neatly under the window wipers.

She vaguely wondered if it had been parked on double yellow lines, perhaps a ticket or a warning. 'REY' scribbled on the front made her throw this theory out in exchange for one she hoped was true. It was Ben, it had to be.

Without thinking, she ripped it open, pulling out a set of car keys, her car keys. They still had the one keyring she'd found when she was younger, the orange, white and black droid image catching her eye.

He'd given them back, why? She'd tried to track it but all of the surveillance cameras had glitched, Ben could've gotten away with it. Why didn't he? Rey's mind whirled. She wondered if it was all a trick, could it be a warning? A message? A bomb? Maybe he was showing that she wasn't safe, that the hitman would be taking the shot any minute now.

At the memory of his soft expression, his caring eyes, any doubt in him had seemed a ridiculous concept. As much as she wanted to make herself wary, the thought of their call, his vulnerable voice through the phone, cut through the worries. Instead, making her unlock her car and get in the drivers seat.

Everything was as she left it. There wasn't a single crumb or wrapper on the floor, he had kept it tidy. She liked that. If anyone asked Rey would deny it but she couldn't help her mouth forming a small smile at the thought of Ben, sitting in her car, probably hunching over with is broad shoulders, almost paranoid about making any mess. His eyes would probably go wide, his body reaching over to pick up crumbs as his hand rested on the dashboard, supporting his weight.

His hands! She hadn't checked for fingerprints, hadn't even thought about wearing gloves!

After calling the forensic team, she set about trying to remember which areas would be compromised. She had run her hands along each newly polished area, and there had been a lot.

For what seemed like the hundredth time, he'd distracted her from doing her job. That was the worry about all of this, if he was being truthful with her, how much longer could she ignore her job?