Run. Just Run.

Chapter 33

James walks out of the bathroom, his hair still wet from the shower. He sees Ashley laying in one of the beds, sound asleep. He walks over to the other bed and lays down on it. He smiles as he stares at Ashley across the small room. She looks so....peac....peaceful....when she....is.... James falls asleep without even finishing his thought.

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Ashley slowly opens her eyes and sees James sleeping on the other bed. She waits a minute till she's fully awake, then smirks as an idea pops into her head. She gets up and goes and jumps on James' bed, bouncing up and down. James awakens suddenly.

"Ash!" He says, half yelling, half whining. "You scared me half to death!"

She smiles and stops bouncing. "Let's go to the store!" She says excitedly. "Come on, sleepyhead!"

James groans and gets up. He runs his fingers through his hair, trying to make it less messy from sleeping in it while it was wet. He glances over and catches Ashley staring and then she quickly looks away. He smiles to himself. He gets up and grabs Ashley's hand.

"Come on! Let's go!" He says excitedly as he pulls her out the door.

They walk down the street of the small town, amazed at how few people they see. They find a sign that says 'General Store' and go in, surprised that a store with that name still exists. When their eyes get adjusted from the bright sunlight outside, their eyes widen in surprise. This store has everything! They walk over to a rack of items, trying to think of what they might need.

"First things first, I need a knife." James says firmly. "I can't do much of anything in the woods about a knife."

"Ooh, I want one too!" Ashley says in excitement. James looks at her, raising an eyebrow. "I know how to use knives, James Austin Browning." She says adamantly.

James nods and picks up a hunting knife. He likes it, so he moves on. Ashley finds one, slightly smaller than the one James has, but every bit as sturdy, and easier to handle. She picks up a box of waterproof matches. She goes and hands the items to James, who was currently looking very puzzled while at lengths of rope.

"Here you go." She says with a smile. "We'll need these. What are you looking at?" She asks James.

"I'm trying to decide which rope to get." He says slowly. "This ones stronger, but this one is lighter and easier to carry."

Ashley reaches forward and picks up the lighter one. "Let's get this one." she says with a grin. "I like this color better."

James bursts into a grin. Only Ashley would pick a rope based on the color. He reaches forward and she hands him the rope, smiling. Only Ashley. He leans forward and hugs her.

"You're hilarious, Ash." He says with a grin. Then he releases her from his hug, and looks her in the eyes. "And I love you. Like, really really love you." He says with a smile.

Oh goodness. He finally said it. He knew it'd come out sometime, probably when he didn't expect it. Just like right now. Right in the middle of a store. A general store! How crazy is that. In his head he'd planned to say it in much nicer places... Then he suddenly feels his heart pound. Why isn't Ashley saying anything? She is just staring into his eyes! James starts to worry. What is she thinking?