Trust the Killer

Chapter Twenty Five

I stretched my arm, sliding it off Wycks leg and extending it until I touched the glovebox with the tips of my fingers. My eyes opened slowly and I breathed in deeply, I noticed right away it was dark in the van. My head felt heavy from falling in and out of deep sleep for however long it's been.
I tilted my head to glance up at Wyck, he was wide awake meeting my eyes the moment I moved. He looked worried in a strange way with his intense expression. His hand was still on my rib cage, gripping me harder than I remember from earlier.
As I woke up fully I became embarrassed that I was sprawled out on his lap, as comfortable as it was. I pushed myself up to sit straight beside him, he turned his head to follow my movements, disappointed.
I avoided eye contact and looked forward. It was nighttime now, very few cars were on the road. I looked down at the digital clock in the dashboard and read that it was early in the morning a few hours past midnight. I slept for much longer than I anticipated. It occurred to me then, I looked out the passenger window beside Wyck and studied the buildings outside. New Orleans. I knew exactly where we were... less than ten minutes from the airport I flew out of to Seattle.
I was flooded with familiarity, comfort. I beamed and rubbed my eyes.
     I felt Wycks hand grip my side uncomfortably as he left his arm around me. He pulled me closer to him until my side was against his. I frowned instinctively at his sudden harshness and looked up at him.
     "Good morning." He grumbled, his blue eyes practically glowed in the dark.
       I smiled meekly at him and looked back down through the window, reviling in the sight. "Are we almost there?" I asked hopefully.
     The tall boy shot me a look I couldn't read, "Yes." He was short. I saw his jaw clench. Why does he seem so upset?
      "So one more night and then I can go home?" I asked, nervous if it was the right thing to do, but I couldn't help it in the moment.
      Wyck stared ahead. For a moment I thought he ignored my question but he spoke after a while of thinking, "Sure." He was flatter than before.
      His answer didn't satisfy me. I snapped my head to look at him, was there a chance he wouldn't let me go home? Of course there was but I had to make sure that wouldn't happen.
      Wyck looked down at me, his mouth in a tight line, "What?" He snapped. My stomach sank.
        I drew back and swallowed. "That didn't sound like a guarantee."
       "It's not."
      My mouth dropped open, I leaned in to plea, "Wyck please! I-" I began out of sudden desperation as my excitement to be home slapped me in the face, but he spoke over me.
      "Okay. Ava." He looked ahead again. "You can go home tomorrow. Just don't get used to always getting what you want." Wyck was rude. My face went pink in frustration.
       What I want? I haven't gotten a single thing! I don't want to be here! He acts like I'm a spoiled brat as he holds me hostage. I looked forward with a sour expression, as annoyed with his response as I was I wasn't going to fight with him and lose my opportunity to go home.
    My arms crossed over my chest and I could tell Wycks eyes were still staring down at me, I felt him lean down. His lips reached to hover a centimeter from my head, I felt the tip of his nose gently on my scalp. "Don't get used to being away from me either." He whispered before pressing a hard kiss into my hair that made my head bob as he pulled away.
I furrowed my eyebrows and looked at the ground, frustrated by his touch.

The headset slipped loudly off Johnny's ears, I hadn't noticed him put them back on, I must have been sleeping.
"We're here." He announced.
I looked up immediately to notice the van was pulling into a large hotel that was connected to the airport. It was much fancier than the motels I had been at with Wyck.
"Are they going to do the valet shit?" Johnny muttered.
Wycks hand lifted to point towards a parking entrance. "No. I already called, just park down there."
"Why couldn't we have done something a little more low-key? There's a motel fucking two miles down the road. We can just drive to drop her off in the morning." Johnny was annoyed.
Wyck ignored his friend as we pulled into a dim parking garage. The van parked far back in a deserted area. I couldn't help but feel excitement. Even with Wycks attitude and what I barely knew was coming, I was so happy to know my home wasn't far away.

The van door opened. I blinked and looked over to see Wyck was climbing out. I quickly followed suit by unbuckling myself and sliding my body over until I was able to jump out. Wyck caught me in my frantic movements as I was beyond excited in the moment, he wrapped his hand around my upper arm and pulled me to be beside him. I watched his arm extend to reach for my small backpack that had been resting on the floorboard since the first night. He slung it over his shoulder, I could have laughed at how small it was against his tall stature. The boy lead me to the back of that van where Julia jumped out of. She looked at me once with a stern expression and tightened the strap of a duffle bag in her shoulder before walking away hastily, I assume she is still upset that Wyck planed to stay in LA with me. I'm not sure what she wants, before she acted like I was a good thing for Wyck, but now she's upset?
Wyck pulled his duffle bag from the back of the van and slammed the door shut. I looked over to see Johnny wasn't out of the van, and I noticed his luggage was inside.
"Hm?" Wycks deep voice grumbled a sound. I looked up to see he was staring at me with a questioning expression.
"Oh, is Johnny coming?" I didn't notice I was glancing around looking for the other boy. I'm not sure why I was even curious about it.
Wyck looked confused at my question as well, "Yeah, but he has things to do first." We began walking.
"What kind of things?"
Wyck furrowed his brow at me, he adjusted the strap on his shoulder and moved his hand from my arm to wrap around my waist. He pulled me tightly against his side, my stomach bubbled and I felt my face heat up from his closeness.
"Uh, like I told you before we have a reason to be here other than you, so he's gonna work on that for a second."
The butterflies in my stomach seemed to die, I stared at the ground with a sinking feeling. I couldn't escape the reality of who Wyck was as much as I wanted to. He killed people.
"Are you going to help him?" I asked.
I could see Wycks head turn to look at me though I kept my eyes on the concrete floor as we walked.
He paused for a long time, "That scares you... about me. Doesn't it?" He asked carefully.
We reached the end of the parking garage and turned to walk toward the grand hotel doors. They were glass and reflective.
I choose to ignore the question. My arm reached out as we neared the door, I was surprised there would be valet men outside at this time of night. I was less than a foot from gripping the long door handle but to my surprise Wyck snatched my body away from the door and forced me to turn until I was looking up at him.
I breathed in a short gasp, his expression was intense as usual. "You're scared?" He asked again.
I swallowed, "A little." My voice was meek. I tried to whisper hoping the valet men wouldn't hear, which I then was confused by. Why am I not screaming for help right now anyway?
Wycks face then caught my attention. I focused on the disappointment in his featured, almost a defeat. I got caught up suddenly, I felt almost guilty for somehow causing this expression.
The butterflies in my stomach came back to life as I continued to look into his blue eyes, they were full of a depth I've never seen before. He was only a few inches away.
Wycks tattooed hand lifted from my waist to push a lose strand of hair behind my ear, his gentle movement melted me into the moment. "Don't be." He spoke low, the gravel in his throat contrasted the peace I felt as his finger lingered behind my ear. "I'm never going to hurt you."
I swallowed as I stared at him, the feeling between us was a loud tension as I felt my body gravitate closer to his chest. In almost a reflex my eyes fluttered closed noticing his face draw closer to me, his soft lips pressed gently against mine. My stomach floated as I reached up to grab two handfuls of his shirt keeping myself balanced in the grip. Wyck kissed me softly once, for a long time before he pulled away. His eyes lingered for a moment but he seemed to tighten up, pushing his arm back around my body and pulling my out of the moment and into the hotel lobby. The air inside was warmer and I was engulfed in an odd feeling of safety as I was out of the cold with Wycks body holding securely onto mine.
My mind fuzzed over by the gentle kiss. I allowed him to guide me as I lived in that moment, as short as it was. I decided to believe him when he said he wouldn't hurt me, although I had many reasons not too.