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Story: A Secret Escape

My heart is racing and my head is a jumbled mess of thoughts and emotions.
Chapter 30
Marcus
By nine o’clock, we are out of the city and driving north.
I’ve been checking the mirrors constantly, and there doesn’t appear to be anyone following us. Lila’s been doing the same, her eyes darting from the side mirror to the rear-view and back again.
Occasionally a car appears in the distance, and I slow down to let it pass before picking up speed again.
The M6 stretches ahead of us as silence hangs thick in the air.
Coming up to ten o’clock, we haven’t seen a single car’s headlights behind us in nearly twenty minutes as Lila turns her head, the feel of her gaze on me helping me breathe easier. For the first time since we’ve set off, I relax one hand off the steering wheel and rest it on her knee.
A small smile plays across her face as she places her hand on top of mine and gives it a squeeze. I glance a quick smile at her.
My heart aches for what she’s been through, and I can only hope I’m doing the right thing.
A Services sign on the left indicates a rest area two miles down the road. I take the exit and circle around the car park twice, ensuring noone is behind us, before fitting my car snugly into a tight spot between two others.
With the engine turned off, I exhale a deep breath and let my shoulders slump, resting my head against my arms on the steering wheel.
I turn to look at her, my breath catching as I see the slightest hint of a smile on her face. She barely even knows me, and yet, she’s trusting me in a way I’ve done nothing to earn.
I lift her hand to my lips, pressing a soft kiss to it.
Outside, my lungs fill with the fresh air, the icy chill invigorating on my skin. Lila walks around the front of the car as I stretch out my chest, my heart stuttering momentarily as her delicate frame silhouettes in the moonlight.
I trace my hand down the side of her face. “Are you alright?”
She nods and wraps her arms around my waist, snuggling her face into my chest, and I hold her close to me, breathing in the scent of her hair. It smells like strawberries, and my mind jumps to an image of lathering her up in a shower or bath, with that scent filling the air around us as I run my fingers through her hair.
I clear my throat to shake the image and step back slightly, letting her hand fall into mine. The lights on the building are harsh and bright, and most of the shops are closed, with metal fences pulled down and lights turned off. Only the large WH Smith sign remains lit up, its brightly lit aisles of drinks and sweets a beacon of safety.
Lila heads for the shop, but I stop just outside the toilets.
“Stay in the shop,” I say, glancing over my shoulder at the doors once again. “I’ll be there in a minute.”
She smiles and nods, walking through the bright entrance.
When I meet her at the till less than two minutes later, she’s already paying for a selection of items. I come up next to her, resting my handon her lower back, my eyes alert to every possible movement in my peripheral vision.
“I didn’t know if you liked sweets or chocolate, so I went for both. And I figured caffeine was a must,” she says, her voice light.
I glance at the items on the counter - two iced coffee drinks, two bottles of water, a bag of gummy peach rings and a bar of chocolate.
I smile, attributing it to chance more than fate that peach rings happen to be one of my favourite things on this earth.
“That’s great, thanks. Ready to go?”
We head back to the car and the temporary respite of the service area fades as the darkness of the road settles back in.
A flurry of gentle snowflakes starts to fall around us as I slow down to let another car pass.
“Sorry I’ve not said much,” I say, glancing over at her.
“No, trust me, I totally get it,” she says. “I’m pretty freaked out too.”