He sighs, and looks up at something, I presume to be a clock. "Almost six o'clock."
"More precisely?" I ask, sensing my heart sink.
"For goodness sake, it's 17:55pm" He growls.
I briskly turn and run back to my seat. I can't believe this, I really cannot! I've got five minutes till I need to be there, and the driver said it takes around ten to fifteen minutes. I'm doomed. I hold my head with my hands in fear. My ears start to heat up as my blood pressure hits the roof, I cannot do anything, literally. Even a car wouldn't get me there in time. Dean, if you can hear me right now, please wait, please! With a clenching jaw, I start to rock back and forth in my chair as anxiety builds. I gaze out of the window, wishing for the bus to pick up more speed and bypass the other bus stops. I should have just driven there!
If only that train wasn't stopped, I would have been there by now. As I continue to stare out of the window, the glimmering rays of sunset from the shiny buildings, force my eyes to close, lending me the opportunity to embrace this small piece of tranquility. I hope Dean will find it in himself to wait just a little while longer. I haven't gone through all of this for nothing!
Chapter 10
My rising body temperature and jittery limbs begin to gradually ease up as I see the station ahead, only a couple of blocks away. I grab the gym bag and sit it on my lap, ready to pounce at the first opportunity to leave the bus when it stops.
"Hurry up!" I muffle, growing more and more impatient.
I ask the young teenage girl sitting in front of me for the time. Pulling her earphones out, she glares at me and says, "18:07" before returning to her blaring music. An unsettling ease loosens the tension in my entire body as the realization hits me. Dean's got to be gone. I'm almost ten minutes late, and he stressed for me to be here for 6pm sharp. I've never felt a feeling like this, I am empty and hollow. Despite the doom, I stand up reluctantly and proceed to wait by the door as we approach the bus stop, staring without hope through the stained window.
Now expecting the worst possible outcome, the bus finally stops, and the doors open. I take in a sharp breath and step off the bus. Looking around this dusty part of town, I struggle to find the long quiet road that Dean spoke about. All that's here is a dead shaded road, created by the building opposite the train station. The coolness of the shade, and the blissful quietness soothes my raw emotions.
"What a nightmare getting here! The whole city must be on lockdown." My serenity is interrupted by an elderly lady's voice as she, and an older man walk past me. A sudden jolt of hope hits me. If they struggled to get here, then maybe Dean did too. He could still be here!
I immediately turn to face the older couple, and with a frantic voice I ask, "Is there a long quiet road here?!"
The couple stop in their steps, and the well-dressed lady stares at me with an alarmed expression on her face. Impatiently waiting for an answer, the man takes over the situation and says it's on the other side of this building. My focus follows his fingers as he points to the building ahead. Without even saying thanks, I run towards the side of the building with a feeling as though I am running away from a pride of lions, and the sensation of hope that Dean could still be here.
As I speedily approach the front of the building, I no longer have the refuge of the shade, instead the blinding light of the sun clashes my line of sight. With the duffel bag still firmly in my hand, I run around the corner of the building that overlooks the barren desert and the long quiet road.
"This must be the road he was talking about!" I muffle under my labored breath.
I scan frantically for Dean, but the sunset is blinding me so much that I am unable to see anything. I drop the bag to the ground and use both my hands as a sun visor in an attempt to enhance my sight. I take in a sudden gasp as my battered and bruised heart sinks in elation. He's there! He's actually here!
I see him ahead of me, about 100-150 yards away to my right. He has his back to me. Adrenaline floods my entire body as my hope is restored. Without taking my eyes off him, I frantically pick up the duffel bag and haste onto the road with everything I've got. As I am about to call his name, I notice Dean fidgeting and looking at his wrist, presuming he is looking at his watch for the time. A sinking sensation comes next as he slings his helmet over his head and switches the key in the ignition, which lets out a thunderous roar.
I start to wave frantically in the air, screaming his name, but the roar of the motorbike drowns my desperate calls. The roar turns into a growl as he begins to drive away.
"No, no!" I say aloud with a deep tone of voice.
"Dean! DEAN!" I yell, but it's no use.
Already on the tarmac, I pick up my speed and run the fastest I have ever ran before. Despite the lack of energy, I have to utilize in my body, the distance of one hundred yards quickly triples as he drives further and further away from me. Still running with determination on the road right behind him, I painfully scream at the top of my voice. The sunset blocks me from gaging how far away he is now, but the ever decreasing noise from his engine confirms to me my worst fear. He's gone.
I collapse to my knees, dropping the gym bag in the process, and erupt into a flood of tears on the barren, dusty road. The rough tarmac, digs into my knees, causing my skin to crack. This external affliction has nothing on the inner turmoil that I am having to endure. I gaze down endlessly at the road with a slow and disbelieving head shake. Dean, how could you leave me here like this! I am right here! I glance back up, only to see the small figured, vague back of Dean at a far distance.
"How did he not hear or see me?" I weep desperately to myself.
"Please turn back, please." My tears fail to relent as I watch helplessly from afar.
Clutching my stomach whilst kneeled down, the realization that this is it for me, hits me hard. I'm fucked, in every way imaginable. What now? I can't go back to the life I left only a short while ago. The life I chose has just driven off without me. All I have left is $80,000 sitting right next to me and a heart that has shattered into a million pieces. I failed to warn the cops that I had a felon in Jess's house, I assisted Dean in restraining and kidnapping the two officers, I held a gun in plain sight of the officers, and I failed to comply with them. Ditching the car and fleeing off the train points straight to me trying to escape, and that alone is a crime. Prison is inevitable. What the fuck have I got myself into? I'm too young for this shit!
My constricted lungs make it difficult to breathe, which in turn heightens my inner anxieties, edging me closer and closer to blacking out. I welcome the prospect of becoming unconscious. It will help numb the pain that is intensely crippling my body right now. The sunset makes me dizzy, sending my coordination off balance. Before my body crumbles in on itself, I manage to lift my colorless face up one last time, in a feeble and hopeful attempt to see Dean. I squint my eyes as a faint red light captures my attention straight down the road. Using my left hand to block out the amber-red rays from the sunset, I focus more on the red light. My mouth falls open, but no words form. My lifeless heartbeat suddenly comes back to full life, racing as though I have just competed in a hundred meter sprint. I think it's his brake light! I only see one though. Surely if it was a car, there would be two?
Despite the fluttering sensations, I am somewhat apprehensive. It's such a faint light, and it's so far away. This could be a cruel hallucination. I focus my attention away from the supposed brake light and promptly look back to it with a fresh pair of eyes. It's him, I know it is! Without a moment's hesitation, I jolt up off the beaten up tarmac, and grab the duffel bag. I begin running endlessly, closer to the light.
"Please be you, please be you! Dean! Don't go!" I yell with a shaky voice, caused by the running. The red light slowly starts to become larger, and more vivid. Lactic acid begins to form in my legs, and my lungs grow tighter as I continue to pace through the blinding sunset and rocky road.
Shaky, rasping breaths and the slapping of my sneakers hitting the tarmac are the only sounds I hear. F
ueled by adrenaline and hope alone, I can now make out the black motorcycle, and Dean, who is taking his helmet off, whilst his upper body is twisted so he can face me. Euphoria and glee now starts controlling my facial expression. Tears of joy soon ooze from my eyes as I continue to shout, desperately not wanting to be left behind.
"Dean! Wait!" I yell from the top of my voice.
I can now see his elated face and his hair blowing in the subtle wind. As I get to his bike, I fight against the urge of collapsing after the long, grueling run. Exerted from the sprint, I cry joyously as I gaze up to him. While remaining seated on his bike, Dean grabs both my arms in an attempt to hug me, but I resist.
"How could you leave me behind?! You almost left me!" I beat on his chest, while weeping uncontrollably.
I continue to thump on his chest, but my head starts to draw closer to him, and the thrashing of my fists slowly dissipates. His arms coil around me, and we embrace as though this is our last hug.
I peel my head off from him slowly, and look up into his brown eyes, which are more vibrant due to the sunset. His skin is also more exposed by the glare of rays. A gloss suddenly forms over Dean's eyes.
"I never wanted to leave you. I waited an extra ten minutes, I thought you had changed your mind. My last, and only hope was to see you in the bike's side mirrors. My wish was granted." He says with a croaky voice. "I'm so sorry for putting you through this." He reaches in and gives me a tight hug, while shedding a slight tear.
We both hold this embrace for a minute or two sharing warmth to one-another. As my head is resting on his shoulder, I am unwittingly surprised by the sheer beauty of the desert. There is not a single car or building around here, only the city of Vegas in the distance. The warm sunset casts life over the barren desert as well as warmth to my back. I close my eyes, in sheer bliss and awe over the outcome here. I'm in Dean's arms, something I would never have thought would be possible five minutes ago. I give him one last squeeze before slowly pulling off of him.
"What now?" I ask softly, staring endlessly into his eyes as strands of his hair blow against him in the light breeze.
"I don't know. The worst is over with, and as long as I've got you, I don't care what we do, or where we go." He speaks with his deep voice. "We'll go where the road takes us." He adds, radiating a comforting smile.
"What about the police? We're wanted, Dean." I respond subtly.
He takes in a moderate breath and says, "Once I get my stash of cash, we'll have to get our identities changed. I don't know anyone that does this, but um... I'll find a way." He presses his lips together.
"Okay." I smile in harmony to his response.
"Let's get out of here." He signals, now fully pulled away from our partial embrace.
He turns to face his motorbike and lifts the backseat up. "Here, put this on." He twists his upper body to hand me the spare helmet.
While I put the helmet on, he picks up the gym bag and straps it around him before jumping back on the bike. Before I am able to jump on the back of the motorcycle, Dean twists the key in the ignition and the engine let's out its trademark roar.
Before shutting his sun visor, he turns his head and stares at me partially. "Wrap your arms around my waist tightly, we've got a long journey ahead, baby."
I nod to signal 'okay', and he swiftly returns to face the empty road ahead. I coil my arms around him, and squeeze to indicate that I'm ready to go. With a gentle pull on the accelerator, we speed off into the unknown, unaware of what may happen, or how long we can remain on the run.
I glance to my left, watching the sun set above the rocky cliffs as an unsettling thought shoots across my mind. I know of one person that can help us with changing our identities, but he is the last person I would want to turn to. After all, he was the sole reason why I left for Vegas in the first place. I have confidence and faith that Dean and I will find a way out of this one on our own.
I do wish our circumstances were better, but at the same time, I am so grateful to be with him right now, and that's all that matters. I nearly lost him and my life back there! I will not, and cannot, forget that. Despite my fatigued body, I tighten my grip around Dean and switch my attention to our future. Resting my head on his back, I let out a discreet smile as we speed our way out of Vegas, never to look back again.
Doubt #4
How will Dana and Dean fare as they live life on the run, constantly looking over their shoulders? Will this be the installment where Ryan makes his official debut in Doubt?
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Thank you so much for taking the time to read Doubt #3! I hope you thoroughly enjoyed reading this book, if so, I would appreciate it if you could help others enjoy this, also.
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Doubt #3 (The Deception Series #1) Page 6
