The Game Has Changed (24 page)

She sat there, stunned by his outburst. So much
so, that she couldn't find the right words to argue with him. She
couldn't muster the tears that wanted to spill forth either because
of the heartbreak she was feeling. Instead, she remained where she
was, mute and completely numbed by his declaration. She felt
nothing more than the sudden urge to jump up from the table and get
as far away from him as possible.

Evan watched as she ran, sighing with
regret.
Round and round it goes,
he thought with irritation. He had to convince her to forget
about him somehow. To make her see that he wasn’t what she wanted.
He took into the account the fact that she’d be hurt by what he
needed to do. Yet in the long run, he knew it would be for the
best.

***

Jaime ran out of the restaurant, clinging to a
tree nearby as she sobbed. At the same time, she tried to hide her
tears from the people passing by as they gave her queer looks.
After awhile, she tried to ignore them as she gave rein to the pain
she felt deep inside.

She could see right through him. She knew what
he was attempting to do, although it was a rather lame attempt in
order to discourage her. He wanted to avoid hurting her and she
knew that, but knowing it made things hurt all the more.

Confusion reigned deep within her heart and
mind, as did her indecision. Should she play along with this game
and pretend that he’d succeeded in turning her away? Or should she
show him that she wasn't so stupid after all?

Wiping the tears from her face, she took a deep
breath to try and regain her composure. She forced herself to take
control of the situation. To try and make sense of things when the
moment came. Nodding to herself, she decided to wait until they
were back on the road in order to truly know in which way to play
the game.

***

“So we're in Texas now?” Jaime prodded,
breaking the hour’s long silence that existed between them as she
noticed the marker depicting the Texas border.

His lips thinned to a tight line as he refused
to respond. He’d started chain-smoking heavily in the last few
hours. Even now, he had a burning cigarette dangling between his
lips as he drove. Every once in a while, he would tap the ashes out
of his window.

It must be a crutch he uses to deal
with his snowballing stress and worry,
she
thought.

“You know,” Jaime breathed, “I'm not really
sure why we drove all this way. If the end result is the same once
we get to California, why don't we just end it now? Why didn't we
end it way back in Pennsylvania or Indiana or
something?”

He testily rolled his eyes at her before
returning his attention back toward the road. Not once, did he say
a word.

“All the gas expense . . .” she continued as if
trying to aggravate him. “All the motels and food . . . Not to
mention the wear and tear on my car driving all this way . . . And
if you want to get really specific, I lost my virginity! I’ll never
get that back! Ever!”

“What are you trying to say here, Darlin'?” he
snorted with annoyance.

“I should be in school. It's my senior year,
after all. Don't you realize how important senior year is for your
college career? What purpose was there for me to waste a week of my
life? To waste my virginity?”

His knuckles whitened as his hands tightened
around the steering wheel. “So, sue me.”

She smiled. “S’pose I really could, couldn't
I?”

Evan growled with frustration, pitched his
cigarette out the window, and immediately reached for another. Yet
before he could grab the pack, she swept it into her waiting hands.
His mouth hung open with surprise as he saw her open the window and
nonchalantly toss the pack out.

“What the hell?”

“Don't smoke in here!” she stated firmly. “It’s
choking me. You didn't even have the courtesy to think about me or
ask me!?”

He irritably slammed his hand against the
wheel. “Sorry, your worship.”

Jaime slipped him a middle finger. To her
surprise, he shot his in her direction, a slight smirk tilting the
corner of his lips.

CHAPTER 32

Most of their drive was spent in a detached and
silent manner once again. It was beginning to feel like a roller
coaster ride to Jaime. Some days were up and some were down. This
was a really low down day for them.

They ended up staying in a small town just
south east of Albuquerque, New Mexico as the sun sank low and
painted the sky a lovely orange color. Because it was a small town,
it felt safe for them, at first. Unfortunately, the fact that it
was a small town also gave the population living there a lot of
time on their hands, thus making it not so safe for them at
all.

A single motel occupied a space within the
entire town. That fact alone made Evan slightly nervous, so he took
it upon himself to secure them a room. Unlike the other places
they’d stayed, where the rooms were all accessible from the
outside, this one had to be accessed through a large main
lobby.

Despite his feeling of discomfort, Evan took
the room. He’d been driving for eight hours that day, nearly a
record for him, and he felt quite exhausted. They quickly carried
their meager belongings to their room, hoping to not attract too
much attention to themselves as they walked across the lobby.
Several people were milling about working while others wandered to
and fro.

Walking into their new quarters, Jaime took
note of the fact that it looked a little shabby. There was only one
bed and she wondered if Evan would have anything to say about it.
She watched as he set down their belongings upon an oversized chair
near the bed.

“Maybe you should stay here,” he suggested.
“I'll bring us some food back.” It was the first civil thing he’d
said to her the entire day.

“Why?” she asked with confusion. “Why is this
place in particular making you so nervous?”

He shrugged. “I don't know. I'm getting a bad
vibe from it, is all. Can't quite put my finger on it.”

“I noticed a little sundries shop downstairs,
though.” She pouted. “There's a few things I could really
use.”

He frowned. “Just make a list. I'll get them
for you.”

“It's fine. I'm sure you're worrying for
nothing. You're just worrying about everything now, remember?” she
pointed out.

“Do you have to purposefully go against my
wishes?” he snapped.

“
I'm not doing it to get on your
nerves. Honest! I just need a few things.”

“Alright!” he said with exasperation. “Just go
ahead!”

“It's a small town, Evan. What's gonna
happen?”

“I guess we'll find out, won't we?”

He shoved her unceremoniously into the hallway,
his lips pressed tightly together. Jaime worried her lower lip
between her teeth as they walked toward the shop in question. She
hated making him angry, but she really did need to pick up a few
essentials.

“Whilst you're in there, I'll go ask where the
closest eating place is,” Evan whispered into her ear, grasping her
upper arm more tightly than she appreciated because of his
petulance.

She looked down her nose at him. He pushed her
aside as he let her go. It was enough for her to take it as an act
of aggression against her. She trembled with both hurt and anger as
she strode into the small motel shop. Picking up a tube of
toothpaste and a bottle of shampoo, she noticed that the young
woman behind the register was staring at her intently.

“Do I know you?” the woman, obviously in her
twenties, inquired.

Jaime shook her head. “Um . . . no, I don't
believe so.”

“You look really familiar to me.”

“I don't live here, so I don't see how . .
.”

“Wait a minute!” the woman said with sudden
realization. Jaime's heart leapt into her throat. “I saw you on the
news last night. It was an Amber Alert. You’re a missing teenager!
They said you were kidnapped and to call the police if anyone saw
you. Do you need help?”

“No!” Jaime gasped, horrified as she realized
that Evan's fears had promptly materialized. “I think you're
mistaken!”

“Well, I'm calling the police anyway. I think
there might be a reward for information, too!”

She quickly picked up the phone and dialed 911.
Jaime hurried out of the store in a panic. She frantically looked
for Evan and soon saw him standing nearby, rushing in his
direction. He knew, then and there, that something was very
wrong.

“What is it? What's wrong?” he asked, grabbing
her upper arm again.

“Oh my God, Evan! You were right! I'm so sorry!
I'm so sorry!” she cried, trembling from head to toe.

“Tell me!”

“Someone recognized me from an Amber Alert. She
called the police!”

“Jesus!” He rubbed a hand across his face while
sliding the other through his hair. “Okay, okay. Let's not panic,”
he breathed. “We'll quickly get your stuff and we'll
go.”

“I don't think we have time for that, Evan!”
she squealed softly, tugging upon his arm. “Please! We have to go
now!”

“But your backpack, Luv . . .” he said. “All
your special things are in there. The things your father gave
you!”

“It’s okay,” she sobbed, the sound tugging upon
Evan’s heartstrings. “I don't need them anymore. We have to get
away! I don't want them to take you now!”

A bevy of police sirens filled the air outside
the motel. Their distress was mirrored in each other’s eyes as they
stared at one another. Evan's heart leapt with both fear and
intense pity for her.

“Jaime, Sweetheart,” he whispered. “Maybe it
was time . . .”

“NO! It's not time! Please, Evan! Let’s
go!”

He looked about frantically in search of a
means for their escape. At the end of an empty hall opposite of
where the lobby was, he saw a door that appeared to lead toward the
back of the motel. It was, he assumed, a service entrance. Without
any further hesitation, he pulled her to him. He ran down the hall
and out the back door with Jaime in tow.

He looked around as he tried to regain his
bearings as to where he’d left the car earlier. The sun had already
set and it was almost pitch black behind the motel. They were aware
of the whirling, piercing sounds of police sirens, several of which
sounded so close to where they were now standing.

They made their way toward the front of the
motel. Evan noted three police cruisers parked at the curb, their
revolving blue lights cutting a swath of luminosity across the dark
sky. He studied the parking lot for a moment as they stood pressed
against the side of the building. He finally remembered where he’d
parked the Acura and took note of the fact that it wasn't that far
away. Yet it would still require running across the front parking
lot.

The three cruisers appeared to be abandoned.
All the activity was taking place inside of the motel. Unwilling to
waste the opportunity, they dashed toward their car. He opened the
door by remote to give them quicker access to it. The engine roared
to life as Evan flicked the key into place. He peeled the car out
of the parking lot, nicking the bumper of a parked car in the
process. Jaime trembled and cried with fright as the car raced down
the street. Evan ran a couple stop signs along the way.

“I'm so sorry!” she lamented. “I should have
listened to you!”

“
Shut up!” he hissed, clutching the
steering wheel tightly as he drove.

The road soon became deserted. They’d gotten
away, but they were far from being in the clear. Without any street
lamps to light the way, it became a tad dangerous for him to
effectively manipulate the terrain because of the uncertain curves
and clusters of tall trees lining the road.

***

An uneasy sense of doom invaded every inch of
Jaime’s body. Between the road conditions, the darkness, and Evan's
current reckless state of mind, she felt as if the end was near.
Her weeping stopped, save for an occasional stifled
whimper.

She tried to imagine what was going on inside
of his head, but soon found it hard to. She knew he felt confusion
and intense fear, yet the brunt of his emotions were hidden from
her view. So much so, that she was afraid to offer him a bit of
comfort. She needed to let things play themselves out, she knew. To
let him calm down if he was able to, if they were to survive their
deadly flight in one piece. Yet that was easier said than
done.

She could feel the Acura as it was pushed to
its limit. The smell of burning rubber wafted inside every time he
rounded a curve, the centripetal force pressing upon the sides of
the car and the skids wearing at the tire treads.

Perhaps this was the way their adventure would
be brought to a close, she imagined wildly. It wouldn’t end with
Evan being taken away to prison in a police car. Instead, their
bodies would be dumped into the back of an ambulance and carted off
to the morgue. She could only hope that it would be quick and
painless and kept her eyes closed as she waited for it to
end.