Locked Heart

Caleb sat at the café, glancing down at her watch for the fifth time that minute. She had, of course, arrived early. It was still only three forty. But this Legend kid interested her, and she was anxious to talk to him again.

When the door opened she looked up eagerly- only to find that it was another person. She was about to look down at her watch again, before noticing that he was looking straight at her.

Confused, she watched him come closer, until he was towering over her. She squinted up at him, trying to see his face in the shadow.

“Come with me.” He said, his voice low and husky, though Caleb was sure that he was no older than her. Quickly she stood up, glad to see that she was a couple inches taller than him.

“Excuse me, sir?” She said coldly. He lifted his chin slightly, staring up at her with warm green eyes.

“You’ll come with me if you know what is good for you.” He replied, then added as an after thought, “your parents sent me.”

“My parents?” Caleb scoffed. “If they wanted me, they would come get me themselves!”

“They’re in…a predicament. One that involves you, as well. I need to keep you safe.” He pulled out a license and showed it to her. Caleb took it tentatively. He looked exactly the same in the picture as he did in front of her- the picture had even captured the warm twinkle in his eye. Her license picture had come out terrible; everyone’s did; so the good picture was,strangely enough, the thing that surprised her most. His name was Gregory Johnson, and he was supposedly twenty. Caleb had been right- he was only a year older than her.

She handed back his license, glancing him up and down. “How can I be sure to trust you?” She asked, but her voice had lost its cold edge.

“Only my word, Caleb. We must leave quickly.” Her eyebrows raised in surprise as he spoke her name.

“I’m kind of…meeting someone.” She said.

“Exactly.” He glanced around.”Come on, I’ll explain on the way.” He turned and started to hurry out of the café. Uncertainly, Caleb followed.

He stopped outside a beat up, rusty blue truck. He fished inside his pockets for a moment before pulling out keys and unlocking the door.

“Come on,” he opened the door, then moved around to the passenger seat and climbed in. She stood there, confused, as he leaned over the chair and smiled at her. “I thought you’d trust me more if I let you drive. You’ll have to follow my instructions, however.” He beckoned for her to get in.

Caleb wrung her hands nervously, then climbed inside and closed the door. She knew she shouldn’t be doing this, but she felt completely calm. Taking the keys from Gregory, she turned on the car and backed out of the parking space.

“Take a left.” The man said, as he glanced over his shoulder. Caleb took a left onto the road, tapping her fingers against the wheel and glancing at him again.

“So what is this about?” She asked. “And where are you taking me?”

He turned back to face the road. “I’m taking you to my house, and we can talk there. It’s safe there.”

Caleb turned her head sharply, staring at him in surprise. His house? Safe? What was he talking about? She was perfectly safe. She was so safe, it was boring.

“Watch out!” He yelled, and she turned back to the road just in time to slam on the brakes, stopping just inches from the car in front of her. She sighed as she waited for the light to turn green.

Okay, so maybe not that safe. But still. It wasn’t like there was some mafia guy coming to kill her.

Was there? She glanced over at Gregory. He was tense, staring forward at the road, or glancing around to look at the back.

“Turn right.” He said as the light turned green and she waited for the car in front of her to get ahead before stepping on the gas.

Despite the truck’s obvious age, it was a pretty fast car. It seemed to only take a minute, and then Gregory was telling her to pull into the next driveway. Perhaps it was because her thoughts were flying so fast, and only the back of her mind was concentrating on driving.

She turned the engine off and sat in the truck, blinking at the small house. It only had one floor, and it looked like it had once been a stable. But the paint seemed new, a cheery, sky-blue color; the roof had red shingles, and the door matched that color. It was cute, she had to admit, but it didn’t seem a place where a guy like Gregory would live. Nonetheless, she stopped the engine and climbed out. Gregory was right by her side.

“Come on, lift up your feet.” He said, ushering her into the building. She sighed and hurried to get inside.