Baby, You're So Gone.

I didn't have the slightest clue of where to go. Honestly, I was getting kind of nervous with Nick next to me. I didn't want to take him home, because Mom might be there with her "flavor of the week" and I wouldn't like it if Nick saw that. Call me vain, but I liked keeping up an appearance.

I didn't want to give Nick another reason to think I was unstable. I could do just fine on my own, I had proved that to everyone around me. Here comes Nick, thinking I'm some damsel in distress that needs saving. I. Don't. Need. Saving.

I do fine.

I could see it all from the look in his soft brown eyes. Every last thought and emotion was written clearly on his face, something I would never allow to happen with me. Nick was easy to figure out, hardly a challenge.

I shook my head to clear those thoughts and focused back on the present. I was in my car, and Nick was saying something I hadn't caught.

"Annabelle?" Nick asked, waving a hand in front of my face.

I blinked and turned to look at him, pursing my lips. "I know just where to go." I mumbled, even though I was hesitant to bring him to my secret hide out. But if I didn't want to take him to my house, that was the next best thing.

"Oh, really?" I ignored Nick's comment, simply because I didn't have an answer. I put the car into reverse, backed out of the parking space and started driving to my hide out.

See, living in a small town in Georgia had its' perks sometimes. There weren't a lot of places you could escape too, especially in a town this small, but when you found that rare place that no one else went to, it was easy to keep a secret.

I didn't have any best friends here in Georgia, none that I would miss. I had never wanted to set down any roots because I knew that as soon as I got enough money, as soon as I turned 18 in a month, I would be gone. I would leave this town without a look back because I knew this place was holding me back.

I could do so much more, and I didn't need my mother and her problematic self setting me back years. She was an adult, she shouldn't have to need me to pay the bills, do the groceries, cook the food. But she did, and if I was supposed to live, I was going to have to do everything myself. Life was funny that way; you could only depend on yourself if you wanted to get out alive.

I took off my seatbelt as soon as I turned off the car. It had taken barely five minutes to get here, and by the look in Nick's eyes--hopeful and excited--I could tell he liked this place. I got out of my car and sighed, looking at this place with a smile on my face.

While hiking the forests outside of my little town, I had found an abandoned cottage with an overgrown garden, ivy covering most of its exterior, and it was overlooking a beautiful lake. It was the perfect place to just relax and get away from my world.

I picked my way to the cottage, being careful not to trip over big tree roots and loose rocks. I looked back at Nick, who was looking intently at the ground, determined not to fall over.

"Isn't this place beautiful?" I asked him, smiling a tad.

"It's gorgeous. How did you find it?" He looked up and stopped walking, his eyes meeting mine. I ignored the shiver that passed through me as the cold wind blowing, even though it was only seventy degrees outside.

"I came across it while hiking." I shrugged, downplaying it.

"It's unbelievable; a real escape." he nodded and walked past me to the door of the cottage. It was a peach color, with green ivy covering almost all of its walls. It was made of that type of stone that was never even, the ones that made a place look like a Disney Cottage. It reminded me of Snow White's house, honestly speaking. "Is the house open?"

I nodded. "It's furnished in there too, and once I cleaned it up, it looked great." I opened the door for Nick to come on, and turned around, intent on waving him in when I tripped over the loose rocks on the uneven pathway.

I reached my hands out to break my fall, my body twisting in a way that wouldn't have helped my fall. Instead of colliding with the floor though, I collided with a solid and firm chest. Nick's arms wrapped around me, keeping me from falling over. I could hear the chuckle rumbling deep in his throat, making his chest vibrate.

In this position--so close to Nick--I was aware of everything. The way my breathing and heart was quick, the way the smell of his cologne was starting to make me dizzy, and how just being this close to him was making my skin burn like it was on fire. I couldn't help these reactions, I wanted them to stop so I could show I was in some control.

"Are you alright there?" Nick asked, a smile in his voice.

I looked up at him, my hair covering my blue eyes and my lips slightly parted. I was staring into his deep brown eyes, thinking about how I could stare into them forever. I shook my head to clear it and squinted my eyes shut.

"I--I'm fine." I stuttered. Huh, I never stuttered.

"This place," Nick looked around in awe, "It's really beautiful."

"Yeah, okay." I was examining every line of his face. The angle of his cheekbones, the way his lips curved when he talked, the way his hair bobbed up and down with the slightest movement, and the way his eyes were always bright.

"Listen, Annabelle." Why did I like the way he said my name? Why did I like the way his musical voice made my name sound like a caress to my ears? "I'm sorry about being so pushy before...I was worried about you and..." He trailed off, staring into my eyes as well.

Was it just me or did he look about just as breathless as I felt? I didn't like this feeling deep inside of me; my stomach doing flips, my heart tightening and quickening its pace. I felt queasy and nauseous, but the feeling was slightly enjoyable. In a masochist kind of way.

Before I knew it, Nick was leaning towards me, his perfect lips coming dangerously close to mine. I was scared to death; how was I supposed to react? Kiss Nick? I didn't want to kiss him, to find more unknown emotions stirring deep within me. I closed my eyes tight, hoping I wasn't going to regret this and turned my head to the left side, his soft lips meeting my cheek instead of my lips.

From the surprise on his face after he pulled away, the slight hurt in his brown eyes I felt guilty. Terribly guilty. I couldn't stop myself from turning away, from running though, because that's all I knew what to do. I would never get hurt if I pushed people away, it was what I learned.

I wasn't going to give Nick a chance to rip my heart out.