So Just Fly With Me

“Lisa, wake up, hun.”

I groaned as I was gently shaken awake. I expected it to be light outside, but it was still dark. Blinking, I looked at the clock in the car and saw it was almost eleven PM. Then I looked and saw we were parked in a Wal-Mart parking lot. “What?” I asked sleepily.

“Matt and I are gonna get a few things. Since I don't have a phone, we're getting walkie talkies so we can talk to each other. I didn't wanna leave you in here sleeping.”

I nodded and stepped out of the car, following them into the store. With the walkie talkies, we grabbed some food and water and some clothes off the clearance racks. As we were walking back out, Matt said he wouldn't be able to drive much longer, so we decided to stop at a cheap motel where he got the three of us a room with two queen beds. In the room, Matt claimed his own bed before going to shower. I was going to shower in the morning, so I changed into a pair of sweat pants and a tank top before sitting on the other bed with my boyfriend for a bit. When he took his turn in the shower, I talked to Matt for a bit while watching TV.

“I have an iPod, but you two still need to be quiet,” Matt said with a laugh as his best friend exited the bathroom wearing a pair of basketball shorts.

“Fuck you,” Craig laughed back. “I can control myself unlike you.”

“Wait, why are we leaving Chicago?” He retorted quickly, leaving Craig standing there with his jaw dropped. “That's what I thought.” Matt smirked as he stretched out on his bed, burying his ear buds into his ears. “Night, guys.”

I couldn't help but let out a chuckle. “He got you there.”

“Indeed he did,” Craig said as he pulled the covers back on the other side of the bed with the TV remote in his hand.

I got up to brush my teeth and shut off the lights before getting under the covers next to him, scooting close to get comfortable next to him. Between the excitement of the day, the relief of getting away with the person I loved, and the soft drone of the TV, I relaxed almost instantly and began dozing off as soon as I was situated, resting my head on Craig's stomach as he was in a half sitting position while watching TV. “I love you,” I whispered as my eyelids started to close.

He began stroking my hair, sending me even further into my relaxation. “I love you, too,” he whispered back.

It was the most restful sleep I had gotten in a very long time. The next time I woke up, light was filtering through my eyelids. I turned just slightly to see Craig sound asleep. We were spooning, his arm draped over my waist and his head was right at the back of my neck because I could feel his breaths. I didn't wanna disturb him, but I felt like my bladder was going to burst, so I gently lifted his arm and slid out of the bed. I was still not fully awake as I headed towards the bathroom, pushing open the closed door.

“Whoa there!” A voice startled me, waking me up all the way.

“Oh shit,” I cursed, realizing I had walked in on Matt who was standing in front of the toilet. “Sorry.” I pulled the door closed, feeling my cheeks burning. I groaned when I realized how bad I needed to use the bathroom and hoped he'd hurry up.

I half expected a joke to come from him when he came out of the bathroom, but instead he face planted back into bed. It was then I realized that it was only six-thirty in the morning. After I emptied my own bladder, I climbed back into bed, feeling Craig's arm wrap around my waist again, pulling our bodies close together. His lips touched my bare shoulder, and I smiled as I dozed off again.

When I woke up next, both of them were awake, outside on the balcony smoking. I decided to just get up and get in the shower, and when I was done, they were packing the few things they had out. We were about to check out, grab breakfast and get back on the road to hopefully get through Illinois and Iowa by the day's end. We still had no set destination, but I knew we'd end up south eventually.

Over breakfast, the topic was brought up. Matt explained that he knew people in southern California and he could try and get in touch with them. I thought the idea of So-Cal was cliché and overrated, but I knew it was far away from here. They continued to talk about it while I just listened and ate. They brought up Los Angeles where Matt knew people, and San Diego where Nick was born and raised into his teen years and might still know people. While we drove, Matt said he'd make a few calls.

“I don't know if I'm too fond of the So-Cal idea,” I mumbled. “It just seems too obvious.”

“It does, but maybe the more populated the area, the less chance of anyone finding us if people do end up searching. And if Matt can find anyone he knows, it'll help us a lot.”

“I guess you have a point,” I said, smiling a bit as I watched the 'Iowa Welcomes You' sign come and go.

We drove on in silence for quite a while until the walkie talkie beeped, scaring both of us. “Breaker, breaker,” Matt's voice came over the speaker. “Breaker one-nine. I need the next rest area. Bladder is about to blow. Over.”

Both of us laughed as Craig answered. “Gotcha. We'll stop.”

“Awesome. It's coming up in like a few miles. Over and out.”

I laughed again. “God, why couldn't I have been raised a normal child?”

“You are normal.”

“The bad kind of normal. I never had any real fun. I couldn't have any guy friends unless they were someone that my dad introduced me to in an attempt to try and get me married. I couldn't even have a job. I was miserable while everyone around me was jealous.” I sighed. “I'm jealous of you guys though, especially after what I saw at the house. You're close with your friends, you joke around, you have fun. I've wanted that for so long, and then I met you and knew things would hopefully change.”

He reached over and laced his fingers with mine as we drove towards the rest stop. We pulled off the highway and got out of the car to stretch and use the rest room. I stayed in there for a moment, looking in the mirror at myself. I still couldn't believe what I was doing, and the shock of the situation was still bittersweet to me. After splashing some cool water on my face, I went outside to meet them, seeing Craig walking around on the phone.

“He's talking to Aaron, I'm not sure if it's a good thing or a bad thing,” Matt said.

I nodded and went over to try and see what he was talking about on the phone. He looked at me with a slightly worried look on his face. “Alright, thanks for the heads up, man. Later.” He hung up the phone and sighed. “Your father was by the house...looking for you.”

“Shit,” I cursed. “What'd they say?”

“The usual. They have no idea where I've been. I hope he's buying it.”

“For the sake of your friends, I hope he is too. You should tell them to just get out and take off.”

He shook his head. “So far there haven't been any threats made to them, so they're okay. They're smart, and if they think that things might get dangerous, they'll take off.”

“I guess,” I murmured as I walked towards the car.

“Baby?” He called after me before he ran up behind me and gently grabbed my arm. “I know you're worried, and I am too, but it'll be fine.”

I turned in his arms with tears lining my eyes. “You promise?”

He pressed a kiss to my forehead. “I promise. And you know I can keep my promises.”

I wrapped my arms around him in a comforting embrace. “I'm sorry for being like this. It's just that I'm still getting used to everything that's going on.”

“It's okay. Come on, let's get back on the road.” He draped an arm over my shoulders as we walked back to Matt who was standing by the cars. After he handed the phone back to Matt, we got into our cars and were off.

I was acting way too timid about the situation. While I was fearing for his life and the lives of his friends, I was underestimating them. I needed to learn that people could defend themselves, and weren't all like me. I began to hope that I could now learn to pretty much grow a backbone and learn to fight for the things I really wanted. Those things being the man that I loved, and the normal life that I had always wanted to live.

I turned to him, seeing that he had his left arm hanging out the window with a cigarette between his fingers. I'd never smoked before, but since I was in the process of changing my life I figured it wouldn't hurt. “Can I get one of those?” I asked, nodding towards the window.

“No way. This is a disgusting habit to start, and I'm not letting you destroy yourself with this.”

“Well if it's a bad habit, why don't you quit?”

“Because it's a bad habit to break. But if I'm not as stressed about life anymore, maybe I'll try.” He then tossed it before switching hands on the steering wheel and resting his right hand on my knee.