Once she got inside, she pretended to look at some snacks, just for something to do while she regained her composure.
She wouldn’t look up to watch him drive away, either, she decided. She could already picture his SUV pulling out and leaving the area. He would be gone and she’d never see him again. For some reason Caelyn couldn’t even fathom, the idea of him leaving hurt badly. It hit her in the chest and stomach like a vicious cramp.
Why did she care? He clearly had a screw loose, and he was a liar, and he was mean on top of it all.
She grabbed a Slim Jim, even though she didn’t even like them, just so that nobody would think she was crazy for standing in the aisle and doing nothing but staring at the snacks.
The door chimed as it opened, and she didn’t look up to see who was coming in.
She didn’t want to be disappointed when someone else’s face greeted her.
But why do you still want to see Elijah? Why did you make him drop you off if you still want to be with him?
There was no good answer.
She looked down at the dirty floor of the convenience store as footsteps approached.
“I’m not going to leave you here,” the familiar voice said from just beside her.
His tone was gruff and commanding, and she almost gave in. Almost. But the wave of relief that flooded her body was quickly countered by another wave of anger.
“Leave me alone,” she said, walking away from him again, even as a voice inside of her told her to stop pushing him away. If she kept it up, he really might listen.
But she couldn’t seem to stop herself. The door chimed again as she pushed her way out of the store.
“Caelyn!” Elijah yelled. She heard him coming after her, and she quickened her pace, not sure if she wanted him to catch her.
Then, suddenly, another voice pierced the air.
“Sir, your girlfriend is walking out of the store with unpaid for merchandise!
That’s our Slim Jim!” the voice of the cashier yelled.
Caelyn spun around and threw the Slim Jim, hitting Elijah in the chest with it. He fumbled it, but eventually held on.
“I don’t even like Slim Jims!” she yelled.
Elijah turned and gave the item back to the irate cashier, who said something inaudible to him. And then Elijah followed her outside, to the curb, where she was now sitting, head in her hands.
She was crying and shaking.
Everything was flooding through her -- the memories from the previous night, the things she’d tried to push away. It was all coming back.
“Can I sit down?” Elijah asked softly.
She nodded, not really able to talk. But she found that she did in fact want him to sit next to her, and when he did, she enjoyed his closeness. He didn’t sit too close, either, just near enough for her to feel his presence.
“Elijah’s my real name,” he said, after a bit.
She wiped some tears from her eyes and sniffed. She felt drained, completely drained, but in a weird way, it didn’t feel horrible. She’d needed to release the anger and the fear and the upset. The truth was, she’d been through hell and hadn’t yet really processed any of it.
She looked at Elijah, sitting there next to her, his profile strong as he stared out across the parking lot. The part of his hair that flopped over his forehead ruffled slightly in the breeze, and Caelyn resisted the urge to reach up and push it off his face. “Why do you have another name you give to the police?” she asked, not really expecting an answer.
But he surprised her. “It’s a long story, and maybe someday I’ll have a chance to tell it to you. But let’s just say that you’re not the only one running away from something.” He turned to her, and their eyes met. And in that moment, Caelyn realized why it was she’d felt so safe with him. He was running away, too. They were the same, at least on some level.
“You don’t have to tell me,” she said. “It’s okay.” And it was. Sure, Elijah just admitted that he’d lied to the police. It probably meant that he had done other bad things as well. But in a strange way, what was more important was, at least at that moment, he was telling her the truth. And he didn’t have to do that.
She could see the hurt and pain reflected in his eyes, and she wondered what kind of secrets he was hiding. Whatever they were must have been painful and dark and raw.
It was almost too much to take, staring at him like that, and she had to look away.
“You’re right, I am a mess,” she admitted, pulling out her pocket mirror and seeing the mascara running down her cheeks. She looked like someone had just taken a flamethrower to a statue in the wax museum. Why hadn’t she thought to at least wash her face?
“What do you say we go inside and grab something to eat?” Elijah asked her. He stood up and reached his hand out to her. She took it, and his grip was strong and comforting as he pulled her to her feet.
“Shouldn’t we be getting back on the road?”
“I checked the times on the busses going to Florida, and we’ve got a couple of hours to spare.”