The house felt empty, eerily empty. No Felipe. No Celia. No Rafiq. Caleb offered no answers and I asked no questions.
It was hot outside, even early in the morning. I realized it had been a long time since I’d walked outside, beneath a glaring sun. I was wearing clothes. I was…free. My steps faltered as the realization hit me. FREE!
“The truck isn’t far, keep moving,” Caleb said numbly.
I could feel myself getting choked up, excited laughter bubbled out of me, “Where are we going?” I said with joyful tears in my eyes.
“Please don’t ask. Just come with me.”
I looked at him, the pain on his face palpable. This was not the time to argue with him. Whatever he was doing, it was a very big deal. It would change everything between us, but he’d asked me to come with him, and when the man you love asks you to go with him – you go.
We walked for less than a mile, but I marveled at the sheer size of Felipe’s estate. Whatever he was into, it was certainly profitable. Finally, we found the old truck we had arrived in. I was surprised it started right up.
Caleb hadn’t said much and though he seemed in much better control of himself, I knew whatever had happened still weighed heavily on him. I reached for his hand across the seat and to my surprise, he not only held my hand, but squeezed it. As we left Felipe’s house, I stared at the gravel road in the side view mirror. It was really happening. We were leaving – together. I wiped tears from my eyes for nearly twenty minutes.
We traveled for several hours before I forced Caleb to break his silence. “I’m hungry, Caleb.” I looked at him and rubbed my stomach.
“We can get some food and water when we stop for gas. I want to keep moving for now,” he said. His eyes never left the road, but his thumb moved back and forth over my hand.
“Okay,” I said. “Will we…be driving long? You know, before we get wherever we’re going?”
Caleb squeezed my hand and closed his eyes for a second, “We’ll be on the road for about sixteen hours, maybe less. We can stop for the night once we’re close.”
I didn’t like his tone. It was too…sad and distant. “Where are we –?”
“Kitten!” he admonished. He shook his head, “I mean…Livvie. Please. Stop.”
Anxiety churned in my stomach. I didn’t like this at all. I squeezed his hand, “You don’t have to call me Livvie if you don’t want to, Caleb. To be honest, it’s kinda scaring me. You’re scaring me.”
Caleb’s face seemed to crack for a second and I caught a glimpse of his sadness before he relaxed his features. “Don’t be scared, Kitten. Everything’s going to be fine, I promise. You won’t ever have to be scared of me again.”
“What do you mean, Caleb?” I whispered.
“It means I’ll take care of you,” he said.
“We’ll take care of each other. I’m stronger now, Caleb. Whatever happens…whatever happened, we can handle it together. Okay?”
He was quiet for a long time before he replied. “Okay.”
“I love you,” I said.
Silence.
We didn’t make any unnecessary stops. We went to the bathroom and picked up food whenever we needed gas. Getting Caleb to talk was a bit of a chore, but he seemed very interested in my life before we met. I avoided talking about my family – my brothers and sisters, my mom. I knew I’d never see any of them again and thinking about it hurt too much to talk about. I had Caleb now and he needed me.
I talked about my favorite books and movies. I mentioned my dream of writing a book I would later adapt into a screenplay and direct myself. I was going to be a triple threat. Caleb smiled and said he’d love to read anything I wrote. I suddenly felt a lot more optimistic about mine and Caleb’s future, but I kept seeing signs for Laredo, Texas.
“What’s in Texas?” I asked.
“Besides cowboys?” Caleb said. I glared at him. “I have business there, Kitten. Okay?” He was suddenly very serious again.
“Okay,” I relented.
We’d been driving for close to ten hours when fatigue finally caught up with Caleb. He could barely keep his eyes open and I convinced him we needed to stop because I didn’t know how to drive. Caleb laughed at me, but pulled into a motel for the night. The place wasn’t much to look at, and quite honestly, the people in the parking lot were scary. This was definitely not a tourist destination.
“They’re probably going to steal the truck. You know that, right?” I said.
Caleb shrugged, “I’ll steal another one in the morning.” I laughed; Caleb didn’t.