51

As soon as we were all back in the box, Chiara unfolded a huge map on the table and searched it while Jayden got behind the wheel and Josie had disappeared into the bathroom.

"Do you think it's warm here?" Chiara asked me, pointing to a point on the map. "How should I know? Besides, it doesn't give a shit whether it's warm or cold. We only feel warmth anyway."

She looked at me in disbelief and shook her head in annoyance. "But Jo doesn't care! Should she freeze to death on the beach?!" the dark blonde hissed at me softly, which made me grin to myself. "She can warm herself up against me," I whispered and leaned forward provocatively, but Chiara rolled up the card and slapped it on my head. "Idiot!" she stammered and then ran to Jayden to continue studying the map next to him.

I leaned back on the narrow bench and looked out the window across from me to watch the beautiful scenery go by. Where before I only knew Woodlin and Wald, nature showed me the beautiful view of fields, anyway small towns and a wide variety of shops. "Hey," came Josie's voice next to me and when I looked over at her, my breath caught again.

She looked so beautiful with her hair wrapped in a small towel while wearing only a tight tank top on her torso which gave me a glimpse of several small tattoos on her upper arms. "Hey," I stuttered back to her, turning my gaze back to the window to keep from freaking out.

"I don't want to be rude, but I wanted to ask if you guys have anything to eat here?" she asked me smiling and then rubbed her wet hair with the towel and sat so close to me that I shivered a bit she had to slip away. She had such an extreme effect on me that I forgot everything around me as soon as her scent hit my nostrils or our eyes met even briefly.

"We're about to stop at a gas station!" Jayden called from the front and she leaned forward a bit to take a deep breath. "Thanks!" she answered him loudly and then turned back to me. "Shall we play cards?"

I gave her a questioning look and she ran to her thin leather jacket to pull out a small package. "Do you know Maumau?" "No," I replied, feeling like a fool, but she smiled sweetly and started shuffling and dealing the cards.

She explained to me like an idiot how the game worked and after the first two rounds I got it and had to admit that it was really fun. "So, Ethan. Chiara said you've never seen the beach. Is that really true?" she asked me, shuffling the cards with her delicate hands without taking her eyes off me.

"Yes, unfortunately true. I grew up in a small village," I explained to her, hoping she wouldn't take me for a backworlder after my words, but her mood lifted, as if she were even enjoying it. "Then I'm curious to see your facial expression when you see the high waves and feel nothing but the sand between your toes."

She glared at me affectionately, then avoided my gaze to deal the cards again. "If I win, you tell me something from your past," she then said and took her cards in her hand with a grin.

"Okay, but if I win-" "You won't," she interrupted, looking me defiantly in the eye. I already loved her open nature, I couldn't have started with a shy woman, but she was quick-witted, so I didn't have to hold back my cheeky jokes. "We'll see, little one," I hissed provocatively and laid down my first card.

The game felt like forever like we played for hours with those eight cards in our hands and who would have thought I was even lucky enough to win. "I let you win just so you know," she smirked, crossing her petite arms across her chest. "Yes, I believe you," I laughed and she joined in my laughter, which made my otherwise cold heart glow.

"All right then, ask something," she then said, leaning back while I spotted a tattoo on her wrist that showed a period and a comma. "What does the tattoo mean?" I asked, not knowing that this question would make her so uncomfortable.

She looked shakily at her wrist and then back at me, before lowering her head and taking a deep breath.

I looked down at the tattoo and reminded myself how easy it was to make the decision to stop living. It only took me a second to hit this one, but I couldn't and got this tattoo instead. I wanted to prove to myself that I could still do it if I wanted to, so I left that choice open.

Taking a deep breath, I turned my gaze back to Ethan, who was eyeing me with concern. How I would have liked to open myself up to someone, but I didn't know him at all and didn't intend to show him my fragile, broken side. He was still too strange to me for that.

"It's a semicolon tattoo and means that I can make decisions about my life," I smiled at him reassuringly, but he kept his worried expression, which made me quite uncomfortable and I quickly took the cards again and wanted them straight mix, suddenly Chiara stood with us.

"We'll be at the gas station in five minutes," she gave me a friendly wink and sat down next to Ethan, eyeing us both curiously. "What's wrong?", Ethan asked her annoyed and turned to her, but she just smiled at him and shook her head. "No, everything is OK."

He rolled his eyes and I knew he'd rather be alone with me, but Chiara was just what I needed and when Jayden stopped, we all got out together. "I'll just fill up the tank," said Jayden and Chiara insisted on giving him a long kiss before she entered the gas station with us.

"What do we need anyway?" Ethan asked the dark blonde, who was holding a piece of paper in her hand. "Come with me. I wrote everything down." The two disappeared for drinks while I strolled over to the newspapers to be shocked to find that the car I had stolen was on display for a search.

In a panic, I turned all the newspapers over and walked over to the others, who seemed to be arguing about the drink choices. "Are you actually stupid or something?" Chiara snapped at the black-haired man and I was amazed at the strength that suited her. She actually seemed quite shy and loving to me, but she was different with Ethan. Maybe they were siblings, I thought to myself, and kept listening to find out what it was all about.

"You can't drink whiskey if you continue driving later instead of Jayden! He needs a break too!" "Yeah, a break to fuck you in the loo," Ethan laughed and Chiara punched him in the shoulder. "I'm serious, Ethan!" she hissed angrily, and I felt like I had to intervene before they banged their heads.

"We'll buy the bottle, let him drink it. I'll drive if Jayden needs a break." They both stared at me and Chiara quickly turned back to Ethan. "All right!" She handed him the bottle and walked on while Ethan gave me a grateful smile. I gave him a satisfied grin and then ran out of the gas station to stretch my legs a little while still under the sun.

"Do they both have everything?" Jayden came towards me and stopped questioning next to me. "Are they siblings?" I asked curiously, ignoring his question. He laughed out loud and shook his head in the negative. "No, but I know what you mean. They fight like they are."

I smiled at him and he disappeared into the gas station behind me. The sun burned my face and I was really thankful for this quiet moment. I was constantly afraid that my ex would find me, or even worse, the police, and it really suited me to be traveling in an RV, because I'm sure no one would suspect me.

"Soooo," Chiara said, appearing next to me and I drew my attention to her. "We have everything. I bought rolls and schnitzel, I hope you eat something like that." I nodded to her and was actually thankful that they would share their meal with me.

"Here," Jayden said, handing me a pack of cigarettes. "So you don't always have to ask." I accepted it and was totally overwhelmed at the same moment. They were so welcoming and just plain nice, I hadn't seen anything like that before and for the first time I felt bad about not being able to give anything back to others.

Ethan was the last one out of the gas station and he was wearing really horrible sunglasses, even pink ones, and I couldn't help but laugh heartily. "Chiara!" he suddenly growled, tearing off his sunglasses to admire me despite his fierce gaze as I burst out laughing.