Out Of The Woods

Zoe's Point Of View 

I've already come face to face with death; in fact, I still have the marks to prove it, and now I'm running away to stay alive. 

Two weeks ago I was making plans with James for our future, and now my present consists of surviving and reaching for another day. 

In the corridor, with my back against the cold, peeling paint of the diner that had seen better days, I saw two men showing a photo of me smiling at the woman behind the counter. In the state I was in, I doubted she would associate the picture of the smiling girl with shiny hair wearing expensive clothes with me, in a sweatshirt, with my face still full of bruises from the car accident and my greasy hair covered by a hoodie. Even so, I had to get out of there, I had to disappear from Seattle. Staying away from Albert wasn't enough; I had to get out of sight, out of reach of his greedy clutches, or I'd be dead before I could call for help. 

God, how had the man who had shown himself to be decent for years turned into the monster who wanted to kill a twenty-year-old girl just for money? 

I had no proof that the accident I suffered a week ago was an attempted murder set up by my stepfather, but I knew it was him; I could feel it in my bones. His veiled words in the hospital left no doubt; that running away was the only way to protect my life. 

I didn't know what I would do, I didn't know who I could ask for help without putting more people in danger, and I didn't know how anyone would believe an idiot girl when the accused was a powerful name in Seattle. In short, I was on a bad path and couldn't see a way out. 

With my head down, I walked through the crowd, pulling up my hood to hide my face more. I passed behind the men talking to the waitress behind the counter. The short route I had taken a few minutes earlier seemed enormous now. When I reached the door, the impulse to turn around to make sure I was safe led me right into the eyes of one of the men. I turned quickly and was out the door as fast as I could. My feet hit the ground fast, and I gradually increased my pace until I was running through the rainy streets of Seattle. 

I didn't look back, but something inside me told me not to stop, but to run as fast as I could, and that's what I did. 

I ran for my life. 

I ran until my lungs burned, and my legs failed me. When I fell to the ground in an alley behind a rubbish dump, with no idea where else to go and no strength to keep going, I knew my end was near. 

They were behind me, so close. 

I heard their footsteps even in the heavy rain. My body shook as I stood up, feeling the pain in my fractured ribs that hadn't had time to heal. That's when the water splashed with the impact of a black military boot on the puddle of water. I slowly raised my face to meet the eyes of the monstrous man who would put an end to my life. 

He had a sneering smile on his face as he raised the gun in my direction. 

I was frozen. 

I knew that at such times we should draw strength from wherever and fight for our lives, but that was all I had done since Mom died. I was exhausted and so weak; all I wanted to do was lie down on that wet floor and let my body rest for just a second... Maybe death wouldn't be so bad now. 

I closed my eyes when I heard the gun being cocked and my thoughts went back to Mom and our last summer. The two of us sitting on the beach, watching the waves come and go, and that feeling of belonging and calm, as if everything made sense, at least for that moment. 

I took a deep breath and waited for the pain to cut through my body and for my life to be taken away so where I could meet Mom again. I heard the sound of the gunshot rip through the air. I felt the hot blood reach my face even though the rain washed it away seconds later, but the pain didn't tear my body apart, and I wasn't dead. 

I opened my eyes slowly, meeting large blue eyes so close to me that my breath was cut off. He wasn't the man standing in front of me seconds before. I didn't know how he got there, what I did know was that I couldn't take my eyes off his and that his big hand holding my shoulder made me feel protected. 

"We need to get out of here," he said, his deep voice making me shiver. "Linda, we need to go..." 

"I..." My eyes went behind him, crouched in front of me, and there was the body of a fallen man. The man who was going to kill me. "He... I-It..." 

"He's dead, but I think you're still in danger. I saw two of them behind you, we need to get out of here." 

I nodded without knowing what I was really doing. I shouldn't be agreeing to go somewhere with a man I'd never seen before in my life and who had just killed someone... Killed a person to protect me, he killed a person to protect me... 

The man's large hands lifted me off the ground and his arms, covered in a leather jacket, wrapped around me for a brief second, bringing my face to his chest, where I was able to inhale his woody scent and extract some of the warmth he exuded. 

"Come on, beautiful." He grabbed me and led me to his motorcycle parked just ahead. "You need to hold on to me, okay?" My chin trembled as I was placed on the giant bike. "Trust me, I won't hurt you." 

"W-Who are you? I don't know you." The man got on the bike and took my hands to wrap them around his waist. 

"I'm someone who will do anything to keep you safe." 

I wanted to ask that man for more than those words, but the situation I was in didn't allow me to ask any questions, at least not at that moment. What happened next was like a blackout because I couldn't remember beyond cutting through the city with a stranger in the rain... 

"What was Dad like?" I laid my head on Mom's shoulder as I watched the waves break on the sand. 

"He was..." She sighed and I smiled. I couldn't see his face now in the position we were in, but I was sure it must have looked like the photos she had kept in her golden box at the back of the cupboard. Happiness is in its purest state. "A disaster." 

I let out a laugh. 

"He was so annoying, stubborn as a mule, so bossy..." She let out her melodic laugh that always made me smile. "And he loved us more than his own life. From the first moment I saw your father, I knew I could never resist him, that I could trust him with my life. It was an inexplicable feeling, but it was there, and it's still here." 

"I wish I could remember him," I murmured softly. 

"I know, darling." I felt Mom's lips kiss my hair. "I hope that one day you'll have the chance to find a man as good at loving and protecting you as I did, my princess." 

I opened my eyes abruptly with the familiar pain in my chest that I felt every time I remembered or dreamed of my mother. God! How I missed her. 

I moved my aching body where I lay, and my eyes went beyond my bed as consciousness hit me. The men are looking for me. Me running in the rain. The man with the gun to my head, and then the shot... 

I sat up in bed with my heart almost bursting out of my mouth. 

Where was I? I wasn't dead. 

I didn't know anything about death, but I doubted that when you died, you ended up in a musty-smelling old hotel room. 

"Ahh!" I moaned, feeling my back. My hand trailed down my body just to confuse me even more. I wasn't wearing the clothes I'd stolen from the hospital. Instead of the sweatshirt and jeans, I seemed to be dressed in a men's shirt much bigger than me. "What the hell?" I carefully threw my legs off the bed and tried to get up, but the pain in my back caught me again and I gave up moving. 

What made me freeze completely was the bedroom door being opened. A man walked in dressed all in black with bags in his hands, a lazy smile playing on his lips as soon as he saw me. 

"You're awake... How do you feel?" His deep, husky voice caught me off guard and his bright, turbulent blue eyes left me a little breathless. 

"W-Who are you?" I asked, cringing when he took a step towards me. For all I knew, he could be someone hired by Albert to do me harm. 

I needed to get out of here. Where were my clothes? My eyes wandered around the room, but I didn't see anything of mine. 

"You don't remember, huh?" The man retraced his steps, then walked over to the table on the other side of the room, placing the bags on it before turning to me. "You were almost killed last night. I saved you and shot a guy for you." 

"What?" My head hurt, but when I closed my eyes a flash of blue eyes in the middle of the rain came into my head. "I-I... I-I..." I tried to breathe, but my chest hurt too much. 

"Shii." The man walked briskly towards me, and before I could flinch he was touching me, his warm hands calming a growing fear inside me. "It's okay, breathe with me, beautiful." He spoke softly, his voice penetrating my pores. 

I squeezed my eyes shut once more and then his voice rang in my head. "Honey, we need to go..." I opened them again, and he was looking at me with his turbulent eyes. 

"Breathe with me." He let out a slow breath and I mimicked him, then he took a deep breath and I followed suit. "That's... You must be confused about what happened last night, it was very traumatic. You had a fever at night too because of the rain." 

"You were there," I said, and he nodded with a small smile. "I-I... They were going to kill me." The memories of last night ran strangely and confusedly through my head. "You saved me." I sobbed as I felt hot tears run down my face. 

"I was just in the right place at the right time, beautiful," he said, shrugging as if it was nothing to kill a man to save a girl he didn't know. 

"You saved me and took care of me. Nothing makes sense in my head yet. I-I don't know you... You don't know me..." 

The absurdly handsome and until now mysterious man raised his hand slowly, looking at my face, and touched my cheek where a tear was trickling down my skin. He was so gentle that his touch felt like a soft breeze. There was a kind of adoration in his gaze that disconcerted me. 

"I would never let someone hurt you just because they didn't know you. We'll have time for that." 

"T-time? I-I have to go." I pulled away from his touch, climbing back into bed. I had to get my head around reality and reality wasn't the best for me right now. I needed to get out of Seattle as soon as possible. "I-It won't stop until I'm dead." 

The man stiffened his jaw, gritted his teeth, and then stood up from the bed abruptly, starting to walk around the room. 

"Who's after you and why does he want you dead?" 

My heart was pounding in my chest. 

I had to get out of there, I couldn't afford to trust a stranger. How could I just tell him everything about my life when I at least knew his name? Shit! He'd seen me naked, and I at least knew his name... 

"Who took my clothes off?" I asked suddenly, and I saw his face relax in surprise at my question. 

"I did. You couldn't go on in the wet clothes you were in... You're going to get sick. In fact, you're sick, you've had a fever all night." 

"You saw me naked..." I said, horrified, only one man had ever seen me naked. 

"As much as you must be incredibly naked, and I'd love to worship your body, last night, that was my last thought. All I wanted was to keep you warm and free of pneumonia..." 

I nodded, less nervous. He didn't touch me, he didn't take advantage of me. I let the air out of my lungs slowly. 

"I need my clothes. I have to go," I repeated. 

"And where are you going? I don't think I have any money. Or the ability to run away. I saw your back, the abrasions... You probably have one or more fractured ribs." 

God! I was in a deplorable state. 

"What am I going to do?" I sobbed. I sobbed. "He's going to kill me if I don't get out of Seattle." 

"Who is he? And why is he doing this?" I looked away from the mysterious man who was baffling me, and from the sound of his sigh of frustration, I thought he understood that I wasn't yet ready to give him my trust and tell him my story. "Okay, beautiful. You don't have to tell me about it now, but at some point, if you really want my help, you'll have to tell me what the hell is going on, and why someone would want to hurt you." 

I swallowed and nodded. 

"Where are we?" 

"Safe for now." He walked back to the table and picked up the bag he'd brought with him, bringing it over to me. "At a roadside hotel near the Seattle exit." 

"Okay." That was good. It would be easier to get out of there when I could. "Thank you for what you did for me... You... You don't know how grateful I am. I-I... You can go back to your life, I can manage from now on..." I picked up the outstretched bag, expecting the mysterious man to walk away, but instead, he sat on the end of the bed, looking at me in a way that made my stomach turn. 

"Didn't you hear anything I said? I want to help you... And you need to get out of Seattle, right? I have the perfect solution to get you out of here." 

"How?" 

"Yesterday when I saved you, I was on my way out of town, going to the place where I was born, where my family is... It's a long way from here... Alabama. If you want, you can come with me." 

"Alabama? I-I... Would you take me with you?" 

"I would if you wanted me to..., but I need you to trust me that I won't do you any harm..." 

I let out a strange, nervous laugh. 

"I don't even know your name yet..." 

"And neither do I know yours, beautiful." 

My stomach somersaulted when I heard the affectionate nickname scratching through his thick voice. 

"I'm... Zoe." I extended my hand towards him and a breathtaking smile broke out on my mystery man's face. 

"I'm Cole." He shook my hand and then pulled it up, placing his lips on my knuckles and kissing them. "It's a pleasure to meet you."