"So, you do have a destination in mind.” He began slotting the pieces together instantly. “That’s why you’ve been eager to leave. You aren’t only running away, you’re runningtosomething else.”
Unsure how to respond to any of that without giving too much away but he didn’t expect a response, just working through it for himself.
Only a few seconds passed before he nodded. “Okay, I do have a solution for that."
"You do?"
"How about I drive you as far as you’re comfortable with?"
8.The Trouble with High Expectations
John
Goodbyes were awkward. Temple and I lingered on the edge of the street in broad daylight. Not the best plan for a guy being chased by a homicidal coven. I just wasn’t sure what to do.
"So,” I said. “This is it."
"Yeah." Temple nodded, hands in the pockets of his suit pants.
Though they were both detectives, Temple dressed more businesslike than Chase. What was up with that? Preferences? Guess I’d never find out.
"What now?"
“I’ll wait here for an hour or so,” he suggested. “Then I’ll look around and make sure everything seems okay. If there’s no signs of distress and you don’t come back…” Then any number of things could go wrong in the meantime. We both knew that. “Then I’ll have to assume you’ve gotten where you’re going.”
Alright then. Neither of us made the first move to leave. At least our loitering seemed harmless. We were out in a more residential area, not exactly on the coven’s radar like downtown.
"Hey,” Temple said. “Our door is always open if you need anything or just want to check in. We can’t reveal much, but Chase gives brief updates to several survivors about the ongoing efforts to track down everybody sold and holding the buyers accountable."
Exactly the kind of thing I’d be interested in…and something I could learn from the other survivors. I’d been so eager to go before yet now I was full of reluctance. Just one last thing.
“Thanks for the ride." And for more. “Tem—Lysander, thank you."
"You don’t have to—”
"I want to," I insisted.
"No trouble at all.” His eyes met mine. “Even if only for a short time, I enjoyed getting to know you."
Yeah, and who was he getting to know? Who was I? The question lodged in my throat, too afraid to voice it and hear the answer.
Whoever I was, I was better off after meeting him.
Fresh from the basement and full on freaking out, Aaron had promised that every stranger wouldn’t be a potential enemy forever. He promised I’d be able to connect to people again one day, people that weren’t also helpless captives.
I figured he was full of shit.
Then I met Lysander Temple.Look ma, I connected!That’s what I thanked him for. He showed me it was possible to actually want to get to know someone and want to trust them. Our time together was brief, but I’d remember him for a long time. He gave me hope for the future.
Finally, we began putting distance between ourselves and actually parting ways.
"You deserve a free and happy life," Temple told me.
"Thanks, you too,” I said back, making it kinda weird. “Uh, I mean..."
He smiled. "I understand."
With a deep breath, I turned and my feet began carrying me away from him. I took a right at the first street corner, needing to stop feeling his eyes on my back. I ended up bringing him a lot closer to my target than I planned but that was probably for the best in case something went wrong.
