Escaping Parker - F.T. Zele Page 0,56

fall more and more for him every day. Even the most subtle, smallest gestures let me know he’s thinking of me.

“So where are we going?” I ask on the way to the car.

“You’ll see. It’s not too far away.” An excited grin splits his face.

So I sit back and watch where we are going, trying to learn the streets. It takes no longer than five minutes, and Rig pulls into a shopping center parking lot. A bunch of kids all dressed up walk around with bulging bags, their parents in tow.

My lips pull up into the biggest smile ever, and I stop walking for a second, making Rig stop beside me. I throw my arms around his neck, hugging him tightly. A squeal practically bursts out of me and I place a small kiss on his cheek.

“One more thing.” He pulls a small bag of candy out of his pocket and hands it to me.

“Do you always think of everything?”

“No, not always, but I do try.” His hand squeezes mine.

So many things run through my mind at this very second. I’m elated to be out on one of the best nights, smitten that he knows exactly what to do to make sure there is always a smile on my face. It’s so rare to find that in a person, let alone a guy who barely even knows me. We walk around, just watching the kids. Of course I’m pointing out all the costumes, telling him which ones I think are homemade. After a while, we pick up a snack and find a bench outside a dry-cleaning store.

“And you didn’t want to come.” He bumps his shoulder with mine, grinning.

“I’m happy you convinced me to go, it feels . . . comfortable here. Like I belong. Is that weird?” I ask, lowering my head.

“No, not weird. It’s actually a good thing. You should like where you are staying, or it makes it a lot more difficult than it could be.” He places his hand on my knee.

“So why don’t we get out of here? Let’s go eat some of the candy we have at home and call it a night.” I don’t want anything to ruin this great night.

So I resort to old times and get a newspaper from the store. I figure now is as good a time to find a job as any. Not doing anything during the day drives me crazy, and I’ve been here long enough to know I am staying.

I call around to some places, but since I can’t use my name and don’t have the qualifications to back up what I am trained to do, I hit dead ends.

“You going somewhere?” Rig calls from his doorway.

“I’m going to go explore, maybe find someplace that has a help wanted sign in the front. I don’t know why, but this place seems a little dated, like they still do things the old-fashioned way,” I say as we walk into the living room together.

“Do you want me to go with you?” His forehead crinkles with worry lines.

“That’s sweet, but I can do this. I need to figure this place out, and since you will be leaving here sometime in the future, I better get acquainted to living on my own again.”

His face falls. “Well, make sure you have your phone on you at all times.”

“Already in my pocket, I’ll be fine.” I reassure him before setting out on my little expedition.

I pretend I don’t have any reservations about going out on my own, but truly I’m a little nervous. I’m not scared about anybody finding me, because over the last six months, we have been clear, never seeing anybody, or getting any sort of signal that they know where we are, but they say you can’t see monsters in the dark when they are hiding. I’m more nervous about finding my own way, figuring out this new place, and trying to carry on the strength to do things alone.

I peek behind me to make sure Rig isn’t trying to sneak out and follow me. I know the kind of protector he is, but I don’t blame him, though.

I wander aimlessly, in and out of shopping centers, making an effort to go into some small businesses and ask if they are hiring. No bites yet, but I know it takes a lot more that one day to find a job. For a change of scenery, I decide to take a different way home, passing by some office buildings on