Page 18 of Caught in the Middle

She was starving, and didn't care what she looked like as she wolfed down a burger, two portions of chips, picked at a salad and guzzled down a large banana milkshake.

'Jesus, so you do eat, it was just my food you were worried about?' Oliver said, looking on in amusement as he sipped a coffee.

'Well, there was a definite possibility that you were trying to drug me,' she said between mouthfuls.

'Drugged you!' he tilted his head back in laughter, 'why on earth would I need to drug you?'

Lucy shrugged her shoulders and slurped on her milkshake. 'I don't know, to rape me or something.'

He shook his head, smirking in disbelief. He then leaned forward on his elbows.

'Rape you?' he said, with a twinkle in his eye, 'if I wanted to have sex with you, I'm sure I wouldn't have to drug you.'

Lucy's mouth went dry, and she felt her face flush crimson. By the display of Oliver's wide, white grin, he enjoyed watching her squirm with embarrassment.

Once she had finished eating, Oliver paid the bill with a huge wad of cash, and led her into a small camping store opposite.

'You're going to need something else to wear,' he said, picking stuff off the rack.

She put a hand on his shoulder. 'How about let me choose?'

'Ah, of course your majesty, my apologies.' He opened his arms and pretended to bow to her.

She browsed through the shit selection of ugly clothes, clearly aimed at people who were going somewhere outdoors, like on a camping holiday, or who needed a warmer coat on the way up to a hiking spot.

She had no idea where she was going, so she picked up a pair of ugly jeans, a thick fleece and few t-shirts. They then went into the pharmacy next door, and Lucy picked up a toothbrush and the only pack of underwear they had – ugly, shapeless white ones, whilst Oliver pretended not to look.

She shook her head as the cashier rang them up through the till. She couldn't help but think how ugly Oliver must think she is. She bet all of the girls he knew were beautiful, slim with a great career. Lawyers, doctors. With fantastic hair.

All he'd seen of her was her disgusting, hungover look. She could spruce herself up when she wanted to, you know.

She pushed the thought out of her mind. Oliver didn't even think of her like that, he literally couldn't care less about what she looked like, all he cared about was getting her to safety. This wasn't going to be some Hollywood movie where he rescues her, they fall in love and then they live happily ever after with two babies and a cute dog.

Lucy went to the bathroom in the service station to change into her new purchases. She pulled on the ugly pink fleece, as well as her new jeans. Staring at herself in the mirror, she sighed. Sure, she looked cleaner, she'd managed to comb her fingers through her ratty hair after her shower, and she'd scrubbed the flakes of mascara off of her eyes. Oliver's comment about her looking like a teenager rang in her ears. She definitely looked younger without any makeup on, but nobody had ever said she looked younger than her years before.

It made her feel... disappointed. Patronised. She wanted to show him that she was a grown ass woman! But then again, what was the point, why on earth would he care about how old she was - and why should she care what he thinks - when her life was on the line.

Oliver couldn't hide his cheeky smirk when she came out of the ladies bathroom.

'You look like a girl scout,' he teased, 'away on her first trip without mummy.'

Lucy swatted him away, mildly annoyed.

It was still raining when they headed back to the car, but Lucy felt considerably more comfortable, even though reality of what was happening to her had well and truly sunk in.

She was on the run.

When pulled back onto the motorway, she hummed along to some of the songs that Oliver played on the radio, but the fact that she was on the run stayed on her mind. After her little epiphany in the services car park, she realised that this was important, she needed to start being proactive and on her guard.

As much as she was beginning to realise that Oliver had her best interests, she couldn't rely on him to keep her safe.

As the car sped down the slippery motorway, Lucy couldn't help but glance at every car passing them by. Are they watching me? She thought, every time a male driver caught her eye as they sped past. She kept subtly checking out of the back window, to see if anyone was following them too closely. If anyone was tailing them when they changed lanes.

As the rain began to get heavier, she turned to Oliver, who was humming the lyrics to one of Kayne's newest tracks.

'Can I have that gun back?'

Oliver frowned and turned down the volume dial on the radio.

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