Page 20 of Eclipse of the Pack

At first, Ivy had attempted to break the tension by pointing out things along the roadside or asking a question. Every time she was greeted with little more than a nod, head shake, or short answer. More often than not, she was left in silence.

Jon was lost in thought. Jon had always been a simple man. He was truly a straight forward kind of guy. He liked things to be plain and simple… But this situation that he had found himself in was far, far from simple.

He never thought that he would see such intense violence up close. He never even considered that he would one day watch five men get torn limb from limb before his very eyes. But, most of all. He never thought he would be madly in love with the woman that had done it.

He threw a glance over to where she sat in the drivers seat. Her blue eyes were trained on the road before them. She wasdressed in the extra clothes they had managed to find in the trunk of the car when they had to stop for gas miles back.

The T-Shirt was worn and faded, but it surprisingly fit her almost perfectly. The light peachy orange of the shirt and the blue lettering made her eyes stand out that much more.

Earlier that day, he had seen so much fear in those eyes. Fear that had quickly morphed to murderous rage as she shifted. Ivy had the eyes of a killer. She killed those men. Ripped in to them as if they were nothing more than scraps of paper…

And yet. He could not being himself to feel fear. Any normal, reasonable human would have bailed by now. Ran and never looked back. Apparently, he was not a reasonable man like he had thought when the day began.

The small snort of a laugh escaped hi bs lips before he could stop it. Ivy blinked and looked over at him. Confusion washed over her face when she found he was already staring at her.

“… Um… Hi there.” She said as she fought off her own laugh. Her eyebrow arced upwards in question as she looked from him, to the road, then back again.

“… You’re so pretty.” He said before he could take a moment to think a second longer. Jonathen found himself shaking with laughter along with her as she burst out. The genuine laugh resounded in the car, echoing as they both howled with laughter in the small space.

Ivy’s laughmade his chest feel warm. He had never really understood the whole ‘butterflies in your stomach’ concept. It honestly sounded painful to him. But with Ivy… He got it. He understood.

“Over an hour of silence then the first thing you say is ‘you’re pretty’?!” Ivy laughed. Cackling so hard she almost snorted.

“What can I say? I am a man of taste after all.” Jonathen snorted as Ivy visibly cringed, rolling her eyes.

“Ah. Yes. A man of quality for sure.”

Silence broke out in the car once again – but, this time it was not tense. It was comfortable and familiar to them. Neither one had realized how much they needed that laugh. It felt good. It felt right.

Jon glanced in the side view mirror on the passenger side – and noticed something that made the smile slowly leave his face. He frowned. Leaning closer to the window for a better look.

There was a black SUV… Didn’t they pass a Black SUV already? Jonathen considered for a moment that it could simply be nerves, and he could be overreacting to a non-issue. But, when Ivy took the next exit, the SUV did as well.

Jon slowly looked to his left, to Ivy. She was still smiling. Humming along to the music playing over the static. Jonathen’s brow furrowed more, frown growing deeper.

“… Ivy?” He slowly asked. Eyes trained on the vehicle behind them. “I think… I think we are being followed.

25

IVY

The words caused the content smile to instantly drop from Ivy’s face. Immediately, she looked into the rear view mirror. Her eyes locked on to the vehicle tailing them, taking in any notable features.

The SUV’s windows were so tinted that she couldn’t even tell if there was a passenger present, or how many it could be. Ivy and Jon shared a glance. Her alarm bells rang loudly. She swerved. Not enough to get off the road, but just enough to see if the SUV would mimic her.

It did. When she swerved, it swerved. When she went left, the SUV followed. The mystery driver was definitely on their tail with a purpose. She did not want to find out what that purpose was.

Her eyes scanned the road ahead for something. Anything with a well lit parking lot or a good few cars present. Darkness was closing in. Night was coming, and so was the car.

In a split second decision, she took an abrupt right. Turning off the freeway into a rest stop area. They quickly passed the rows of gas pumps and circled around to a well-lit diner that was packed full of people.

“Are you sure this is a good idea?” Jonathen said. Weary of the situation.

She wasn’t. But a better idea did not present itself. She took a deep breath and killed the engine. Her eyes were trained on the SUV. Watching as it grew closer and closer before parking in the lot in the next alvliable space over.

Ivy wasted no time. She stepped out of the stolen car and hopped up onto the walkway. Jon followed suit. Soon, the two were seated in the loud, crowded diner. Laughter and small talk flooded the room.

Their waitress was a young brunette teenager who was very new to her job. She had to take their order twice before getting it written down correctly. Jonathen had ordered for Ivy, who had not said a word since they entered the building. Her eyes remained locked onto the SUV.

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