I swore the universe hated me.
Chapter 14
Oliver
“We’ll just grab a couple of bales before we head out,” a man outside the barn said.
Amelia’s eyes were wide in fear as she looked up at me, but her lips were still swollen and glistening from our kiss.
“How many do we need? Should I go back and get the trailer?” another man asked.
“No, I think we can just toss a few into the bed of the truck,” man number one replied as he fiddled with the latch on the barn. A second later, I heard the doors creak open as the men came inside.
Amelia was still looking up at me. Our chests were pressed together as we wedged ourselves into the small space between the stacked hay and the back exterior wall of the barn. Her lips were parted with her heavy breathing, and it made me wonder what had her panting more: the excitement of having me on top of her, kissing her, touching her, or the fear of being caught.
I heard the rustle of hay being moved. Every once in a while, there was a grunt made by the men lifting the heavy bales, and then we’d hear the thudding sound of something heavy landing in the metal truck bed. The two men worked quickly to load thetruck with bales, and only a few minutes after they arrived, they were closing up the barn and pulling away.
We didn’t move. We stayed in our hiding spot as we gave the men plenty of time to get away from the barn. After a minute or two, I finally spoke.
“I think we’re good. We should hit the road, get as far as we can while we have the light.” I pulled away from her and led the way to the side door that we came through the night before.
Deep down, I wanted to pick up where we left off, but I knew the moment had been broken, and we really did need to gain some miles. I had no idea how far we’d have to walk before we found civilization again.
I cracked open the door on the side of the barn and listened for several long seconds. When I didn’t hear anything but the sound of the wind blowing through the trees, I opened it fully and stepped out into the bright day. The inside of the barn was much darker than being out in the open field, and I squinted against the light as I let my eyes adjust.
Amelia stepped out behind me, and she shielded her eyes with her hand as she asked, “Which way are we heading?”
“It’s a toss-up,” I replied as I made the short walk to the road that ran in front of the barn. I looked right, then left. Directly on the opposite side of the road was just another massive field used for farming. “Right or left?”
She looked both ways, then shrugged. “Right?”
I nodded, and we both turned to our right and started down the road.
The road was paved, and that usually meant that it saw its fair share of traffic, yet we hadn’t seen a single car in the hours of walking.
Luckily, Crash had the foresight to pack some water and snacks in her bag. We didn’t talk much as we walked, but wedid share the last bottle of water and a couple of protein bars—it gave us just enough to keep going.
I hated how she was limping, though. I wanted to carry her from here to wherever, but I knew I couldn’t manage that far of a walk with her in my arms.
The later it got in the day, the hotter it became. We’d gone from freezing and shivering the night before to sweating our asses off as we walked across the black pavement. She’d taken her jacket off and tied it around her waist, leaving her in a tank top that hugged every curve, curves I had just started to explore.
“I need a shower and some clean clothes,” she said, breaking me from my thoughts of rolling around in the hay. “I smell like a barn.” Her nose wrinkled as she looked over at me.
I smirked, but didn’t reply. I was too lost in my own thoughts to think of a clever response.
“You feeling okay?”
I nodded.
“Yeah, I’m fine,” I told her. “Just hungry, tired, and trying to forget how bad this sucks. I mean, how fucking far from town are we?”
“Surely, it won’t be too much longer.”
That’s when the loud roar of a motor filled our ears. I stopped walking and turned to look behind me. I couldn’t see anything in either direction, but we could hear it. I prayed that it came our way so we could hitch a ride. Instead of standing there and wasting time, we kept walking for another couple of minutes until we could finally see the old, rusty truck traveling in our direction. It was loud and moving slowly, but it was still quicker than walking.
“Put your thumb out,” I told her, pulling her over to the edge of the road.
“Why do I have to do it?”
