Free At Last Right?

As I sat waiting for the Amtrak to leave the station, a hundred different scenarios on how my parents would find me bounced around in my mind. It wasn't until I felt the first pull of the train as it left the station that I calmed down and my ragged breathing returned to normal.

I was going to make it. I was going to be free!

With that thought, my anxiety melted away and, in its place, a bubbling feeling of euphoria blossomed.

I was free! For the first time in my life I was totally free!

I threw my head back, and a carefree, genuine laughter spilled out of me.

"Excuse me, miss?" A soft brush on my shoulder sent a spike of fear down my spine, and plugged the laughter in my throat. Oh no! They've found me! I tensed, readying myself for a fight, but when I glanced up a pair of honey-brown mixed with mint green eyes met mine. I was pulled into their depths and my heart leapt in my chest.

He was beautiful. All my worries fell away as something in me shifted and recognized him on a level I didn't understand. I was sure that I had never seen him before; yet I felt as though we were somehow connected.

He was tall. Taller than my dad who stood at almost 6 feet. He sported a gentle jaw line, full kissable pink lips, and a head of golden-red hair that almost touched the ceiling.

He was a feast for my eyes. The gentle, serene, smile tugging on his lips made me tear my eyes away from his. I tried to focus on what he was saying but the sound of his voice intensified that strange feeling in the depth of my soul. I frowned as my brain struggled to recover the memory of where we had met.

I shook my head slightly and refocused on his words. Just in time to hear him say "I believe you are in my seat."

"No. I don't think so. My ticket says 15B."

I quickly searched my pocket and with a flourish, lips pursed, presented my ticket. He cocked an eyebrow, took the ticket and scanned it. A smile curled up the edges of his perfectly shaped mouth; softening his face even more and leaving me breathless, once more.

"Actually, your ticket says Coach 15B; this is First Class."

"Oh, oh, I am so sorry! I didn't realize."

Embarrassed and regretting the sass I had given him, I quickly gathered my things and made to leave. I should have known I was in the wrong place. It was too ritzy for a $190 ticket. There was a sitting area and a door that opened into sleeping quarters.

It was fortunate that he had entered when he did because I was moments away from drifting off to sleep. Between the beating I had taken last night and the 3 mile run to the T station, I was beyond weary.

I was almost through the door when he called out to me. "Wait, you don't have to leave. It's a two-bed cabin."

As I glanced back at him, a feeling of trust bloomed in my gut. It was okay to trust him! I didn't know why I felt this way but I just knew that if I stayed with him, I would be safe. I hesitated for a few beats watching his eyes while deciding if I should really rely on the sense of familiarity and safeness that the brush of his hand had instilled in me. Then with a slow nod, I turned back and sat across from him.

"I can just stay here like this? Won't I get in trouble?"

With a chuckle that soothed my anxiety and reinforced my instinct to trust him; he shook his head.