"There's always a glimmer in those who have been through the dark."

~ Atticus

He drove at breakneck speed, the neon sign which read 'Jim's Diner' appearing within minutes.

"You seriously love living on the edge, don't you?" I chuckled as we got off.

"Something like that," he replied curtly, one hand swept away his locks from his forehead while the other pushed open the glass door.

I flipped my hair over to the other side of my head while walking in and felt my curls gently tickle my back as they bounced with every step I took. As I slid into the booth Tobias claimed for us, he took his leather jacket off and patted it.

"Wear it," he demanded. I gave him a puzzled look. "I'm not asking, Ariel," he said with a clenched jaw.

I immediately accepted it without any resistance, letting it drown my petite body. The brown jacket was made of the smoothest suede leather on the outside and a sheer lining of satin on the inside. His overwhelming scent consumed me as I closed my eyes and inhaled it.

Then it hit me, I had absentmindedly come all this way in my tank top, without my stole. My cheeks quickly turned red as I looked down at myself, covering my exposed chest by buttoning his jacket.

"I--I didn't realize, I was thinking about what I would eat..." I chuckled, trying to mask my embarrassment, my hair still tucked inside the jacket.

"Uh-huh." He eyed me.

We were interrupted by Miss Jazz, "What can I get you kiddos?" She smiled politely while holding her notepad, ready to take our order.

When I recalled that I had no money on me, I quickly said, "I won't be ordering."

Tobias furrowed his brows and said, "Excuse us." Miss Jazz nodded and left.

"I thought you were hungry?" he asked with genuine bafflement.

I released my lower lip from between my teeth before admitting, "I am hungry but...I didn't bring any money with me."

He rolled his eyes, "What do you like?" He pointed at the menu and ushered for the waitress to return.

"No, it's okay, you can just drop me home," I mumbled awkwardly.

He turned to Miss Jazz, "Pancakes with mint lemonade and a coke." My eyes lit up at the sound of his voice, wondering how he knew of my obsession with pancakes and lemonade.

"Be right back." She strutted away.

In no time his order arrived. Tobias pushed the stack of pancakes a.k.a heavenly goodness drizzled with honey, maple syrup, nuts, and berries towards me.

"Eat," he commanded.

I resisted the urge to attack the plate but my self-restraint crumbled when I heard the pancakes call out my name.

Don't judge me.

With a mouthful, I managed to choke out, "I'll pay you back." He rolled his eyes, a faint smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. "Sure you don' wan' some?" I asked him while stuffing my face.

"I've never had pancakes before," he told me as if it was no big deal.

With eyes the size of tennis balls, I gasped, "How is that--you've never had--how is that even possible?"

He shrugged and I chewed quickly so I could sip the lemonade.

"You need to try them, right now!" My enthusiasm was uncanny.

I immediately cut a piece for him, drowning it in maple syrup. I pierced it with a fork while lifting a blueberry as well. I extended the fork towards his mouth as he sat opposite me. His eyes narrowed down on it and then gazed into mine before slowly opening his mouth to devour the small bite.

He chewed slowly, savoring the taste after which he said with a satisfied look, "Damn, that's good."

The brightness in his eyes simmered when he watched me use the fork to consume my next bite. His eyes briefly lowered to my lips. I held his gaze, licking the maple syrup off my lower lip unintentionally as I chewed. His amber-colored orbs darkened before he clenched his jaw and finally looked away. I shifted in my seat, staring down at my plate.

"What?" I asked, breaking the moment.

"Nothing." He shrugged.

Suddenly, my phone began vibrating. I pulled it out of my pocket to see Stacy's caller ID. 

"What is it?"

"We've all been calling you non-stop. Where the hell are you?" she asked sternly.

I had snuck out early in the morning without informing anyone at home. Even though Jonah had seen me leave, he didn't know where I was, neither had I told Emily or Dan.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"Nana's in the hospital. Mom and Dad left more than an hour ago. They'll probably be in Milwaukee soon. Jonah and I called you more than a dozen times, but we've left now, almost thirty minutes in on 1-94."

My pulse quickened, "Is she okay? What happened?"

I heard movement on the other end before Jonah's voice replied, "She fell, hurt her head pretty bad. Aunt Cherry said she's still in the ICU. We'll know more when Mom and Dad reach."

"Okay, keep me posted," I replied, a little shaken up.

"Will do. We took the corolla so you can try taking the bus into the city and a train from there?" Jonah suggested.

I huffed, "I'll figure something out," before hanging up.

My eyes connected with Tobias' curious stare, "I need to get home. Now." I frantically got to my feet. He raised a brow, standing up and laying dollar bills on the countertop. "My Nana, my Mom's mother, she's in the hospital," I explained as we exited the diner. 

He unlocked the Impala, letting me clamber in. I continued rambling, "Head injury. It can't be good. If it's almost nine right now, I can make it to Milwaukee by one if I take the bus and then the train, hopefully, there're no stops--"

"You might want to stop to breathe, though." He eyed me for a second, the corners of his mouth twitching with amusement.

When we reached home, first I rushed inside to gather a few essential items and throw them into a bag. Then, I texted Jonah to tell him I was leaving too.

When I returned outside, I didn't expect Tobias to still be waiting for me but there he was, leaning against the side of his car and chewing on a piece of gum. Ignoring him momentarily, I dialed Dan, but it went straight to voicemail and I knew Emily would never get permission with her car. I considered calling Andy but Tobias interrupted my hyperventilation.

"I can drive you," he offered with a shrug.

I shook my head, "You already paid for my food. I'm not letting you drive me all the way to another city."

I tapped my foot against the pavement, contemplating my options. It was already half-past nine and time was ticking away. Realizing my lack of choices, I gave in, "Fine, but I'm paying you for the fuel."

Climbing into the Impala, I swung my bags over the front bench into the backseat. I sighed, lowering the window and propping my elbow on the windowsill.

"I hope she's okay."

"I'm sure she'll be fine," Tobias reassured me, his behavior almost astonishing.

"Thank you..." I smiled at him, "...for driving me." He nodded in response. "She taught me how to bake. I used to bake all the time, you know? Cookies, brownies, cakes. Anything and everything. But somewhere down the line I just stopped..."

"Why?"

"I grew up. I got busy. I don't really know. A whole lot of excuses and no real reason."

"She was beautiful," he said, "You asked me what my mom was like. She was...beautiful, not just on the outside but on the inside too. She saw the good in everything, she believed, loved endlessly, cared about others, helped them, and yet...her God didn't deem her worthy enough to live."

Inhale.

"The best of us are always the first to fly to heaven. God rest her soul," I whispered.

Exhale.

He replied, "So if your Nana 'flew away to heaven' you'd be okay?"

I sighed, "I'd accept it as God's will."

He shook his head, scoffing, "Easier said than done. There's no higher power, Ariel...there's no God. There's just chaos and violence. And that's all there is."

"You don't believe?"

"What, in God?" He chuckled humorlessly.

I shrugged, "God is at the center of everything. He's the reason we're able to breathe. He's in the air around us, inside our hearts. I mean, how can you not believe that everything happens for a reason? In destiny and fate?"

"Where was God when my mother was being murdered, huh? When her body was burning to a crisp...she had faith, like you, she believed, and where did that get her, huh?" His voice suddenly got louder, "Charred beyond recognition and six feet under! I refuse to believe that that was her destiny."

What the hell do I say to that?

Breathe.

A heavy silence overcame us until the car jerked to a halt at the gas station. He exited the car to fill the tank before appearing at my window, leaning in to ask, "Want anything?"

Holding my breath, I shook my head. He nodded before marching into the store allowing me to release a shaky breath. When my phone vibrated, I unlocked it to check what Jonah was saying.

MojoJojo: btw where were you

MojoJojo: all night??????

Me: none of your beeswax :)

MojoJojo: dw I won't rat on you sissy you can trust md :)

MojoJojo: me* 

Hearing the car door, I tossed my phone into my bag and sat up straighter. Tobias settled behind the wheel, placing a bag of snacks between us. I observed it, my eyes scanning the tic-tac's, packets of Doritos, Gatorade, and other items buried beneath.

"Ariel."

When he said my name I averted my gaze from the bag like it was the midday sun. 

Why did he have to say my name like that?

He tilted his head with a blank look, "You can have whatever you want."

Why is he being so nice?

Even though I told him I didn't want anything, I desperately needed sugar to sedate my nerves. Tobias was driving me to another city to see my hospitalized Nana. It wasn't normal. I didn't know whether he was being this way out of guilt or to get me to drop asking him questions. Either way, any resentment I had was withering away to dust. 

And that scared me. 

When I caught sight of a golden wrapper, I nervously asked, "Is that Twix?"

Please be Twix. Please be Twix.

With an affirming nod of his head, I lunged into the bag to claim it. I didn't want to be selfish and chow down all of it so I took a bite out of one of the sticks and pushed the other one towards Tobias. His striking amber eyes peered into mine before flickering towards the chocolate. Once he wrapped his lips around it, I instinctively let the piece go.

We drove like that for quite a while, eating and drinking until I heard the faint sound of a song on the radio. 

"Can I...turn it up?" I asked.

At the same time as my hand, Tobias extended his to rotate the volume dial. Our fingers grazed each other's in the process and I felt a spark. Not just the figurative kind, the static kind. I recoiled my fingers, peeking at Tobias through my peripheral vision to watch him purse his lips and increase the volume. 

When the speakers began playing Thinking Out Loud by Ed Sheeran, I began humming the melody. I rested my head on the edge of the seat, my left arm stretched out, the other one under my cheek. I pulled up my knees, my hips against the passenger door. The lull of the car ride and the beat of the song slowly weighed down my tired eyelids.

----

My grogginess blinked away as Tobias came into view, his silhouette outlined by a golden ring eclipsing the sun. All of a sudden, I couldn't help but admire how attractive he looked. My burning gaze traveled down his body, drowning in every inch of him.

I could get used to this.

Down girl.

As soon as I felt his head tilt, I squeezed my eyes shut, snuggling into the seat to hide my flustered cheeks. I held my breath, hoping he hadn't seen me drooling over him.

Breathe.

My heart skipped a beat when I sensed his fingers tickle my ear. My eyes flew open to reveal his amber irises staring back at me.

He cleared his throat, revoking his touch, "We're entering Milwaukee."

I rubbed my eyes, stifling a yawn and stretching my arms. I yawned again, covering my mouth.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to just snooze off like that. That was so rude of me, you drove me all this way, the least I could've done was give you some company," I began rambling. 

"You're rambling," was his amused reply.

After checking my phone, I informed Tobias which hospital Nana was at and he led us straight there. When we arrived, I grabbed my things haphazardly and got out.

"Thank you for driving me, Tobias. Really, thank you."

"No problem," he said before steering off.

Breathe.

————

Everything happens for a reason.

Please don't forget to vote, comment, and share if you enjoyed this chapter.

Love, Ari