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( CHAPTER FIVE )
THE NEXT MORNING, she woke up to find the Soldier already in the pickup. Arden was pretty sure he hadn't actually slept in it, so that must have meant he had spent the entire time awake just outside of their room door and had only come in to take the keys in the early morning, and that had woken her up. The thought left a bad taste in her mouth. He probably still preferred all of that over a night filled with nightmares, which she couldn't really blame him for.
What she found ridiculous though, was the cold shoulder James was giving her. They had been on the road for a few hours already and the man hadn't uttered a single word, his gaze fixed on the road and stubbornly avoiding her. He had barely looked up from the wheel when Arden had slipped into the passenger seat and then pointedly moved his eyes away. She was so baffled by his reaction that the fear from the previous night had fizzled into nothing, instead replaced by anger.
She had the imprint of his hand on her neck but he was the one ignoring her?
Arden trailed her fingers delicately up her throat, lost in thought, and missed the way the Soldier's eyes traced the movement before darting away, shoulders tense. Her neck wasn't black and blue yet, but it was definitely going in that direction by the way the skin had darkened considerably from last night. She didn't have medicine in her bag, but unless touched the bruises didn't hurt, though they did leave her with a sore throat. She hoped to find something the next time they stopped for gasoline and lunch.
The break came after almost four hours of complete silence. Arden was feeling more and more keyed up by the hour. Once they pulled up at the gas-station, she threw some money in the Soldier's lap and got out of the car without looking at him as soon as he turned the engine off.
"Buy me food and some pain relievers. I can't be seen in this state, it'll attract attention. I'll mind the car."
She didn't wait for his reply and went for the gas pumps, then moved the truck into the parking lot and settled in the back. The weather was nice, with the sun warming up her skin and a light breeze ruffling her hair. Arden savored the quiet for a few moments, the activities of the gas-station and the road just some muffled background noise.
She saw the Soldier advancing towards her, a small bag in his right hand, baseball cap lowered securely over his eyes, and felt herself droop a little at the thought of another kind of quiet settling between them, tense and stifling. Arden didn't think she had ever been chatty, had never felt the urge to fill in the silence, but the last few hours on the road with the Soldier felt like being put through the wringer. And it wasn't even her fault!
