Ben put his arms around me all night. His hands were so tight that it felt like they were going to crush my ribs. His legs were tangled with mine. His steady, rhythmic breathing brushed the nape of my neck and tickled me. The red number on the alarm clock on the bedside table has been blurred. I squinted my eyes to make the numbers clear enough, and it was already around one o'clock in the morning.

I'll try to get my leg off Ben's. He'll hold me tighter and pull me closer.

I'm going to leave this hotel room, run to the lobby, and beg the person who is working to call the police. They would see my eyes and know what was wrong. If Ben really woke up, he would probably chase me naked, and they would see the scales on his chest. I couldn't have lied to them about my contact lenses.

I grabbed Ben's wrist and slowly pulled his hand away from me.

He moved. I sat down and turned to look at Ben. He pulled a hand out of mine. He rubbed his eyes with the palm of his hand. When he saw me sitting, he jumped up.

"What's wrong?" He asked.

"I need to go to the bathroom,"

Ben nodded. He walked over to the bedside table and turned on the light. The room was filled with a dim light. I stood up, my knees shaking under me. Ben's eyes were locked on mine. I took a step behind me towards the door, and Ben jumped out of bed. "Diana, what are you doing?" He asked. He grabbed my wrist and pulled me closer to his chest. "Why did you leave?"

My chest tightened, and I took a deep breath. Ben pushed me down on the bed. His jaw was closed and his nostrils were open. I frowned as the force with which he held my wrist tightened. He put one knee on the bed, high above me.

"Why did you leave me?" He asked. "I promised you that we would get out of this together, and you agreed."

"You never said I couldn't see my family," I told him.

"Not right now," he said. "We have each other."

"I don't care."

Ben reached for the bedside table and let go of my wrist. He opened the drawer and I couldn't see what he pulled out. I saw a silver light and cold metal pressing against my temple. Ben's chest heaved violently, panting.

"Diana, you said we'd get out of this together," he said. "Why did you leave?"

"I love you," I blurted out. He took a deep breath, and the pressure on his shoulders dissipated. I leaned forward and pressed my lips against his. Ben kissed me back, and the barrel of his gun left my temple. I took a deep breath through my nose and let his body sink into mine. I reached out and cupped his face.

"I'm sorry," I said. "I was just scared.

"It's okay," he said, then pressed his lips to my forehead. "Let's go back to bed."

I nodded, and it was already coming off me. He looked around the room and walked around to the other side of the bed. He pulled the bedside table and lamp open and pushed them onto the closet. He walked around to my bedside. He put his hands at his side and pushed the bed against the wall.

"Slide over," he said.

I looked over the wall and I slid over. There is no point in arguing. He would pull out his gun again and threaten to kill us both.

Ben climbed into bed. He turned off the light and then grabbed me tightly. I had to match his sick fantasies so I wouldn't die.

In the morning, Ben found a small restaurant after checking us out. I ran my fingers over the torn skin on the booth seat. Ben put the map on the table and drank his coffee.

There are only a few customers. They were talking to each other, as well as the elderly waitresses, who I could tell were regulars. Whenever someone turns in our direction, I see a strange expression. "We should be at the hut in a few days," he said. "I'm going to take a detour to get there. This should derail anyone who might be looking for us. ”

I nodded. My fingers fiddled with the empty cups on the table and swirled. The waitress walked up to us with two large plates full of food. Ben snatched the map from the table.

"Here you go," she said.

"Thank you," Ben said.

"This should be good for treating hangovers." She touched my shoulder and winked at me. "I miss being younger." Ben smiled as she walked away.

"I have to remember that," he said, taking a bite of his toast.

"Everywhere we go, we look weird," I said. "The girl who won't take off her sunglasses and the boy who won't take off her jacket."

"It's okay," Ben said. "That's why we have each other."

He opened his jacket and pulled a bottle out of his inner pocket. He handed me a few pills and then took a few himself. Ben didn't say anything to me when we finished breakfast. He was holding a pencil and was drawing different routes to Muskoka. As I ate and stared at the gravel parking lot outside, I fell into a trance. When I heard my name, I was pulled back to reality.

I looked at Ben and saw that he was still staring at the map. I heard the voice continue to speak, and realized that it was coming from an old TV in the corner of the counter.

It's a news anchor speaking. There was a red banner underneath him, but it was too blurry for me to see. It switches to the photo I graduated from high school. That morning, my curly hair was pinned back and I was wearing a black robe with a bouquet of roses in my arms. When I saw those bright blue eyes staring at me, I felt a sharp pain in my chest.

Ben noticed that I was watching TV. He stuffed the map into his pocket and put a few bills on the table. He stood up and grabbed my hand.

"Come on, Olivia. Let's go," he said.

He pulled me out of the dining room. The waiter opened his mouth to say something, but stopped when he saw the money on the counter.