Page 11 of Heat Haze
He pulls the surprisingly thick blanket over me, leaning against the side of the bed while sitting on his knees. He’s tucking me in, as evident by the way his rough hand moves to awkwardly stroke my hair. He’s gentle, but clumsy. Treating me as though I’m some kind of human teddy bear.
The mountain of a man seems content, head settling against the mattress as he uses his hands as a sort of pillow. It’s an oddly sweet gesture, letting me sleep in his bed while he curls up next to it like some kind of guard dog.
But what the actual hell does it mean?
CHAPTER EIGHT
Somehow I managed to fall asleep, since I wake up with hair thatisn’tmine in my mouth and my body twisted at an odd angle. With a tired grumble I push myself up a little to find that Toro is half on and half off the bed, his head resting against my chest as he sleeps peacefully.
Having him so close lets me notice things I didn’t before. Like the frayed-looking edges of the scar across his lips, or the way the faintest shade of red seems to stain his cheeks. His crooked nose twitches as I move, those honey eyes fluttering open and immediately finding my face.
He flashes me a sleepy little grin, and for a moment I find myself thinking it’s cute. But how can I possibly think that knowing what he’s done? Knowing what his family has done? Still, I return it. I don’t wanna upset him.
Toro pulls away with a stretch, sticking out his chest as I catch a little glimpse of the skin underneath. He’s hairy, but I can tell his body is muscular—just hidden behind a layer of healthy fat that keeps him strong. It’s frightening to think about what he’s capable of, especially when he’s shown me nothing but kindness
The expression on his face hasn’t changed at all, and a strong arm reaches out to fix my hair a little bit. He twirls one of my curls around his finger, smile growing wider as he pulls his hand away. His head turns to the door, suddenly growing more alert as he waves his hand around at me. He throws the blanket over my head and I get the gist. I try to be as flat as possible, minimizing the space I take up as the door audibly swings open.
“Pa needs yer’ help…” Damien says, groggy as ever. I can hear him lean against the doorframe, body crashing into the thing as he lets out a dramatic yawn. “Those L.A. folk had alooootof cash on ‘em. Need ya to prep the chicken coop for some fixin’, we’re gon’ head out and grab some stuff.”
I shudder at how casual it is for them. He’s talking about them as if they never mattered, like the money is some fun little bonus. Nothing happens after that, but I presume Toro did something since Damien walks off down the hall without another word.
My body remains hidden underneath the blankets until Toro pulls them off of me, my eyes re-adjusting to the sunlight. He kneels down in front of me again, thumb grazing against my cheekbone in what can only be described as a warm gesture.
It’s nothing short of confusing.
“You’re… leaving?” I ask, hesitantly. I don’t necessarilywantto be around him, but I’d definitely feel a whole lot safer if hewashere.
Toro nods slowly, thumbing my cheek a few more times before getting up. He grabs a new set of clothes from his wardrobe, disappearing into his bathroom to change. I just sit there on the bed, listening to the quiet rustle of clothes.
When he returns he looks basically the exact same, except the denim is lighter blue and the shirt underneath is a muted orange. He smiles warmly at me, giving my hair a ruffle before opening the bottom drawer of his bedside table. After rummaging around in it he tosses a novel onto the bed, my head turning down to peek at the cover.
It’s some old time-y romance novel, the actual book itself seemingly years old at this point. The front cover is torn, the pages sticking up. But it’ssomethingthat I canunderstand. He’s giving me something to do while he’s gone. My eyes move up to meet his own, even if they’re hidden behind a mess of hair.
He stands there for a moment longer before stepping forward to excitedly give my hair another ruffling. Once he’s satisfied he heads to the door, giving me one last glance before closing it behind him. There’s no way he’s actually just going to leave me alone in here, right? Isn’t that too easy?
Maybe, but I’m not going to look a gift horse in the mouth. With a shaky breath I push myself off the bed, looking around the room. There really isn’t much to work with here, but I know for a fact the window opens. I begin going through his bedside drawers, the bottom one is mostly junk and packets of seeds for gardening.
The top one is almost entirely empty, except for one empty cookie packet and my busted phone. I didn’t even notice he took it out of my pocket. But why keep it? What value is a broken phone and some aluminum foil? When I shift gears to the closet it’s mostly just lots of old shirts and a few jackets, work boots tucked off to the side.
Nothing to help me. Nothing to get me out of here.
My only choice is obvious: climb out the window and run like hell. It’s been a good twenty minutes since Toro left, and if I just run off through the fields I can probably get by unnoticed. Once I’m on the road I have no idea what’s in store, but there’s a chance I make it somewhere safe.
I can’t just stay here, after all.
With shaky legs and an exhausted mind, I exert myself trying to pull up the window. Toro made it seem easy, but the stupid thing is jammed. It slides up with a noise that’stoo loud for my liking, and I climb over it to find myself standing in the back area.
The sun beats down on me, sweat running down my forehead as I figure out a plan. There’s a barn to my left, and fields to my right. With an uncertain nod I begin racing towards the fields, shoes thumping against gravel with an uneven tempo. I’m scared, but this is my only shot.
Nothing here is good for hiding behind. If someone sees me, I’m basically screwed. But I can’t focus on what ifs and buts, running faster than I’ve ever run in my entire life to finally reach the fence line.
I’m a mess, leaning forward to try and compose myself. With how red my face is and how ragged my breathing is, it’s clear that I didn’t try all that hard in gym class back when I was in school. But I made it, and that’s what matters.
It’s barbed wire, because of course it is, but I should still be able to climb over it. There’s a woodsy little area behind it, and although it’s not as dense as I would like it’s better than nothing. The pounding of my heart in my ears doesn’t help my nerves as I lift a leg to climb over, being cautious to not snag myself on the sharp spikes jutting out of the old metal.
The world around me comes to a standstill as my foot hits the other side. There’s an undeniable beat of hesitation. What am I even gonna do when I get away? Walk miles and miles justprayingfor someone to drive me back to town? I don’t know, that’s true, but anything is better than waiting forhimto get bored of me.
As I’m about to lift my other leg over, a rough hand digs into my shoulder and pulls me back. I land flat on the dying grass, a flash of white dazing me. I suck in a greedygulp of air, chest rising and falling quickly now. With a strained moan I look up, and find Toro staring down at me. His hands are at his sides, gripping into his thighs so intensely his knuckles are turning white.
