“How could I be happy? I was on drugs! None of this is real!”
Tossing my arms in the air, I walked away from her, but there was nowhere to really go. We had stopped at a motel, but it wouldn’t last. Every time we were in one place for too long, the bad guys caught up with us. I didn’t relish the thought of being caught up in another firefight.
At least they had picked up some clothes for us. One more minute in that dress and I would have torn it from my body. Not to mention the blisters I had on the back of my feet from the damn heels.
“Maybe it was real to you. Maybe it’s what you want deep down, but you don’t know it because you were on drugs and can’t really remember that feeling. But if you could remember that feeling, you’d know you were feeling that way because you were genuinely happy!”
I stopped pacing and stared at her. That crazy optimism was almost an easy trap to fall into. Almost. But I wasn’t an idiot.
“None of this is real,” I said, marching forward to point at the pictures. “That woman in the pictures is happy because she’s hopped up on drugs. Not because she met the love of her life or because it’s her wedding day. This is all some illegal substance forcing that woman to be happy.”
She nodded. “That woman being you.”
“Yes!”
She flipped a picture around and shoved it in my face. “That woman right there, smiling like she’s at the prom and just won the title of queen with her boyfriend.”
Rolling my eyes, I snatched the photo out of her hands. “It’s all fake feelings.”
“But how do you know?”
“Because I don’t feel that way now!”
“Well, of course you don’t feel that way now. The drugs are wearing off, you’re on the run, and you just found out your only wedding happened in a Vegas chapel by a man pretending to be Elvis.”
“If the drugs were truly wearing off, I wouldn’t have a splitting headache.”
She winced. “Well, you probably wouldn’t have a splitting headache if you weren’t yelling so much.”
Grabbing a water, she shoved it at me. “Here, have some. You need electrolytes.”
“What I need is a stiff drink,” I muttered, unscrewing the cap and chugging the contents. “God, I feel awful. How long can it possibly take for this shit to work its way out of my system?”
Claire’s eyes brightened immediately, and then she was grabbing my hand, dragging me into the other room where the guys were all standing around a table, studying a map as they argued about the best route to take.
“It’s in her blood!” Claire announced, beaming at the guys.
Derek turned and shot her an odd look. “Claire, this isn’t a book.”
“Well, obviously. This is so much better. I mean, I’m a little disappointed it’s not happening to us. The whole secret wedding that neither of us remembers. The amazing sex that neither of us wants to admit is a sign that we’re meant to be together. Ooh, and my favorite, the bad guys trying to kill everyone. It really is a great story.”
Derek sighed in frustration. “Claire, we’re already married. We had our own adventure. Remember the bank? And what’s wrong with our sex life? We’re the most adventurous couple I know!”
Claire sighed, dragging the tip of her toe across the dingy, brown carpet. “I know, but…this story’s really cool.”
“I’m sorry the way we got together wasn’t good enough for you,” Derek snapped. “Maybe you’d like a divorce and then you can find another guy to have some made-up adventure with!”
“No!” Claire shouted, rushing forward as she flung her arms around his neck. “I was just rambling. You know me, it’s this amazing story, and I got caught up in it. It’s just sad it’s not about us. That’s all I meant.”
He sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. “It’s fine. I know you didn’t mean it like that. It’s just the lack of sleep and the guns, and I cut myself last night on a piece of paper. Paper cuts really suck.”
“I know, baby. I can?—”
“Hey!” Rob shouted, interrupting their little reunion. “Not that a paper cut isn’t fascinating, but maybe we could get back to the fact that we have real problems? Like how the hell we’re going to continue to outrun these guys when we don’t even know how they’re finding us.”
Claire tore herself from Derek’s arms, beaming proudly at Rob. “I figured that out! I mean, I think I figured it out. Obviously, we’ll need to run some tests to be sure, but I think I’ve found the answer, and it’s gonna blow your mind!”
“What is it?” Derek asked.