Fan Fiction ❯ Runaway ❯ Chapter 3 ( Chapter 3 )

Angel slowly opened her eyes, blinking out the last remains of her feverish sleepiness. She was used to waking up staring at the back of the front seats of her car, feeling uncomfortable on the worn back seat, so when she felt the soft cleanliness of a bed beneath her, she was quite frightened. She sat straight up in the bed in alarm, failing to notice the bottom of the top bunk above her. With a resounding crack, stars were crackling before her eyes.

"Ow." Angel moaned.

"Are you all right?" A voice said next to her.

Angel looked to her side to see an upside down face staring at her. Her mouth opened and closed several times, too scared to even speak.

The face disappeared, and moments later a body was leaping agilely out of the top bunk.

"I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to scare you!"

Angel stared at the boy in front of her, realizing quickly that the word boy was quite inappropriate, for this was a man standing in front of her. A muscular, handsome man with worry and concern quite evident in his eyes.

"No, it's all right. I just don't know where I am or who you are..." Angel trailed off. Then she thought back to the storm. Standing out in the rain, cursing the world. Feeling the familiar pain in her head, fainting at the sight of Taylor Hanson standing in front of her... and then it dawned on her.

"You're Taylor Hanson!"

Angel was surprised to see him wince.

"Yeah, I am."

He paused, almost as if he was excepting something.

"Hi, I'm Angel Richardson. Thank you for getting me in out of the rain." Angel said shyly. "I've got to go now. My car should be cooled down enough now to get me out of here."

Relief flooded Taylor's eyes.

"Hello, Angel. Uh, about your car..."

Fear sprang into Angel's eyes.

"What? What about my car."

"I don't think that it will be taking you anywhere anymore."

Angel sprung out of the bunk, grabbing her hat and putting it on, and rushed through the bus, lucky enough to go towards the exit. She ran off the bus, which was parked at a maintenance station, and ran to her car, where a mechanic was standing by it.

"Sir, what's wrong with my car? Why can't it be fixed?"

"Ma'am, the engine blew. There were so many little things wrong with this car, that they all stopped working at the same moment. I'm afraid that it just cannot be fixed."

Angel stood unmoving for a moment. A few months ago she would have cried over this setback, but now she was too hardened to life to cry.

"I understand. Can I get in there? I want to leave it here. Do whatever you want with it."

"Yeah, it's unlocked."

"How much do I owe you?"

"It's been taken care of."

Angel shrugged and went over to her car, opened it and got in. Once inside, she slid the driver's seat back as far as it would go, and picked up the flat container that was hidden under there. Inside was the rest of her lifesaving's, which, unfortunately, was not very much. Storing the container safely away into her backpack, Angel stepped out of the car, backpack securely strapped to her back.

Angel nodded her thanks to the mechanic, and started walking.

"Hey, Angel, where are you going?" Taylor asked as she passed him.

"Anywhere."

"What do you mean?" Taylor asked with a confused stare.

"I mean anywhere. I'm just going. I'll end up where I end up."

"So you are a runaway then!" Taylor blurted out, and then immediately turned an impossible shade of red.

"Yeah, I am a runaway." Angel said, her shyness returning.

"May I ask what you are running from?"

Angel thought for a moment, ignoring the familiar pain in her head.

"I'm running from my emotions."

Taylor stared surprised at the girl in front of him. He saw the emptiness in her beautiful blue eyes, but he also saw a hidden pain that was prevalent there.

"Don't you ever want to go home?"

"Yes," Angel said immediately. "I do want to go home. I suppose that is where I'll start walking towards."

"Where do you live?"

"About a half an hour to an hour away from the Dallas Fort Worth area."

"But this is Minnesota! You'll never make it!"

Angel's eyes hardened instantly.

"I can make it and I will make it!"

Taylor was taken aback.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to say that you couldn't make the journey, I'm just saying that you shouldn't have to walk all that way."

"How else am I supposed to get there, fly?" Angel said in her most sarcastic voice she could muster. Then she was taken aback by herself. A couple of months ago she would have never talked to anyone that way, especially not Taylor Hanson.

"Well, just hold on a minute, all right? Sit on that bench over there and don't move, please."

Angel complied willingly. Her headache was returning, and she just did not feel like arguing at the moment.

She sat there for what felt like a century, just waiting for Taylor to return. She could see him in the office with his brothers, talking on the phone, and occasionally arguing with whoever was on the other end of the line. It looked like he had won whatever he was fighting for, for he had a please grin on his face as he left the building. As he approached her; however, the grin fell, and he looked slightly nervous.

"Angel?" Taylor said, unsure of himself for a moment.

"Yeah?"

"You said you wanted to go home, right? In fact, you were going to start heading home, right?"

"Yes, why?"

"Well, uh, I talked it over with my dad and brothers, and, if you agree to call your parents and talk to them, you can ride with us to Texas."

Angel stood stock still, letting Taylor's words seep in. She felt light headed for a moment, so she sat down on the bench.

"And all I've got to do is call my parents?"

Taylor looked at her with worry in his eyes, for he had seen her slight dizzy spell.

"Yes, that is it."

"How did you get your dad to agree to let you have a runaway living with you?"

A guilty looked passed over his face.

"Uh, well, he doesn't really know that you're a runaway."

"What?! What did you tell him?"

"I told him that you were stranded on your way back home."

"And he believed you?" Angel asked, incredulous.

"Yeah, he trusts me." Taylor paused guiltily, and then said, "One more condition."

"And what's that?"

"I have to keep an eye on you. I'm kind of like... your guardian."

Angel's heart soared at this, but she kept it off her face.

"I guess that makes sense. What do Zac and Isaac think of this, though?"

"They're all for it. We need some excitement in our lives."

Angel grinned happily, and ran off to find a pay phone, just a bit nervous.

If only they had known that the excitement she would bring was just a little too much.