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Driving along the desert road, her blonde hair whipped around her, her music blasted through the speakers, desert dust flying up and into the dry air, her wide-brimmed hat and sunglasses doing little to shade her eyes from the desert glare. Up ahead of her she saw a small mirage on the road’s surface, the imaginary glare like sunlight shimmering along the surface of a pond before her focus was drawn to a figure standing on the side of the dirt road. The man standing by the side of the road carried nothing, his only belongings were a small backpack, a hat and a pair of black sunglasses. After thinking it over, taking the risk of picking up a hitch-hiker, she veered her car over to the side of the road, pushing the passenger-side door open as he made his way inside. He took off his hat and sunglasses, his long brown hair and green eyes making her gasp in realisation.
“Josh?” his head swung around in equal amounts of shock at the sight of the familiar blonde sitting beside him.
“Maya? What are you doing out here in the middle of nowhere?”
“I could ask you the same question, Matthews,” she paused, switching gears into drive before starting down the road, “Now, you want to tell me where you're going and why or am I going to have to force it out of you?” she smirked over at the brunette, him responding in like.
“I was heading back to my parent's house for the summer, my girlfriend dumped me, so I decided that I couldn't stay in New York anymore.” she nodded in understanding, glancing over to see him with a blank expression on his face before she turned onto the highway heading for Philadelphia.
A mile or so down the road he made to turn the music up, her hand coming up to stop him with a sly smile. Staring her down he grabbed her hand and held it with a smirk, her cheeks turning a bright shade of red. Before she could stop him, he quickly used his other hand to increase the volume while using his hand to stroke the skin on the back of her hand. She opened her mouth in protest but slowly shut it as she realised that she had been played, instead, she moved her hand so they could lock their fingers together, her thumb brushing over his as she continued down the highway.
Hills and sandy horizons passed, green bushes and desert flowers bloomed all around as the car sped forward, dust kicking up from the tires and billowing out from behind. Power lines and mountain ranges grew tall and strong on both sides, Joshua trees and cacti standing small amongst its surroundings, and small townships and dotting of white-roofed houses seemed to suddenly appear from over hilltops. Signs popped up on the side of the road, signs for petrol stations and wildlife notifications, in neat lines along the endless stretch of grey and charcoal coloured gravel.
Decreasing speed until she reached the speed limit once again, she put the car on cruise control before turning to the man next to her.
“I'm here to escape my dad.” she paused for a moment, seeing his encouraging look, before continuing. “He's trying to get custody over me. He called my mother a few weeks ago, told her to get a good lawyer, and said he wanted full custody. You might not know but my dad left when I was two, just picked up everything and left, so we moved from Georgia up here to New York City. Heard that he'd had a family of his own back when I was ten, found out from my grandmother. Now, all of a sudden he wants me back, no explanation whatsoever.” she paused, “so I ran away. I told Riley I was leaving and just went. She didn't question me, she just hugged me and let me go.”
They settled into a calm silence, Josh’s arm coming to shade his eyes from the sun, his eyes closing as the warmth of the sun shone down upon them. Dust flew up around the car, the humid air flowing through the radiator as the sun began to set.
The sun setting in her peripheral vision she turned into the quiet town in the middle of Josh’s hometown in Philadelphia, the headlights shining brightly as various signs passed them by in a blur, the music long past turned down. Beside her Josh had fallen asleep against her shoulder, his soft breaths wafting over the bare skin of her shoulder and his eyelashes brushing, her skin prickling under the effect of the warmth of his tan skin. Spying the familiar Matthews’ house she pulled into the small driveway, the light still on inside the house, before she quietly unbuckled her seatbelt and lightly shook him away, his eyes opening wide as he sat up with a start. Her shoulder suddenly felt very cold, his warmth gone as he unbuckled and exited the car, reaching into the back to grab her things as he joined her near the trunk with his hand on her lower back, her skin seeming to burn aggressively as her cheeks burned red.
Grabbing her hand he pulled her towards the house, a key pulled from his pocket, as he opened the door, the two making their way inside. Sitting at the dining table in the kitchen was none other than Ms Matthews, her eyes lighting up as she stood abruptly before she pulled Maya into her welcoming arms. Clutching at the woman Maya buried her head into the older woman’s shoulder, a cough from behind startling her as Josh chuckled softly. Wandering over he wrapped his arm around his mother’s shoulder, placing a kiss against the top of her head and whispering a small greeting, he grabbed both of their bags and made his way upstairs. Ms Matthews drew Maya over to the sofa, the soft cushions overwhelmingly tempting as she felt her eyelids flutter sleepily, her eyes snapping open once again as she felt Ms Matthews voice murmur to an equally soft voice murmur a response. With a sigh her eyelids closed tightly, her eyes heavy and her arms limp as she began to lose consciousness.
Suddenly she felt herself being lifted from the sofa, her arms instinctively coming up to wrap around the shoulders of her second favourite Matthews, her shoulder falling against his shoulder as he carried her up the staircase and towards his room. Her eyes still closed and her body growing numb with the usual sensation of falling into a deep sleep, she felt herself being laid down against a soft comforter, her shoes slipping from her feet as she felt the covers being drawn back and over her. She felt him slide in beside her, his arms coming around to envelop her in a warm embrace before she heard a bedside lamp being turned off. With a kiss against her hair, she felt herself relax into the embrace and her mind turned to dreams as they fell asleep side-by-side.
-
Waking up his arm was tangled through her blonde hair, her eyes closed with her eyelashes fanned across her freckled sun-kissed cheeks, and her rouge lips parted. Her hot breath wafted lazily against his cheek, tendrils of hair floating around her face like a halo of pure light. The sun came in through the crack in the blinds, illuminating her face, her arms wrapping themselves tighter around his waist as her chest rose and fell with the rhythm of her steady heartbeat, his fingertips only just skimming the soft skin of her hip where her shirt had ridden up in her sleep.