He orders another drink, the strongest they have. Shattered little princess in a black dress and he doesn't know whether to laugh or cry. americana au, hook x aurora, 565 words
Part One Philip never smelt like cigarettes. She can’t help thinking that’s not fair, but the world’s never been fair to her either.
It’s three in the morning and she finds Killian sitting against the ice machine in the motel, head hidden in folded arms. His eyes are bloodshot when he looks up at her and she leads him to their room.
Philip smelled like sunshine and sweat and grass and deodorant after football practice and he’d kiss her on her doorstep and look at her like she was on an altar.
He hated cigarettes.
~
There’s something exhilarating about a dark track as far as the eye can see.
~
He feels tense, fingers clutching the steering wheel. He hasn’t said a word in five hours, not since he woke up with one of the worst headaches of his life. Aurora’s calmly sitting next to him, reading the same brochure she picked up at the motel entrance for the tenth time. He steals glimpses of her hands out of the corner of his eye and he sees the cheap paper melding to the sweat of her fingers.
The AC’s been busted for three years and a less than memorable trip through South Carolina.
His resolve cracks an hour later and he blames it on the heat.
~
“I got involved with a married woman, a couple years ago.” Her eyes drifted to him.
“What happened?”
“She wanted to come with me.” He looked at the mileage. Man, it’d been a while. “Her husband tracked us down and shot her dead.”
~
“I’ve never seen the sea.” The brochure in her lap was advertising a beach resort with affordable prices and fun for the whole family.
“Never?”
“A school trip to Colombus, to the Museum of Art. That’s as far as I’d gone, before now.” She shrugged and adjusted the sun visor.
“What did you see?” She doesn’t answer, just smiles and he turns east.
~
That long black line stretching before him is freedom, and escape and the Holy Land all rolled into one.
It has been since he was twelve and his brother taught him how to drive. Since he was fourteen and his mom was crying in the kitchen with a black eye, golden dust swirling around his ankles.
Since he was sixteen, with a fake ID and a piece of junk his brother left him when he went West
~
“Philip was the stupidest thing.” A Claddagh ring was being twisted in her hands. “A car crash. How stupid is that.”
It wasn’t a question and she turns her back on him. The yellow light outside filters through the curtains and he reaches out a hand. There’s a trail of goosebumps left by the finger that runs parallel to her spaghetti straps.
“It is stupid.” He whispers. She laughs and it sounds like glass breaking.
~
He takes her to Maine, foggy, cold Maine and she smiles when she sees the sea.
“It’s not California, but...” She grabs his hand and he’s lost for words.
~
She reaches for him and kisses him and it tastes like ‘see you soon’. She walks out of the car and he can’t help it.
“WHAT DID YOU SEE?” He sticks his head out of the window and shouts.
“HOPPER!” She shouts back and walks away, the girl in the pink sundress fading in the throng of grey.