"I'm Paul, by the way," the Brazilian said on the way to the car.
"I'm Elizabeth."
"Can I call you Liz?" He said as he opened the car door for me.
"You're saving my life, so you can call me whatever you want." I got into the car and fastened my seatbelt.
"What was the deal with that guy?" Paul entered the address into the GPS and glanced at me.
"Ex-boyfriend, you know how it is, right? Can't let go."
I couldn't tell the truth, not only because the story was long, but I would seem very suspicious to anyone who heard me now. Paul smiled at me and started driving.
"I know how it is, once I got stabbed by an ex-girlfriend."
I chuckled unintentionally.
"My bad. Aren't you afraid I might be a criminal or something?"
He shrugged and glanced at me briefly.
"Doesn't matter, you're pretty."
"That's why you get stabbed," I joked.
He shrugged again.
"I think it's worth it."
I felt a little embarrassed; it's very hard for me to receive compliments. We drove in silence. He turned on the radio and a French song started playing, one that I remembered seeing on TikTok once, but I didn't know the name. I was still trying to process the craziness of my last few days; I couldn't believe there was a psycho after me. That I was in the car of a stranger, heading to an unknown destination. I never knew what to expect. I took a deep breath and leaned back in the seat.
"What's wrong?" He asked, lowering the volume of the music.
"My day is just insane."
"Have you tried going to the police?" He suggested, and once again, I felt the urge to unload and tell him everything that was happening. I glanced out the window for a second before answering.
"He's a cop. Well, I don't even know what he is exactly, but kind of that."
Paul nodded.
"If you need any help while you're in France, you can look me up."
Lucky to find Paul. Or not. I shouldn't trust a stranger.
"How did you end up in France?" I asked.
The car made the subtle maneuver to park; apparently, we had arrived at the destination. I quickly sent a text to Marina.
"I'm here on vacation, and you?"
"On business," I lied. "Hey, thanks a lot. I don't want to get you into any trouble, be careful when you go back home."
"Hey," he called me back as I opened the door.
"Hi," I stopped, holding the doorknob. He jotted something down on a piece of paper.
"My number. I try to run from trouble, but I love it when it shows up."
I tucked his number into the case of my phone and smiled at him. Although he physically was my type, I didn't think anything would happen between us.
I entered the hotel and checked in at the reception. I picked up the cards that gave access to the room and was glad to see Marina and Heitor lying on one of the double beds in the room. Marina jumped up and hugged me. Heitor sighed, apparently relieved. I told them everything that had happened from the moment I left until I entered the room.
"Oh my God, what have we gotten ourselves into?" Marina asked, sitting on the bed. Her hair was a bit messy. A small glimpse of how she felt inside.
"There's no turning back now," Heitor leaned against the door frame that divided the rooms.
"I'm being accused of something. How am I supposed to go back home if I could be arrested?" Tears welled up in my eyes.
"Hey," Marina pulled me to sit next to her. "We'll figure it out."
I wiped my eyes to stop the tears from falling. I felt like all of this was my fault; if I had just kept quiet about the messages, none of this would have happened. Now I could have my life back. But I had to open my mouth. As always, I thought I knew too much, but in the end, I knew too little.
"I won't let anything happen to you two," Heitor said, and I held back a laugh. It was cute of him to think he could stop it.
"Thank you, Heitor," I said sincerely. "You saved my life. I'll never be able to repay you."
"No need to thank me," he punched my arm.
I lay down with Mari, and we fell asleep. When we woke up, it was late afternoon. Heitor was in the other room, and I had no idea what he was doing.
"I'm hungry," Marina grumbled. She picked up the phone and called room service.
"How long are we going to be traveling in the car?" I asked when she hung up.
"About 30 hours."
My eyes widened.
"Are you sure that's the fastest way?"
"That's because of the stops we'll make to rest, but don't worry, it'll work out." Mari lay back down on the bed and patted the space next to her.
"Mari," I said as I lay down.
"Yeah?"
"What do you think Pierre can do for us?"
Silence filled the room. We took a shot in the dark, and now we had no idea what was going to happen.
"I don't know. Is he a powerful guy?"
"I hope so," I whispered softly and turned to the other side, trying not to show that I was scared.