The Greyhound station was a fluorescent-lit purgatory of plastic chairs and tired faces. Eva stood at the counter, water dripping from the hem of her dress onto the linoleum floor. She pushed a stack of crumpled bills toward the ticket agent.
"One way," she wrote on her pad. "North."
The woman behind the glass popped her gum and looked at the money, then at Eva. She didn't ask questions. People at bus stations at two in the morning rarely wanted to answer them. She slid a ticket across the counter.
"Next bus leaves in ten minutes. Gate 4."
Eva took the ticket. Her hands were still trembling. She walked to the gate and boarded the bus, keeping her head down. She chose a seat in the very back, near the window, hoping the darkness would swallow her whole.
She pulled her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around her backpack. The bus began to fill up. A young mother with a crying baby. An old man coughing into a handkerchief. A group of teenagers laughing too loudly.
Then, the air in the bus seemed to shift.
A man stepped onto the bus. He was huge, taking up the entire doorway. He wore a dark canvas jacket and boots that looked heavy enough to crush bone. His hair was cropped short, military style, and a scruff of beard covered his jaw.
He didn't just walk; he scanned. His eyes moved over the passengers with a sharp, predatory precision. He was checking exits. He was assessing threats.
Eva pressed herself harder against the cold window. Please don't sit here. Please don't sit here.
The man moved down the aisle. The bus was full. The only empty seat was the aisle seat right next to her.
He stopped at her row. He looked at her, his gaze lingering for a fraction of a second too long. His eyes were dark, unreadable. He didn't smile. He didn't apologize for encroaching on her space. He just swung his duffel bag into the overhead bin and sat down.
He was big. His broad shoulders crossed the imaginary line between their seats. His thigh brushed against her knee. Eva flinched and pulled her leg back, making herself as small as physically possible.
The bus groaned and lurched forward. The city lights began to blur into streaks of neon as they hit the highway.
Eva closed her eyes. Exhaustion was a heavy weight, pulling her down. Despite the fear, despite the stranger next to her, her body began to shut down. She drifted into a restless, jagged sleep.
The dream was always the same. She was strapped to a table. Surgical lights blinded her. Kingsley was standing over her, holding a scalpel. He was smiling. "It's for the family, Eva. Just relax." She tried to scream, but her mouth was sewn shut.
Eva woke up gasping. Her body jerked violently in a spasm of terror. Her elbow flew out and connected hard with a solid wall of muscle.
The man next to her woke instantly. There was no grogginess, no confusion. One second he was asleep, the next he was lethal. His hand shot out and clamped around her wrist, stopping her arm in mid-air.
Eva froze. Her eyes went wide, staring into his furious face. His grip was like iron.
"What's your problem?" he growled, his voice rough with sleep and aggression.
Eva couldn't breathe. The panic from the nightmare collided with the reality of the angry man holding her. She opened her mouth, her jaw working, but no sound came out. Only a sharp intake of breath.
He stared at her, waiting for an answer. When she didn't speak, his eyes narrowed. He released her wrist with a shove, as if touching her disgusted him.
"You okay?" he asked, but it sounded more like a challenge than a question.
Eva rubbed her wrist. She raised her shaking hands and signed, Sorry.
The man frowned. He looked at her hands, then back at her face. He didn't understand. He scoffed, shaking his head.
"Right. Rude," he muttered. He turned away from her, crossing his massive arms over his chest, effectively building a wall between them.
Eva felt a flush of shame heat her neck. She hugged her bag tighter.
The bus hit a pothole. The sudden jolt sent Eva's backpack sliding off her lap. It landed near the man's boots.
She scrambled to retrieve it, but the cramped space made it difficult. Her bad leg throbbed, the knee stiff and painful from the earlier fall. She winced, biting her lip.
The man watched her struggle out of the corner of his eye. He let out a heavy sigh, the sound of a man whose patience was already thin.
He bent down, his movements quick and efficient. He grabbed the strap of her bag and hauled it up. He didn't hand it to her gently; he shoved it into her chest.
"Hold onto it," he said, his voice flat.
Eva nodded rapidly, clutching the bag like a shield. "Thank you," she mouthed, but no sound emerged.
The man looked at her hands again. He noticed she wasn't holding a phone. Most girls her age were glued to their screens. She was just staring at him with big, terrified eyes.
He turned back to the window, dismissing her. Eva saw his jaw clench. He had categorized her: Runaway. Trouble. Avoid.
She leaned her head against the cool glass, watching the darkness rush by, and tried to slow her heart rate. She was safe for now. But the man next to her felt like a dormant volcano, and she was terrified of what would happen if he erupted.
