Dear Diary Chapter 13

Dear Diary,
Nick wasn't so happy about this. I think, no, I know I need to find this out. I mean how often do you get to go on an adventure to find a dead body. We have a chance to put this Ava Costa away for good, or at least make the cops put an eye on her. It's dangerous and it did take alot of convincing but Nick finally... relented? That's the best word I can come up with for it because he's still not happy. By the way he's pumping gas for the rental car we got. It seems we may be in Chicago for a while. I called my parents and they said I could stay away for as long as I wanted, probably because they are now on a plane to Alaska to save some endangered blah blah... Of course I didn't tell them about what happened, I'm still reeling over it, but what Nick doesn’t know won’t hurt him. Hey, it's either this or I go back home and let Cyndle finish what she started. Sadly, I'm still more afraid of her than I am of gangsters and guns. And yes, Nick explained everything to me. I'm still a little confused though, but I think he is too. I want to know what that copy says. What's that? Don't worry, I'll ask him.
Love, Ana

Nick had gotten back in the car halfway through my journal entry, I had a sinking feeling he knew what this was since he had it brought to the hospital for me. He handed me a pack of gummy bears, which he knew I liked more than actual food, and I ripped it open with my teeth.

He frowned. "You know I hate it when you do that." I smiled wickedly at him. I did know, he was like my mother in that way. 'Don't use your teeth to open that' or 'Someday all of your teeth will fall out and you won’t have anyone to blame but yourself.'

"Umm... Nick?" I asked, hesitantly.

"Yeah," he was cool as if he didn't even notice the tone of my voice as he answered. He smoothly pulled out of the gas station and slowed in the traffic.

"Did you read my diary?" At my question he turned to stare at me like I had insulted him.

"No. Of course not. I would never..." He shook his head.

"Thank you." I leaned across the console to kiss him quickly. We were at a red light. "How did you know?" I asked happy.

"How did I know what?" He seemed confused at my question.

"That I had a diary." I said in a tone equal to his. Casual but curious.

He smiled and rolled his eyes. "I have always known."

"Exactly how long is 'always'?" I asked turning to look at him. He was driving, of course, so he didn't look back but he felt my gaze on his face and smiled a little.

"About, umm... six or seven years." He said nonchalantly.

I gwaked. "Si-six years?" I studdered.

"Or seven. It's hard to remember."

I composed myself. "How did you find out?"

"Do you remember when I was younger, how I used to be afraid of thunder?" He asked, answering my question with one of his own.

I laughed. He had been, it was hard for me to believe that Nick was afraid of anything but at the time he had never heard the sky growl.

"Yes," I rolled my eyes. "You were young. And from the big city. It was acceptable." He used to sneak over to my house and climb the big grape vines, another idea of my parents but they proved useful for sticky situations, into my room. Then he climb under the covers with me and we'd make animals with the flashlight.

"Well," he continued, "I was at your window and I saw you writing in a book, not the same one as you have now of course. And when I knocked on your window you hid it as fast as you could." He paused, "I may not have any sisters but I know what a diary is."

I narrowed my eyes suspiciously, "And you never once felt the urge to read it."

A guilty expression fleeted across his face, but he didn't get a chance to answer. A large black van came barreling into the side of our car.

It hit on the driver's side but in the back of the car, spinning us around. I saw the headlights whip wildly across the heavy, concrete pylons of the bridge we were just about to pass under. Then I heard Nick mutter something under his breath as he quickly worked to recover the car. It was of no use because just seconds later my side of the car went crashing into the overpass support.

Before I could pull myself away from the door which was pinned closed, Nick grabbed my arm and pulled me out his door with him. Man he was fast, I hadn't even seen him open the door. It was raining outside, in case I forgot to mention, but just barely. There was gravel under my feet, I noticed as Nick pulled me farther away from the car and towards the woods a couple of yards away.

"Come on, Ana!" He yelled over the screeching of the vans tires as it spun around towards us. The woods were now illuminated by the headlights of the car and I knew it was trying to run us down. This had been no accident. I struggled to keep up my pace as I held on to Nick's hand. The vehicle accelerated, but we made it into the woods and I heard it swerve away. Nick didn't slow his pace so neither did I.