38

~Aria

I was dazed and confused when I next woke up.

My body aches from my neck, down my back and to my legs, that are cramped up under the dashboard. The seatbelt has left a heat rash on my neck and I feel as though one half of my face is on fire from sleeping against the window.

"Good morning," Malik says from beside me, making me jump. Even though I knew he was driving, his voice still took me by surprise.

Maybe it's because I haven't fully accepted the fact that we are running away from our lives in the Love Pack. Outside, the sun is brighter than anything I've seen since the Passion Pack, however, there is no beach with glistening water here. Instead, it's a straight road leading straight toward the horizon, desert stretched around, leading into hills, concealing what was beyond.

"Where are we?" I ask, rubbing the sleep out of my eyes.

"We just passed over the equator. We are on the warmer side, heading toward a better climate," Malik tells me. At his words, I feel myself brigh