After finishing up my coffee, I took a long hot shower to relax my nerves. The events of the past few days had left me feeling quite jittery. After I had possibly used up all the hot water, I stepped out and dried myself up. I pulled up a pair of skin tight maroon pants and shrugged on a hand knit white long sleeved sweater. I paired it up with a maroon scarf and tied my brown hair in a messy bun on the top of my head.

After having a bowl of cereal for breakfast, Ryan drove us to the Joe's Bar. It was a little driveway bar with a classy 1990's exterior with a flashy neon sign, giving off a western vibe. Getting out of the car, Ryan motioned for me to follow him inside.

As we entered the bar, I looked around to take in my surroundings. It was beautiful in its own way. At the left side of the door was the bar table with more drink than I could recognise. The bartender was a tall, well built woman who I assumed might be in her late 30's or so. She had black hair with red highlight and her makeup was bold. She definitely looked like a feisty one. We made our way over to the bar stools and sat down.

"Hey Tori, " Ryan greeted the bartender. Tori winked at Ryan in a flirtatious way and leaned over the table to whisper something in his ears. Ryan chuckled at her words.

What the actual fuck?

I looked around the bar to avoid the unsettling scene that was taking place right in front of me. She was in her late 30's for fuck's sake!!!

The center of the large room was adorned with small wooden tables and the back walls were painted in a warm shade of red that gave the whole room a warm and homie vibe.

At the left corner of the room right opposite to the dance floor was pool table. It had been a while since I played pool. I made a mental note to challenge Ryan later. That would be fun!

What caught my attention, however, was the large stage that sat in the right corner of the room. All of Ryan's band's instruments were decorating the stage. This really was a home base for the band!

I got up off the barstool and slowly made my way over to the stage. Ryan noticed my sudden distraction and quietly followed me.

There were two normal guitars, one bass guitar and a large drum set placed on the stage. I looked up at Ryan, silently asking for his permission. He smiled at me and nodded. With a smile on my own face I picked up a guitar and took it out of it's case. It was a shining black beauty.

Ever since I was a little child, I had an undeniable fascination for guitars. Even as a young teenager with a guitar of my own, I would still go to the biggest instrumental store in my area and spend hours there trying out all the new guitars. I used to do this every Sunday, to escape from the reality. The old owner of the store had become so used to my visits that she would wait for my arrival every Sunday, with the newest guitars out in display and a new flavoured cookie that she made. I missed her.

I slung the guitar around my neck and started to strum the chords lightly in order to get the feel of it. An unknown melody started flowing through my mind and I strummed it out. Lyrics clouded my thoughts and I tried to weave them up in the melody I was currently trying to play.

" We were driving the getaway car,
We were flyin', but we never get far,
Don't pretend it's such a mystery,
Think bout the place where you first met me"

I hummed a little to the beat as I tried to come up with some more lines.

" Riding in a getaway car,
There were sirens in the beat of my heart,
Should've known I'd be the first to leave,
Think about the place where you first met me,
The getaway car,
No we never get far,
No nothing good starts in a getaway car. "

I kept strumming the tune but the lyrics in my head didn't fit in it. I struck a final chord and then looked up in Ryan's eyes to see that there were shining with admiration. A slow smile spread across his feature which made my own lips tug upwards." Getaway car, eh? " He chuckled teasingly and I laughed at his observation. "That sounded amazing Eve," he then said in a soft voice and my smile widened.

Someone cleared their throats from behind us. I turned around to see a very cheerful Jenny smiling at us. I smiled back at her and pulled her into a small side hug. "Hey, Jenny, " Ryan greeted her by placing a soft kiss on her cheek.  "Hey, Ryan, Hi Evelyn! " She replied in the chirpy little voice of hers.

Jenny was the kind of girl who could make you smile even if you were having one of the worst days of your life. She was wearing a black T-shirt with the words 'Joe's bar' written on them and faded blue jeans. Her cherry blonde hair, which were almost pink if you ask me, were pulled up in a low pony tail.

" That was amazing Evelyn, but what are you guys doing here at this time of the day? " She asked. Ryan gestured towards me and  answered, "Evelyn lost her phone that night and we realised that it was missing today morning. Any chance you saw it here somewhere? " I nodded along.

Jenny's face lit up with realisation, " So that's your phone! Come on follow me I'll show you where it is! " She exclaimed happily and I chuckled at her bubbly nature. No wonder she and Evan were dating, she was the most bubbly girl in town and he was the biggest teddy bear of America!

We followed Jenny as she lead us through the backdoor and into a small alleyway at the end of which was a bathroom and another room. We entered the room and I looked around to see shelves and boxes all around. Maybe this was the supplies room.  " Here, is this your phone? " Jenny asked holding it out to me. "Oh thank god, yeah this is my phone! " I exclaimed taking the phone from her hand.

The screen was dirty as if somebody had tried to figure out the password. " I kinda tried to unlock it but just to see who it belonged to, I swear! " I laughed at Jenny's fumbled explanation and Ryan chuckled from behind me. I looked at him and saw that he was looking at my phone screen. "Is that the lady killer you were talking about? " He asked pointing to the little red haired lady standing at the end of the family photo with a scowl on her face. Stella had made me put that damn photo there!

I chuckled, " How'd you guess? " I asked and he laughed, " She's the only one standing there and scowling for no fucking reason, so I thought she must be Stella or whatever her name was." I laughed, " Yeah, that's Stella! "

"Who's Stella? " Jenny asked with an amused smile on her face. " Her physic aunt, " Ryan replied with another chuckle.

"You know what, I'm hungry and thirsty, can I get something to eat? " I asked Jenny, holding my stomach which was growling like there was no tomorrow. Ryan laughed and slung his hand across my shoulders, " C'mon let's get some food inside your belly, Sunflower! " We walked back inside the bar and Jenny told us to wait on one of the tables while she prepared us our food. I swear she's an angel!

I opened up my phone and logged into my Instagram account to see what was happening in the world I had left behind. I scrolled down my feed when I came across one particular photo that caught my eye. I gasped.

Ryan snapped his head in my direction. " You okay? " I looked up into his eyes. He must have seen the fear in mine because he scooted his chair closer to mine. " Hey, what's wrong, Eve? " He whispered.

"He's here, " I said barely over a whisper myself, but I knew he heard it. He cocked his head to one side and quirked his eyebrows in confusion, "Who's here, Sunflower? " But before I could reply, I heard a voice that I hadn't expected to ever hear again in my life.

"Is that you, Tiana? "

Oh, man here we go....

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• Evelyn's outfit •

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• Author's note •

This is getting interesting, don't you think? Also the song referred above is Getaway Car by Taylor Swift, but I'm sure you already knew that.

Much love

M :)