Beautiful Catastrophe

Chapter Five:

"What the hell are you trying to do?" Nathan quirked an eyebrow at her.

The sight of Kim trying to pick the lock on the handcuffs that held them together with a hairpin immediately woke him up. He was barely awake two seconds before he turned over to find her trying to escape again. He rolled his eyes at her stupidity.

"Nothing." She seemed a little afraid at first, but then Nathan let out a sigh and rolled over, dragging her along with him. "Stop it!" she squealed in annoyance.

"Oh get over yourself Kim." He snorted. I barely even moved, he thought.

"Maybe I'll get over myself when you stop being such a dumbass and unlock my side of the handcuffs you fool." She huffed.

"I need a cigarette." Nathan whined and sat up. He fished around on the bedside table for the carton of cigarettes and grabbed his lighter. "You want one?" he mumbled as he held the stick between his teeth.

"Ew no... I'm a dancer, I need to stay healthy." Kim replied snobbishly. She felt the urge to cross her arms as she spoke but was unable to do so. She sat up like Nathan had done but turned her head slightly to look at him, awaiting a smart response.

"Aren't you a ballet dancer sweetheart?" he asked, his tone ridiculing. She knew exactly where this was going.

"Yes, and?" she asked sassily.

"And doesn't every little ballerina like you smoke?"

"That s**t ruins your lungs, I need to be healthy to dance. I maintain my weight and stress levels healthily thank you very much." She was clearly offended by his question, it made him laugh a little.

"Suit yourself..." he lit up his cigarette and exhaled soft and slowly.

They sat in some strange silence for a while. Kim listened closely to their breathes while he puffed away on his cancer stick.

"Kim..." he started to talk again before her mind could begin to wander into the facts about the situation she was in right then. She turned her head again to look at his beautiful face- if only he wasn't a crazy kidnapper, she thought humorously to herself.

"Hmm." She murmured quietly, it was a sound Nathan oddly replayed again and again in his mind. It was gentle and warm.

"You need to understand that you're better off here with me, you're better off in D.C. where the CIA can take care of you."

"For how long? You told me I'm only being brought there because I'm in trouble and you're boss needs to question me. I'm not a fool Nathan, your mind games won't work with me. The only way any of you will be taking care of me is by slitting my throat after getting whatever information you need from me."

She was strangely calm, coming to terms with what was going to happen once they reached D.C. She knew those documents were extremely important and of great value to her father and his investors from Japan. The deal didn't fall through because of what she had taken back and she knew she would be in big trouble. All she needed to do now was find out what the CIA had to do with all of this.

"You don't know what you're talking about."

"Yes I do. I know how little value I am to you and your boss, considering he didn't care whether you brought me there dead or alive." Kim could have been making a valid point, if his lies about killing her were true. But they weren't, the CIA needed important answers from her and so her life was something Nathan needed to protect, or else he would end up dead too.

"We're leaving soon, you need to get ready."

He put his smoke out on the end table without giving it a second thought. The keys to the handcuffs seemed to appear in his hands out of nowhere in particular. He unlocked the cuffs and sprung up out of bed, for some reason Kim decided subconsciously to follow him.

He swooped the shower curtain to one side and gave her a wolfish smile.

"Hop in sweetheart we're showering together."

"You think you can get me naked that easily?" she rolled her eyes at him. "I don't think so-"

"Well I do."

Before she knew it she had taken two steps back in order to get away from his dark presence in front of her. But it was no use, her back hit the wall gently and he leaned down to place one of his hands on her cheek. He swiped his thumb over her soft skin and let out a low, wicked laugh that made her shiver in delight. She cursed herself for it and hoped he didn't notice.

Kim looked up at him, trying to keep her eyes glued to his in a deadly stare. She needed something to keep her mind off of how close he was and how intoxicating every part of him could be.

"I'm sure your mission wasn't to f**k me Nathan." She closed her eyes when she spoke. She had lost the battle to keep the intense eye contact they had been sharing because of the feeling of his other hand playing with the waistband of her bottoms.

"That's true Kimmy." Within a matter of seconds, he whisked himself away from her and moved to the other side of the room towards the door.

Kim was surprised, and... a little disappointed- that was what the insane side of her felt anyway. She tried not to let her annoyance show but it was written all over her face, clearly on display for Nathan to see. It made him chuckle cockily.

"Go shower Kim, we have places to be."

"Whatever." She grumbled.

"And if you are more than five minutes in there I'll be sure to come in and get you myself."

She wondered why that sounded so tempting.

*****

Within an hour, Kim and Nathan had managed to get back on the road again. He had paid for the motel and handcuffed her before they went on their travels. It had seemed to Kim like they were on a road to nowhere. She watched gloomily out the window at the few cars that passed and the not-so-scenic fields that lay on either side of the road.

They had been driving for quite a while and had grown tired of sitting there doing nothing at all. She decided to turn to Nathan and examine every part of him visible to her. He intrigued her, to say the least. Despite the attraction she obviously had for him, she felt as though there was more to him that he wasn't telling her. Everyone had a story, she wondered what his might be. Kim was forced to share a car with him for however long it took to get to D.C. and she wanted to learn more about him.

"Kim stop staring at me." He hadn't taken his eyes away from the road when he spoke.

"I'm not staring, I'm just bored as hell."

"I don't care." He said monotonously. There was short silence before she spoke again.

"Want to play I Spy-"

"No."

"C'mon..."

"No." she rolled her eyes but set them back on him afterward. Kim noticed how he seemed eager to keep on going and how he griped the steering wheel with some sort of anxiousness. His eyes flickered countlessly between the road ahead and the mirrors for behind. It seemed as though he was waiting for something to happen and she wondered what that might be exactly.

"So- where are you from-"

"Kim we aren't making small talk or chatting each other up."

"Well you're no fun at all." She noticed how quickly he took the next exit and she furrowed her brows in confusion.

"Where are we going?" she asked.

"We're getting food and then we're heading off again." It took Nathan a couple of minutes to find a Drive Thru and after ordering for the two of them without asking Kim herself, he parked and began to eat his taco.

"I don't eat fast food." She stated. She had been partially lying. Sometimes, Kim would treat herself, but generally she liked to stay healthy and eat clean. It worked out better for her when she danced. She wondered when the next time she twirled in her satin pointe shoes would be.

"You haven't eaten since before I came to your apartment yesterday morning, you need to eat something."

"Before you broke into my apartment you mean."

"That's not the point, c'mon, you need to have something."

He was right; she did need to eat something. She was tired from her brain constantly going into overdrive with worrying thoughts and the fact that she was starving made it easy to give in and take a bite. Nathan quickly finished his food and rushed off to get back on the road again as she ate.

"You made short work of that taco sweetheart." he quirked an eyebrow at her once she had completely finished her meal. He seemed a little more relaxed than he was earlier.

"I said I didn't eat fast food, not that I didn't like it." He sniggered but nothing else was said for quite some time.

Kim fell asleep and Nathan kept on driving. He felt the urge to throw a blanket over her from the back seat but stopped himself. He decided when it was getting late that maybe it was time to find somewhere to stay and get some well needed rest.

Kim only woke up when Nathan finally found somewhere to stay. He shook her shoulder and she mumbled something before opening her eyes.

"Time to wake up sweetheart. We have to go inside."

"Mmm." She opened her door and got out of the car to walk next to him. She noticed the empty pool and how the water glowed in the darkness of the night.

They walked past it and took the stairs to the second floor. Nathan opened the door to their room and threw his bag on the ground. The bag that she had learned was filled with both his things and hers. He had packed it after he knocked her out yesterday morning with things she needed, even a toothbrush. She had called him a creep for going through her things once she found out but thanked him mentally for making sure she had everything she needed.

Nathan didn't dress her himself like he had done the night before. Instead, he uncuffed her and told her to get ready for bed while he went to the bathroom. Kim looked around the room and noticed the doors that led out to the small balcony.

Instead of getting changed like Nathan had told her to do, she wandered out onto the balcony quietly. She knew not to make a sound, a clear indication that the thought of escaping was fresh on her mind again.

Kim didn't know why she had forgotten about escaping until just then, all day she should have been looking for ways to get away from Nathan but not a single one had crossed her mind all day. She knew that what she had said to him in bed would be her fate. The CIA would most likely get rid of her once they had gotten what they wanted from her. Kim's blurry reality only made her gasp for air even more.

Her palms had become sweaty and she closed her eyes in hope to get some relief from the panic appearing before her eyes. What would happen when they reached D.C? What were they going to do to her? What were they going to ask her? She was afraid, the brave Kim was hiding on her and she didn't like it.

Kim gripped her clothes she was supposed to be changing into and thought of a plan. The swimming pool came into view as she stepped further onto the balcony over the railings that stopped her from falling off. She placed the clothes on the ground. Her hands were shaky as she gripped onto the cold metal and looked down to see the swimming pool just below her.

She decided her best bet was to jump, it was a jump she would definitely make. She threw her clothes down first, aiming for the ground rather than the pool. She would need something to get changed into once she soaked the ones she was in now. The clothes scattered on the pavement below but she managed to save them from the water.

Kim put one leg over the railings and braced herself for the jump into the water she was about to make. She was extra careful, making sure she didn't slip or fall. She took a deep breath and began to put her over foot over when Nathan's voice startled her.

"Kim?!"