They had been driving for hours and Jaydee was getting restless. She still had no clue where they were going and Gerard hadn’t said one word since they left. She felt fear for her daughter. Peyton was the most important thing to her in the whole world and if anything happen to her she would die. The thought of having a wanted man taking take of Peyton if she was dead put knots in her stomach.

Jaydee glanced over at Gerard whose eyes were fixed in the road ahead. He looked very calm and at peace unlike he did back at the house. Now was better than any other time to ask where they were headed.

“Gerard, where are you taking us?” She asked holding her breath for a response.

He glanced over for a minute the back at the road still keeping his composure.

“California. The police will be looking in Jersey and L.A. will be easier for me to blend in.” He answered plainly.

“We won’t make it there tonight. That’s like cross country.”

Gerard looked over at Jaydee’s worried expression. It was obvious she was worried about
Peyton being in the car that long.

“Look I can’t go to the air port because of police and security, and driving gives me time to cover my tracks and spend time with Peyton. Were gonna stop at lots of motels along the way so calm the fuck down.”

Jaydee sighed. She hated the way he spoke to her now. His voice use to be full of love and concern for her, but now all she heard was hate and annoyance.

Gerard glanced back over to her and saw a pained look on her face. It was a different look then she had when she was worried about Peyton. He knew it wasn’t fear he was going to hurt her because she saw that look years ago at the cabin. This was something else.

“What’s your issue?” He hissed.

Jaydee just shook her head and watched at lines on the road.

“Is that a serious question Gee?” She sighed.

Gerard softened hearing her use his old nickname. He use to love to hear her call him that. It brought back old memories of when they use to be happy. He could still feel now the love he felt for her then. But he had to ignore it. Gerard wasn’t going to let her hurt him again. Not like all the rest of his ex’s did.

“Don’t take that fucking tone with me. Answer the question?” He growled trying to cover his true feelings with hate.

“You really hate me so much you have to take my daughter form me and kill me?” She asked looking over at him with tears in her eyes.

Gerard just sat there. He couldn’t say that he hated her but he wouldn’t admit that he loved her. It would make him too vulnerable. The only way to change things was to have her dead so he could start new with his daughter.

Jaydee took his silence as a yes and she felt her heart rip in two. A tear fell down her cheek but she quickly wiped it away before he could see. She looked in the side mirror to see Peyton asleep in her car seat sucking her thumb. This eased her pain a little bit. Peyton could always make Jaydee feel better just by simply being there. Just by Jaydee being able to look at her face.

Gerard stopped at a motel around 11:30. He thought it was time for Peyton to sleep in a bed instead of a car seat. He wanted her to be comfortable.

He unbuckled her from her car seat and carried her into to the motel. Jaydee sighed and grabbed the bags from the trunk seeing as Gerard left them for her.

When they got to the front desk Jaydee paid for the room on her credit card. Gerard thought it would be safer if he didn’t use the credit cards in the wallet he stole so he left that up to her.

They made their way to their room and unlocked the door to revel a small room with two full sized beds. Gerard tucked Peyton into one and sat there for a bit stroking her hair and watching her sleep. He wished that he would have been able to see her when she was a baby. This just fueled his rage towards Frank, Mikey, and Jaydee. It was their fault he missed part of his daughters life.

Jaydee stood there watching him for a while. He really did love her and at least now she knew that if something were to happen to her then he would be a good father. She felt
wrong for ever doubting that.

Gerard stood and walked past Jaydee and into the bathroom shutting the door. He turned on the cold water and splashed in on his face a few times. He needed to clear his head. He wouldn’t let Jaydee get to him. He stared at himself in the mirror for a while. He looked tired and stressed. He sighed and turned to walk out when he saw Jaydee walking in.

At first he was irritated but that went away when he felt her lips crash onto his.