The Game Has Changed by D. L. Wu

you?”
    “No, I can find it. Thank you so much, Sir,”
Evan said politely.
    To Jaime's complete surprise and elation, Evan
lifted her up into his arms. Holding her tightly to him, she
wrapped her arms around his neck as he carried her out of the
restroom. He hurried down the alleyway toward the car that was
still sitting at the gas pump.
    A group of onlookers had gathered and were now
wondering as to why a police car was sitting in the parking lot
with its lights flashing. They gasped with surprise and whispered
amongst themselves when they caught sight of Evan as he carried a
half-naked Jaime over to the waiting Acura.
    He opened the car’s back door and gently set
her down inside. Closing the door, he rushed around to the driver's
side. He hopped into the driver’s seat and peeled out of the gas
station, causing several people to jump out of his way as he
recklessly drove away.
    Jaime gathered her wits about herself and
hastily pulled several items out of the Wal-Mart bags. She had
picked up another pair of blue jeans and a few shirts, but soon
realized that she no longer had any shoes. Changing into her new
clothes, she climbed back into the front passenger seat. Her heart
raced as she noticed how fast Evan was driving. If she didn’t know
any better, he was driving over seventy miles-an-hour.
    Her eyes widened with horror as she took note
of the blood that was gushing down Evan's face. She had heard the
cracking of his nose when the boy had hit him, but hadn’t realized,
at the time, that it most likely meant that his nose had been
broken.
    “Evan!” she squealed. “You're bleeding
badly!”
    While it was certain that he already knew, he
seemed oblivious to her presence at that given moment. He was
driving like a maniac and he appeared to be incredibly focused on
the task at hand.
    “Please! Pull over now!” He ignored her plea as
the speedometer hovered close to eighty.
    “Evan, please!” she beseeched him. “Pull over
so that I can stop the bleeding for you!”
    “I'm not pulling over!” he shouted with
reckless determination.
    “Then let me drive for a while so that you can
put pressure on it.”
    “I'm okay!”
    “You're not okay!” she argued. “The blood is
pouring out of you!”
    “I'll stop when we're far away from
here.”
    “And bleed to death in the meantime? Evan, it
looks really bad. Please, let me help you!”
    “I don't want them to suddenly remember they
have a warrant on me!” he blurted out fearfully.
    “They don't know anything!” Jaime moaned.
“Please, please, let me help!”
    Evan sighed with frustration. “All right,” he
whispered and haphazardly veered onto the first country road that
crossed the two-lane highway.

CHAPTER 11
     
     
    As he tore down a dirt road into the middle of
nowhere, Jaime reached into the bag of supplies sitting on the back
seat to find something that she could use to put pressure on his
nose with. The only things she found within the bag were several
items of clothing and some snacks. She had no other choice but to
take one of the brand new tee shirts that she had bought for
herself.
    Once Evan pulled the car onto the side of the
road and killed the engine, she scrunched up the tee shirt and
tenderly pressed it against his bleeding nose, carefully tilting
his head back at the same time. She grasped the back of his neck
with her other hand to help keep his head steady as she applied
gentle force.
    It was quiet for a long time as silence fell
between them, interspersed with the sound of deep gasping and mouth
breathing that came from Evan as she tenderly squeezed his nose. It
was obvious that he was in dire pain and was having difficulty
breathing. She gazed at him with both longing and pity, something
he took no notice of as he had his eyes closed and submitted to her
care.
    He took a deep breath, every once in a while.
It frightened her every time he did so and could not help but to
feel sorry for him. She felt indebted to him, too, for what