<span style="color: #FF80FF"> <span style="font-weight: bold"><span style="font-size: 150%; line-height: 116%;"><div style="text-align: center;">Lea Stevens</div></span></span> </span><br/><div style="text-align: center;"><a class="postlink" href="http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/nn24/SociallyToxicBeauty/036e0d3a-b28c-47ec-b858-0eaea6c67e4d.jpg">[ img ]</a></div><br/><span style="font-weight: bold"><span style="font-size: 150%; line-height: 116%;"><span style="color: #FF80FF"><div style="text-align: center;">"Jazz"</div></span></span></span><br/><br/>The silence was welcomed and Lea had started to doze in the heat of the car as it relaxed her. As least until they had stopped driving. Her hands came up and rubbed her eyes, and she blinked against the harsh lights of the food stand they had stopped at. She was surprised that Carlos had stopped at Pedro's. Carlos got out of the car and went up to the stand.<br/><br/>She watched him talk to Pedro and she felt as if she had traveled through time. Pedro was cheerful and talkative as he made the food, or so it seemed, and it didn't take long. Carlos had come back to the car within a few minutes. He handed the food heavy paper bag to Lea, and she held it securely in her lap as they drove.<span style="font-style: italic">"I haven't been here since that night on the parking lot. But I have missed that food every second. Ok, let's go into deep cover for the night, until my fellow officers are off duty,"</span>he said distractedly, and Lea did not reply. She hadn't been to Pedro's either since then.<br/><br/>They eventually found a place, an old motel that had likely seen better days, but it looked clean. Carlos went and got the room key and it didn't take them long to eventually park and go inside. Carlos had unlocked the door for her, holding it open as she hesitantly walked in with the bag of food still in her possession. He followed soon after and closed the door behind them.<br/><br/>She went over to the small table by the window. It had two garish looking chairs that hurt her eyes. She was sure they were from the 80's, but she didn't complain. Instead she sat the food down and closed the window curtains as Carlos turned on a side table lap by the bed. She turned on the lamp near the table and sat down, unpacking the paperbag and setting up the table some so they could eat.<br/><br/><span style="color: #FF80FF">"Thank you,"</span>she said softly, still unable to look at him. She didn't touch her food, waiting on Carlos to start eating first. She wasn't even sure if she was hungry, but she had a feeling that if she didn't eat, Carlos would make her eat. The food looked good and she noticed that he had gotten her favorites, even her favorite condiments. Lea's mood was continually dropping and she was craving a hit, but she knew there was nothing she could do about it. She tapped her foot to distract herself and willed Carlos to just take a bite of his food so that she could focus on eating her own.<br/><br/>He was getting comfortable, but he finally sat down with her and began to eat. She slumped in relief as she grabbed the extra cheese sauce and poured it over her enchiladas, practically drowning them. She picked up her fork and began to take small bites. The food was delicious, as it had always been, and she hoped that she could eat it all. If it had been her time as an officer, Lea would have nearly inhaled all her food before Carlos had the chance to sit down. Now she had a hard time ever eating, her meals often small or just non-existent.<br/><br/>She wondered when Carlos was going to start talking. She was feeling much better since her sudden retreat, but she still didn't try to start any conversation herself. She didn't know how or what to say.