•15

                                    

                                          
Before 
                          
"You love me," I repeated.
                          
"Sounds weird, doesn't it?" Owen said, "I should have said something else."
                          
"No, I'm glad you did. I'm just mad you got to admit it first. Now, how am I supposed to say it?"
                          
"I don't need some special confession," Owen said. 
                          
"But I need a way for you to remember the first time I say it. Go hard, or go home," I insisted. 
                          
Breaking off our chuckling, Claire finished pushing her way through the crowd. Her gasp alerted us of her presence, causing us to step away from one another. 
                          
"Need I remind you that--"
                          
"Staff members aren't allowed to date, or show PDA, yada, yada," I interrupted, intertwining my hand with Owen's, "This is us ignoring that."
                          
Changing the subject to save us from Claire's wrath, Owen pointed to the lingering boys, "Those your nephews?
                          
"You two are..?" the taller one asked. 
                          
Spotting a few more flying dinosaurs in the distance, I said, "Going to start running."
                          
Grabbing their shirts, Claire pushed the boys in front of her, ordering them to follow Owen and I.  
                          
"Do you need assistance?" I asked the shorter brother as we ran, "How old are you? Are you capable of getting lost? Should I be holding your hand?"
                          
"You can hold my hand," the older one said, rather flirty. 
                          
I scrunched my face, muttering an uncomfortable, "Child, you're like twelve."
                          
Owen swiped his ID through the Staff Only door near the T-Rex paddock, gaining access into the back alleys for workers, which were calm and relatively clear of people. 
                          
"Lowery, we're on our way back to you," Claire said into her phone. After a pause, she asked, "Use the raptors?"
                          
"Son of a bitch," Owen said under his breath.
                          
"We have to get to them," I said to Owen, making the same assumption, "We can't let him use them."
                          
Looking at Claire, he said, "Take the kids, get them some place safe."
                          
Stopping Owen from further explanation, the massive doors blocking the alleys from Main Street rattled. 
                          
Unsure of what was happening, I started to take cautious steps away from the door. 
                          
The doors split down the middle; a sign that the pressure on the opposite side was about to bust through. 
                          
Letting go of Owen's hand, I ran to the Jeep in the middle of the alley for cover. I threw open the back door and crawled in. 
                          
In the midst of trying to adjust myself to fit more people in the back with me, the boys dove in. One crushed my ankles with his bottom, the other sat directly on my stomach. 
                          
Interrupted from my goal to yell at them, Owen pressed his foot on the gas pedal, causing my head to hit the side of the door. I tried to speak, but was stopped by Owen hitting the breaks, banging my head again. 
                          
"Wait, did Lauren get in?" Owen said, twisting in his seat, "Where's Lauren?!"
                          
"Get these damn rats off of me," I snapped, although it came out in a wheeze. 
                          
"We have names," the older one said, continuing to crush me with his weight, "I'm Zach, and that's--"
                          
"Child!" I yelled, "I honestly do not care until you get off me." 
                          
Following his brothers lead, Zach crouched on the floor. 
                          
I ungracefully maneuvered my body into the middle seat, sandwiched between the boys. 
                          
"Owen, what's the plan?" I asked. 
                          
"Can we stay with you?" the younger one cut in. 
                          
"I am never leaving you for as long as you live---" Claire tried to say. 
                          
"No, no, no," the boys chorused, "Them."
                          
"Definitely them," Zach added quietly.