When Milo and his mother were safely inside, I allowed myself to lose it.
I punched the shit out of the steering wheel, screaming in anguish at the fact that our safe place had been compromised and I was now forced to face everything I’d just wanted to run and hide from.
I’d never wanted to fight.
I hadn’t been lying when I’d told Milo all I wanted to do was stay here and love him forever. But it seemed the universe had other plans.
After I’d beaten my knuckles raw on the steering wheel, I leaned back in my seat, running my hands down my face and forcing myself to breathe through the pain and the rage.
It didn’t matter if I wanted to fight or not.
They were coming.
They were coming, and I’d better be fucking ready, or they would put me back in that damn cage.
Or worse.
They would put Milo in there.
The blood drained from my face, and suddenly, my feelings didn’t matter anymore.
Kicking open the driver’s side door, I stepped out into the crisp mountain air, my hightops crunching on the gravel as I made my way to the cabin.
No one was putting Milo in a fucking cage.
I didn’t care if I needed to torch the entire planet to keep that from happening.
I would do it.
Sliding my hand into my tactical jacket and wrapping my fingers around the comforting butt of my gun, I let out a deadly sigh, allowing myself to free-fall back into all the memories I’d spent the last few weeks trying to bury deep inside me.
I would burn this fucking world to ash if they tried to take him from me again.
And I would laugh while I fucking did it.
Igot my mother set up in the panic room, though it was more like an underground bomb shelter that had been stocked for the upcoming zombie apocalypse that no one had told me about.
“Milo… I’m really sorry. I forgot we weren’t supposed to show our faces,” my mom whispered as I tucked her into a large sectional set in front of a massive TV that was lined with hundreds of old DVDs.
“It’s okay, Mom.” I sighed as I slipped out the box set for the first season of Friends and got the show set up for her.
I didn’t know how long she was going to need to stay down here, so I figured a nine-season show would keep her busy for a while.
“I just… my head… sometimes I get confused, and things get all mixed up…” Her voice cracked, and my heart broke for her.
“I know. It’s not your fault.” I clicked play, then crossed the room and dropped a kiss on her head. “I’ll get you all sorted out, I promise. But right now, I need to go help Jay make sure we’re able to stay safe, okay?”
My mom nodded, her lower lip trembling, making my chest tighten with guilt at the thought of having to leave her down here.
“The kitchen over there seems to be fully stocked with non-perishables. Help yourself to anything you want if you get hungry. Want me to make you some popcorn before I head up?” I asked, and she shook her head, giving me what I was sure was meant to be a reassuring, albeit watery smile.
“No, honey. I’ll be okay. Go see if Jay needs help.”
“Alright. Love you.” I dropped another kiss on her head before slipping out and locking the heavy steel door behind me with the passcode Jay had given me.
By the time I made it up the stairs, it was clear Jay had already been hard at work.
I found him in the kitchen fiddling with a gun that was bigger than I was—all while barking questions off to NOVA.
