But my mind’s miles ahead, already bracing for what’s coming.
My father.
The fucking empire he’s built with blood and violence and everything I’ve just thrown away.He’s not going to let this slide.If you step out of line, you don’t just get a warning.You get a fucking bullet.There’s no way he’ll just let me walk away from this without making an example of me.
I’m his son.He raised me to do his bidding, to follow the fucking rules, to one day take over his empire and I just turned my back on everything he’s built.For what?For her?
I pull off the highway, the dim lights of a gas station cutting through the night like a beacon.The place is nearly empty.Just a few trucks parked in the corner, the hum of the lights overhead, and the dull buzz of the pumps.
The car rolls to a stop at the fuel pump, the engine humming to a quiet death as I cut the ignition.I watch her for a beat, her stillness almost too perfect.She doesn’t move.I wait, half-expecting her to crack, to reveal the act.Same old game.Pretend to sleep.Keep control.Disappear the second my guard drops.
But there’s nothing.
No sneaky move.
No fake breaths.
Just her steady breathing.
When I’m convinced it’s not an act, I slip out of the car and press the lock button.One sharp press, and she’s sealed inside, a caged bird with clipped wings, trapped in steel and silence, and I’m the one holding the fucking key.
I keep my eyes peeled as I step away from the car, scanning the surroundings.My mind’s already ticking, calculating.The shadows, the cameras.I know my father’s men will be on me before long, and I’m sure as hell not going to make it easy for them.
The door to the station slides open.I step inside, the stale air heavy.My eyes flicker around, checking the security cameras, counting them in my head.The blind spots, the shadows lurking in the corners, making sure I’ve got all the angles. Always thinking two steps ahead.I don’t trust anyone.Not now.Not ever.
I move through the aisles like I’m part of the background, just another stranger in a gas station. The flickering lights above, the low hum of the fridge.
I pick up whatever catches my eye.I grab a pack of jerky, something I know she used to munch on when we were younger, before life twisted us into whatever the hell we’ve become.Some chips.A bottle of water.Nothing special, just things that remind me of her, of what she used to like.
When I reach the back of the store,my eyes scan the rack of cheap sweaters.One catches my eye.A thick, oversized hoodie, just like the one she used to wear when she wanted to hide from the world.Without thinking, I grab it. Maybe it’s because she’s freezing in that damn thin ass shirt, or maybe it’s just the impulse to give her something, anything, to remind her of who she used to be.
I head to the counter with the items in hand, the hoodie tucked under my arm, and the hair dye and snacks in the basket.The clerk’s barely paying attention, eyes glued to the TV.Doesn’t matter to me.I’m in and out, anyway.
I drop the stuff on the counter.The guy scans it without a word, barely registering I exist.I slide the cash over.He shoves the change back, no eye contact, no effort.I don’t say thanks.Just grab the bag, turn on my heel, and head for the door as if none of this ever happened.
I finish filling up the tank, moving like the world’s on pause.I slide into the driver’s seat and slam the door.
Emery shifts beside me, and I already know she’s awake.I toss the bag her way, careless.Pretending it’s nothing.Pretending she’s nothing.Even though every part of me knows that’s a fucking lie.
“Here,” I say, my voice flat, detached.
The bag lands softly in her lap.
“What’s this?”she asks, her voice still thick with sleep.
I glance over, just for a second, and my chest tightens.
She’s gorgeous, even with the remnants of sleep and dried blood clinging to her.That sleepy look, soft and unguarded, like she’s still lost in whatever dream world she’s been trapped in.
Memories slam into me… us, seventeen, lying beneath the stars, her hand tangled in mine—both of us too fucking naïve to realize how fast it would all slip through our fingers.We thought we had forever, convinced the world would hand it to us.Believed love could bulldoze through every goddamn thing life threw at us and still come out the other side untouched, beautiful, whole.
I used to wake her like this.
My fingertips in her hair, tucking it behind her ear, as if she were the most delicate thing I’d ever touched.That sleepy look in her eyes… half-awake, half-lost, and still so fucking beautiful it knocked the breath out of me every damn time.The first time I saw her, I didn’t believe anything could be that perfect.But she was right there.In my arms.In my world.
I remember walking her home at three in the morning, the cold biting at our skin, but it never mattered.She was the only thing that kept me warm.
I loved her so fucking fiercely, that I’d burn the world down just to make sure she was safe, to keep her from seeing everything I couldn’t protect her from.We had no clue how fast it would all fall apart.We thought we could outrun the mess we were born into.Thought we could make it through.
