Oak reaches across the table and takes Faith’s hand. “You’ve done us all proud, sis.”
“Thank you.” She pulls her hand away and fiddles with a zip on her hoodie. “I’m not going to university.”
“What?” I whip my head to the side, my brows knitting together.
She shrugs. “I got offered a regular night spot at the Black Crow to sing. I’m going to apply for an apprenticeship at the hospital like Lilly. I want to be a nurse and help people and I can sing and earn extra cash.”
I stare at her, blinking. “You—you want to be a nurse?”
She nods. “Like Lilly. She said I’d be great at it. And the singing gig pays well. It’s enough for now.”
“You’ve really thought this through?” I ask, my chest tightening in a way I wasn’t ready for. Not with worry—just pure, aching pride.
“I have.” She squeezes my thigh under the table. “And I still want to be with you.”
I press a kiss to her temple. “Then I’m behind you, one hundred percent. Whatever you need, Sunshine.”
Oak’s watching us with a strange glint in his eye. “Looks like I’ve got two siblings chasing good now,” he mutters. Then he smirks. “Better get used to calling you brother.”
Faith laughs. “You going soft in here, Oak?”
He grins, eyes warm now. “Don’t make me take it back.”
The guard taps his watch, giving us the signal to wrap up.
I stand, pulling Faith to her feet with me. “Next time I see you, it’ll be on the other side, brother.”
“Yeah, try to stay out of trouble before then. Don’t want you ending up on this side.”
I offer my hand. He pulls me in for a hug instead.
“You’ve got my blessing,” he says gruffly into my ear. “Just don’t screw it up.”
“I won’t,” I whisper.
Faith hugs her brother, then slips her hand into mine as we walk away. As the door clanks shut behind us, I glance down at her, at the future we never expected but wouldn’t trade for anything.
“You ready to ride, Sunshine?”
She grins up at me. “With you. Always.”
And just like that, we walk towards whatever comes next—together. She thinks I saved her, but the truth is, she saved me. Before her, there was no sun, nothing light in my life. I was ready to leave. Go nomad. A man with no map—just rage and ruin and the road.
But now I have Faith, I’m keeping her.
Forever.
