“I wasn’t thinking you’d help me withthat,” says Logan smoothly. “I need a babysitter.”
“Fuck you, man! I’m not a fucking nanny!”
“Fine. I just figured you wouldn’t want the kid to see what I’m going to do to her mother.”
Once more, Everest pushes down on the brakes so suddenly that he sends us all careening forward. Damien lets out a spew of curse words, but the terror gripping me is entirely foreign to the accident we’ve narrowly avoided.
“Fucking hell!” barks Damien. “Need to go back to driving school, Everest? Pull the fuck over, I’m driving.”
“Where am I supposed to pull over?” growls the latter. “We’re on the highway.”
“Take the next exit,” cuts in Logan. “That’s the way to the airport.”
Everest swerves the car without putting on his turn signals, nearly crashing into a truck. Damien slams his fist against the dashboard, but Logan’s fury is clearly unrelated. Just like my fear.
A heavy silence fills the car as Everest drives down a number of roads before reaching a small private airport.
“Well, it was fun while it lasted,” says Damien, getting out of the car. I hear him open the trunk and lift out a small suitcase. Then he stops by Logan’s window.
“Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do, man.”
“Fuck off, Damien,” mutters Logan, which is apparently his version of a goodbye. “I’ll see you later.”
Yet another shrug, and Damien turns his back to us.
“Alright,” growls Logan, as he unbuckles his own seatbelt and opens the car door. “Get out, Everest. You too.” He averts his eyes as he unbuckles my seatbelt, and pulls me out. He’s definitely not being gentle about it, but at least, he’s not yanking me around quite as much as usual.
Huffing out in annoyance, Everest leaves the driver’s seat and walks slowly around to the back. Logan pushes me in the passenger seat without a word, slams the door after me, and then settles himself in the driver’s seat.
I don’t know why being just a few feet away from Aurora suddenly sends me into a panic. I’ve been separated from her plenty recently. Maybe it’s because I’ve decided to run, and I’m realizing just how hard that will be, if Logan continues to separate us.
But I just can’t let him bring me back to Carmelo.
The thought causes me to hunch over, clutching my knees. I feel like I’m going to be sick again.
“Hey.”
The voice startles me, even more than the touch on my back that accompanies it, because of the softness in it.
“Hey. I gave you my word before. I’m not going to hurt her.”
I slowly raise my eyes to him. When I search his face, I can’t find any sign that he’s lying. I can’t find any sign of cruelty either. And yet, Iknowhe’s cruel. Which means heisa liar.
“I don’t believe you,” I say harshly.
His hand leaves my back abruptly, and the absence of it burns me. “Well, you should,” he says shortly.
Then he turns the car around, heading back out on the highway.
18
Logan
It’s dark by the time I decide to stop for the night. We’ve been driving all day, and I’ve been quietly freaking out the entire time.
At the rate we’re going, we’ll be reaching Carmelo far too soon. And I don’t even have the beginning of a plan.
All day long, I’ve been struggling with extremes. Wanting to reassure her. Wanting to find the words to force tears from her eyes. Wanting to hold her. Wanting to take off my belt and let her have it.
