Page 95 of Left In The Dark

He grows quiet for a bit, looking in the direction I’m looking. “I guess either of us could at any given time, but that is how relationships work. You never know if they’ll last or not. I always hated the not knowing aspect of things, but doing it alongside someone who feels the same may not be so bad.”

“So, we’re in a relationship now?” I curve my lips.

“Yeah. Yeah, we are.” His lips lift higher. “And I think we’re already three steps ahead of most people. We’ve both already fucked up so many times, there’s only one way left to go.”

“I’m still not sure I know exactly where we’re supposed to go from here?”

He leans into me, tightening his hold on my hand. “I think we’re automatically going there on our own, and the bumpy roads often lead to the best scenery.”

I laugh and kiss his nose. “If that means it’ll get better than this, then I’m okay with there being a few more bumps.”

“Me too.”

Who knew the guy I once couldn’t wait to get away from would one day become the person I’d never want to be apart from again.

Thirty-four

Logan

One week. That’s all we had left to wait until Blake could come out of hiding and we’d be able to trick people into believing he’s been away in New York the whole time. His legs were getting better and he was walking more each day, but of course something had to blow our whole plan up.

I thought I’d finally get to stop hiding him from my mom and take him out on real dates we haven’t had a chance to have yet, but I’m not sure how any of that will happen now. I barge through the front door, slamming it hard behind me, and Blake appears from my room minutes later as I’m pacing behind the couch.

“What’s happening?” He walks closer, leaning against the couch.

“Turn on the news. Channel twenty‑seven,” I grind out, gesturing to the remote only inches away from him.

He grabs it from the end table, hand shaking as he hits the power button and flips through the channels. I sit with him on the couch as he’s increasing the volume, and all the color leaves his face when his abandoned car shows up on the screen. Yellow tape is wrapped between it and a news reporter as cops are gathering evidence.

“They were talking about it at work today,” I say, eyes glued to him while his stay on the screen.

“What does this mean?” He drops the remote between us, and I hold his hand to help him keep it steady.

“I don’t know. We don’t have as many options now. You can keep staying hidden or I can turn myself in.”

His expression’s like stone and he still doesn’t look at me. “I . . . if you turn yourself in, then that means you’ll go to jail and . . . and . . . I can’t come with you.”

“Yeah.” I swallow down the uneasiness threatening to come up. “But maybe the sentence will only be for a few years, and then when I’m out—”

“Or maybe we say I staged the whole thing to get away from my abusive home. No, we don’t have as many options now, but we still have ones better than that.”

The lady on the news goes on to talk about a missing persons report being filed, and she asks for anyone who might have news on where Blake could be to come forward. He bites his lip, pulling his hand away from me.

“You don’t want me anymore, do you? Is that what this is?” His eyes water as he looks at me, and I’m too tongue tied to answer right away.

“Well . . . is it? You’ve grown tired of me? It was only a matter of time before you did.” He looks down at his lap, breaths growing shallow, and I take his hand again, scooting closer to him.

“That’s not it at all, piglet. That’s not even close to the truth. Has it felt like I don’t want you anymore?” I tug on his chin with my other hand.

His head slowly moves from side to side. “No.”

“Then you need to trust that feeling over all the bad thoughts trying to confuse you. I know people have made you feel like you weren’t good enough before, but you are, Blake. You are more than enough.”

“Then why would leaving me be your first thought? It should never have been if that’s the case.”

I rub his fingers between mine, stroking strands of hair behind his ear. “It wasn’t. You only heard it that way. But do you really want to be stuck in here forever? Always trapped in a house with the same person for the rest of your life?”

“I’m okay with that as long as the person is you.”