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‘Thanks,’ Brooke said tightly as she climbed into the car.

I lifted my hand in a wave and waited for her to drive out of the garage before getting into the passenger seat.

‘You ready to go?’ Brooke asked, nudging her sunglasses down onto her nose.

‘Yeah. Let’s get moving before they catch up with us.’

8

Butterfly– Mariah Carey

We stopped again not long after we’d crossed into Wyoming, in a two-stoplight town nestled at the foot of mountains that had snow on their peaks.

I could fall in love with towns like these. The air was soaked with the deep smell of pine, making everything feel fresh and clean. This one had just one motel, a Mom-and-Pop place with a golden-yellow exterior. I felt safer out here, especially now that we’d left the tracker behind with Luca. It was calm, and quiet, and strangely wholesome.

Before we got into the motel room and unpacked, we needed to stock up on some essentials: gas, snacks, toiletries. Brooke checked in, then gave me printed directions from the front desk that would take us to a supermarket on the edge of town.

‘Can I throw some stuff in the laundry before we go back out?’ I asked as we walked into the afternoon sun.

‘Ooh, good idea.’

We found the tiny laundry room that smelled like clean linen just off the parking lot. I had a handful of quarters in my pocket, and it didn’t take long to shove our dirty clothes in one of the washers. I checked the time so I’d know when to go back and move it over to the dryer.

Brooke hooked her arm in mine as we walked toward the car, and I tried not to be affected by that. She was just being friendly. That was all.

‘The supermarket is actually back the way we came in,’ I said, studying the directions when I was settled in the passenger seat. ‘Just off the highway.’

‘Great,’ Brooke said.

After a few minutes of using the directions to navigate, I tapped her on the arm.

‘Can we pull over?’ I asked.

‘Sure.’

The town had signs directing us to a nature park with a walking trail, and though it was too late in the day to go for a hike, I wanted to get out of the car, off the road and near a tree for a minute. I wanted to smell some flowers, not road dust and gas fumes.

Brooke grabbed our last bag of chips from the trunk and followed me, not saying anything when I laid on the grass in the late afternoon sunshine, my arms and legs splayed wide. She took the picnic bench instead.

‘You okay down there?’ Brooke asked after a few minutes.

‘Yeah.’ I had my eyes closed. ‘I’m reconnecting with nature.’

I heard her snort with laughter, then crunch on a handful of chips.

The sun was low in the sky, but still warm enough that my skin could feel it. On impulse, I pulled my sneakers and socks off and buried my toes in the scratchy grass.

‘Do you think anyone is looking for us?’ Brooke asked.

‘Like Chris?’

‘No, not that asshole. I’m not worried about him anymore.’

‘Really? I am,’ I muttered.

I propped myself up on an elbow to look at her, shielding my eyes from the sun with my other hand.

Brooke shook her head. ‘If we spend our time freaking out about every rude, slimy asshole of a man we come across, we’ll never get anywhere.’