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I won’t be the reason you lose this life you’ve worked so hard for.

I sign my name at the bottom and leave it on the desk. Then I walk back to the bed. Miraculously, they are all still asleep. I look at each one of them, trying to memorize their faces.

Then I turn.

And walk out the door.

There is no other choice. I have to do this to protect the people I love.

Chapter 33

Jonah

The first thing I notice is the cold.

Not just in the air, but under my hand. I reach out on instinct, but my hand meets nothing but rumpled sheets. Finn shifts on the other side of the mattress. Boone’s already sitting up.

Ani’s not in the bed anymore. Where the fuck is she?

I push the blanket back and swing my legs over the side of the bed. The movement wakes Finn. Eyes still closed, he mumbles her name. When she doesn’t respond, he reaches for her and finds an empty spot in the bed.

Boone walks across the room to the small desk and snatches up a piece of paper. He scans the words with a look of pure devastation growing on his face.

I don't need to hear the words. I already know.

“She’s gone,” he whispers.

“What do you mean she’s gone? What the fuck does it say?”

“She’s gone,” Boone whispers again, but louder this time. His voice cracks, barely holding together.

Finn steps forward. “Give me the damn note.”

But Boone holds onto it and starts reading. He can’t even finish before his voice breaks completely. He folds the note inhalf and drops it onto the mattress. He sinks onto the mattress and stares at the floor.

His muscles flex right before he grabs the chair next to the bed and throws it against the wall. Wood splinters on impact, and pieces scatter across the floor, but he doesn’t even flinch.

None of us do.

That sound is what brings Mae running. Her little feet pound down the hallway. She skids to a stop just inside the doorway, her stuffed fox clutched in one hand. Her eyes go to the bed, to the empty spot beside me, then to Finn, who’s now holding the note. All the color drains out of her face.

“Where’s Ani?” she asks, close to tears.

I try to answer, but my mouth won’t move. The words don’t come.

Finn looks up, tears streaking his cheeks. Mae sees them and starts crying, her face crumpling.

“She said she wasn’t gonna leave,” she sobs. “She promised.”

I get up and crouch down to scoop her into my arms. She clings to me instantly, her little arms tight around my neck.

“We’ll find her,” I whisper. “And we’ll bring her back.”

But the words feel hollow. I hold her and press my cheek to her hair.

Boone is standing in the corner now, hands braced on the wall, his head down like he might put a hole through the wall. Finn hasn’t moved. He’s still holding that damn note.

She’s gone. She fucking left us. I understand why. I do. She felt like this was her only option, but it wasn’t. We would have moved heaven and earth to keep her safe. But right now, all we have is the space she left behind.