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Doing what he tells me, I watch Reed walk around the store, shoving things into his own bag. I should probably do the same thing since I’m going to be on my own soon. It’s better to have more weapons and supplies.

I throw my bag back on and start walking through the aisle. Most of the shelves had been ransacked. It’s not until I come across some camouflage sweatshirts that I stop. Taking it off the hanger, I hold it up, debating on taking it. Georgia is normally hot, but with the weather changing, the nights are becoming colder.

“Ready?” Reed asks, coming up behind me.

“Uh… yeah.” Shoving the clothing into my bag once more, I turn towards Reed.

He eyes me for a moment, seeming to come up with some conclusion before he’s leading the way out of the store once more.

* * *

For the next two days,neither Reed nor I speak much. I cough it up to be because we’re closing in on the end of our time together. While Reed is more than happy inside, I’m beginning to dread being on my own. I can also feel him getting more irritated when I make us stop for the night. The days traveling uphill and with the sun beating down on us, I’m beginning to feel drained before the sun even sets.

“Reed,” I whine.

“Another hour, Noah.” Is all he says to me now.

Of course I count down that last hour. And the moment I do, I sit down, claiming this is where we’re resting for the night.

Reed huffs but doesn’t say anything. It no longer surprised me that he had nothing to say. I’m getting on his nerves, and I bet if it weren’t for me, he’d be wherever he was headed.

I watch Reed gather up some sticks lying around and begin a fire. It was our nightly routine by this point. I demanded we stop; he got the lame excuse for a camp set up. We’d both eat, brush our teeth, and then while I laid against my bag thinking of Reed, he’d be passed out.

“Goodnight, Reed.” I mumbled into the darkness that night. It was something I said every night, but this time it felt different. Most likely because it would be the last night I said it. Tomorrow we'll be at the cabin, so this is our last rest together. One last rest, and then I'd never see him again.

It’ll be fine.

I’ll be fine.

I should just get up in the morning and go off on my way. I don’t need to go to the cabin. Florida is in the opposite direction.

Even as I lay there, thinking of reasons I should stay. How do I convince him that I need to stay with him? This partnership was a means to an end.

By the time the sun began to rise, I shoved a protein bar into my mouth and chugged some water.

It’ll be easier to leave him if I can’t see his face. So even while my heart breaks the moment I get to my feet, I walk further away from Reed. One foot in front of the other, I move away. It’s then, when I’m a good twenty feet away, that I turn around.

Reed lays there, one hand over his chest while the other has a firm grip on his bat. I give him a sad smile, even if he can’t see me.

“Goodbye,” I whisper.

The burst of gunfire sounds; my vision blurs for a second before I feel the searing heat of the explosion in my shoulder. In slow motion I watch Reed jump up, his eyes searching for what happened.

“NOAH!”

My mouth opens to say something as my knees weaken, my shoulder burns, and my world fades to black.

CHAPTER21

Reed

My body jolts awake at the sound of a gun being fired. For a moment, I don’t feel any pain. Running my hands down the length of my body, I search for who took a shot when I’m immediately hit with Noah standing about twenty feet away. My brow furrows together, confusion etching my brain as to why he would be that far away. I told him multiple times he needs to stay within two or three feet, especially at night.

It’s not until Noah’s knee gives out that I see his shoulder is covered in red; the blood drips down his arm onto the ground.

“NOAH!” I scream. I’m moving before I even realize it. I slide towards Noah, his eyes meeting mine—dazed and unfocused. “Stay with me.” I press my hands against his shoulder, his warm blood seeping through my fingers faster than I’ve seen.

“Noah, you need to stay with me,” my voice shakes as I very quickly begin to lose my mind. Except his eyes begin to close, the fight in his body seeping out.