Page 12 of On the Way to You

I balked. “How in the world is that comforting to you?”

Emery looked at me then, and I only saw myself reflected in the lenses of his shades. “Because we’re just a blip on the radar, Cooper. Just like every other animal before us. And no matter how much we take while we’re here, we always have to give it back.”

His eyes went back to the road and I heard the click of the turn signal before we rounded a semi, picking up speed. Emery reached for the music dial but I stopped him.

“Wait.” My hand wrapped around his wrist and he looked to me, fingers still on the dial. My cheeks flushed with heat as I dropped my grip, clearing my throat. “We should play a game. A road trip game. How about twenty-one questions?”

“That’s too many.”

I laughed. “Okay, well, what’s the magic number of questions you’re okay with, Emery Reed?”

He didn’t smile. “Zero is preferable.”

“Oh, come on,” I pleaded, turning in my seat a little so I could face him. I adjusted my seat belt over my shoulder and tucked my prosthetic under the opposite knee. His eyes hadn’t fallen to my leg yet, hadn’t inspected it, hadn’t realized I was lacking. I wondered if they would, and if so — when. “Humor me. We’re going to be stuck in this car together for who knows how long.”

He still didn’t answer.

“How about ten?”

“One.”

“Five.”

He huffed. “Fine.”

I smiled in victory, fingers unwrapping my long braid just to rewind it again. “Okay. First question. Why are you on a road trip to Washington by yourself?”

“I’m not by myself.”

“Well, youwere,” I deadpanned.

We slowed again, hitting another string of traffic. “I told you, I just have to see something.”

“You know, this game doesn’t work if you don’t give me just alittlemore detail than that.”

Emery’s jaw tightened, and I watched his chest as it pushed a long exhale down. “My grandmother just passed away, and there’s a place in Washington that was her favorite in the world. She made me promise I would go see it.”

I swallowed. “Were you close with her?” I didn’t want to sayI’m sorry.No one ever did when death came up, though it seemed to be what we all went for automatically, anyway.

“That’s two questions. I think it’s my turn.”

I threw my hands up. “You’re right. Okay, your turn. Shoot.”

“Why did you get in a car with a stranger to travel across the country?”

My jaw hung open. “Hey, that’s not fair! You asked me to come!”

“I didn’t say I didn’t. I asked you why you got in the car.” Emery raised one eyebrow, glancing at me for just a second before turning his attention back to the road.

“I don’t know,” I murmured. “I’ve been wanting to go to Washington, anyway. It was a free ride.”

“Oh, come on,” he chided, his voice mimicking mine as he repeated my words back to me. “You know, this game doesn’t work if you don’t give me just alittlemore detail than that.”

I swallowed, eyes trying to catch on the little yellow lines as we zoomed through them. I wanted to give him a real answer, I just hadn’t figured it out yet myself.

“I was dying in that town,” I finally said, my voice low. I wondered if he could hear me over the wind. “And I don’t want to die before I’ve even had the chance to live.”

I was just as surprised by the words as Emery was, his sunglasses reflecting my face again as I watched the two creases form between his eyebrows.