Page 53

CHAPTER 52

Reed

I jerk awake, a sharp gasp ripping from my throat. Darkness surrounds me, pain burning in my veins. My chest tightens, my body trembling as I try to gather my bearings. My mind tries to piece together what happened, but I only remember the pain—the burning.

“You’re safe.” His voice breaks through the haze. I flinch at first, but I know it. Noah.

“N–” my voice was rough, like I had been screaming for hours.

“Shh, don’t speak. You’re safe, baby. I got you.”

His words sink into me, but it feels foreign. I pride myself on being strong, but everything hurts. Worse than when I thought I was dying. A sob builds in my chest before I can stop it.

“I should’ve told you.”

“Told me what?’ Noah asks, brushing my hair back from my forehead.

“The truth,” I whisper.

Noah nods, tilting his head to the side. For a moment I wonder if he’s going to curse me out or tell me he never wants to see me again. It sits heavy in my chest like a stone, impossible to ignore.

“Then tell me the truth,” he encourages.

The words circle in my mind, picking apart every moment I should’ve said something. Every time he asked me a question, every time he begged me for the truth. I don’t deserve him, but I’m too weak to walk away.

“Viper bit me. I promised him when we were attacked that I would put him down before he turned. But I held onto the idea that it wouldn’t happen to him, until it did. He woke up—he attacked. I tried to stop him, but I let him get too close.” Peering down at my naked chest, I move my arm so he can see the scar sitting on my bicep.

“I’m sorry, Noah, I’m so fucking sorry.”

“You should be, I begged you for the truth. I told you, I won’t have you lying to me.”

I drop my head, knowing his next words—he’s done with me.

“From here on out, you lie to me, and I’m going to shove a rock up your ass.”

“A rock?” My brow furrowed.

Noah pulls back, reaching into his pocket. Confusion wraps around my brain as he pulls out three rocks.

“These are my favorites, this one is amazonite.” He holds a teal rock up, showing it to me.

“No more lies,” I mutter.

“No more lies.” He repeats. “And while we’re talking, I’ll have you know, I’m a very sexual person. And the fact you’ve only fucked me once, well, that has to change.”

Laughter burst out of me. Of course, out of everything, Noah would be concerned about being fucked.

“And while it seems like I’m not upset about you not telling me this little fact about you, I’m not going to hold it against you. But I will tell you, you ever hold information from me again,” He grabs my chin, squeezing my cheeks. “I’ll bend you over and fuck you.”

I smile against his fingers, rather enjoying this new Noah?—

“Noah!” Someone calls from the other side of the wall. My head jerks over, suddenly realizing we’re in a moving vehicle. One that looks awfully familiar.

“Come on, I want you to meet some people.” Noah climbs off the bed, holding a hand out to me. Slowly I swing my legs over the side, feeling every bone in my body scream in protest. Placing my hand in his, Noah leads me out of the room into the main part of the RV. My knees wobble with each step I take.

“You must be Reed, I’m Mallory!” A bright blonde girl bounces over. I’m nearly blinded by the bright pink dress and sparkly pink heels. I frown, glancing at Noah.

“It’s a long story, but they found me.” Noah whispers.

“Hi, I’m Rue,” another female steps up.

“Uh, hi,” I cough, unsure what to say. When I thought about getting Noah to his friends, I never thought about actually meeting them.

“Reaper—”

The world stops.

One second I’m breathing, thinking of how to convince his friends I’m the man for him when that voice, the one I never thought I’d hear again, hits me.

Ghost steps forward, no longer wearing his mask, but nonetheless it’s him.

My best friend.

My mind stutters, unable to process what my eyes are seeing. It’s like the universe itself is playing a trick on me. Because he can’t be here.

But he is.

“Ghost,” my voice cracks. Something inside me shatters. My breath hitches, vision blurring as the weight of everything crashes over me. A sob breaks free before I can stop it. My legs nearly give out, but Ghost is there in a second, holding me up.

“Hi, brother.”

The dam inside me breaks, tears gathering in my eyes, streaming down my face. I wrap my arms around his back, clutching his shirt in my hands. I can’t speak; nothing comes to mind. I never thought I would see him again; I accepted it or tried to. And now that he’s here, every pain, every hurt pours out of me.

“I–I didn’t want to kill him!” I cry out.

“I know, I know. It’s okay,” Ghost whispers. It’s odd hugging him, him telling me it’s okay. We’ve never hugged, and while it’s weird, I can’t think of anything else I needed.

I don’t know how long we hug before my tears dry and Ghost lets me go. Sliding over to the bench, I let my body fall, feeling exhausted.

For so long, it felt like the world was crumbling beneath my feet. Every step forward was just another fight, another loss. But now watching Ghost and Rue talk amongst themselves, Mallory and Noah sing at the top of their lungs while a guy—Maverick—drives; everything feels okay.

Noah’s friends are alive. My best friend, while one is gone, sits there with a smile on his face. This weight no longer sits heavy on my chest.

I sit there, staring at Noah, catching his eye. He mutters something to Mallory before falling into the seat beside me.

“You know, during all this, I never got to say something to you.”

“Yeah, and what’s that?” I ask, smiling over at him.

“I love you.”

“And I love you.” Leaning forward, I slam my lips against his, not caring that everyone can see us. Not caring that my body is screaming at me.

Because, somehow against all odds, we all made it.