My throat is parched from the lack of water as I stare out the window, feeling like sandpaper—a painful effort to even swallow saliva.
Daxton drives through empty streets and abandoned houses, fingers drumming on the steering wheel while the radio plays a quiet song in the background—too soft for me to discern.
Curiosity and wonder wash over me as we drive, with no clue about our destination and neither of them offering any explanation. Their unease becomes increasingly evident witheach passing mile. Why are they acting so strangely?
”This looks like a motel of some sort,” Grey murmurs, and a rundown building far away from the bustling small-town life emerges.
”If we weren’t running for our lives, I’d never have stopped here,” I say. ”It looks like that sort of place where you get murdered, and no one notices until weeks, even months, later.”
”It looks haunted,” Daxton remarks with a scoff.
”Sure does,” Grey chimes in, leaning back in the chair and observing the building.
Taking in the perimeters of the motel, I see its smaller cottages interconnected with each other, the main entrance off to the side.
An unpleasant shiver coils down my spine, and I inhale deeply, repressing the rising memories. The place is eerily similar to Grimhill Manor, with walls falling apart and a construction that seems to be at least hundreds of years old. The motel’s façade is a patchwork of decaying wood, the boards weathered and warped.
The more I look toward the motel, the harder it becomes to disentangle reality from memory. I let my gaze fall to the large, red letters spelling out the motel’s name, each one slightly askew like crooked teeth. The parking lot surrounding us is eerily vacant, its emptiness amplifying the sense of apprehension that tightens within me.
”I’ll be just a second,” Daxton says, grabs a cap that he pulls low over his face, and leaves without another word.
I watch his frame disappear into the distance, hands in pockets, looking around to make sure no one is nearby.
Being inside a black sedan is dangerous, but we have nowhere else to go.
Silence hangs heavy in the air, and I glance at Grey as he stares out where Daxton was before his figure disappearedinto the motel. I know he dreads what’s coming—the moment Daxton will leave us.
Nothing lasts forever—I’m the embodiment of that truth.
My chest constricts with the gnawing anxiety, and I absentmindedly scratch at my arm—above the bandages—-while keeping out of Grey’s line of sight. I can’t have him knowing what I’m doing to myself, no matter how much it hurts not telling him the truth.
”Where is he?” Grey murmurs, more to himself, just as Daxton finally returns.
Daxton cocks his head and gestures that I should get out of the car.
”You can stay here and rest for a few days. I have enough money saved up to last a while.”
Adrenaline surges through me, creating a relentless, pounding rhythm.
”W-what do you mean?” I cannot hide the slight tremor in my voice.
”I’m leaving some money for you.”
”Why?”
He doesn’t reply at first, his gaze drifting back to the car where Grey is, a cigarette in his hand while taking a puff inside his brother’s car. Another beat of silence, and Daxton’s eyes come back to mine, sorrow clouding his irises.
“I failed him. It’s the least I can do.” He shrugs.
I see the way nerves eat away at his insides, eyes flickering with barely concealed anguish. There’s a deep, unspoken longing in his gaze when he looks at his brother, and my stomach churns. They seem like they’re on opposite sides of the Atlantic, a vast ocean of hurt and misunderstanding between them, waves and predators tearing them apart in the water.
“I can’t stay.” He gives me a sorrowful smile full of regret. “It’s too dangerous. And we all have our lives to live, even if it’s hardright now.”
Grey has opened the car door by now, his eyes focused on his little brother. I wish I could make it better between the both of them, but I know I’m helpless in this situation. Their inner wounds run too deep down to be able to heal. I doubt they ever will.
“I guess this is where we part ways,” I whisper.
For the past few months, he was the only solid thing in a world that fell apart when Grey wasn’t present. Daxton is my friend, and now I’m going to lose him. Life is so fucking unfair.
