Page 106 of Possess Me! (I Want You To)

I tucked the cookie into my pocket for safe keeping and promptly forgot about it as I scarfed down two protein bars in quick succession. The sugar sat like lead in my stomach, so I slowed down, grateful as hell that Prudence had had the forethought to pack us a water bottle.

If there was one thing these hills didn’t lack—it was running water. Thank god. Wiggling streams danced nearly every hundred feet between the tree trunks, their water twinkling in the sunlight.

I’d already filled the damn thing up three times.

Which meant tree peeing.

Which I hated.

But I didn’t have much of a choice at this point, especially now that we’d robbed the only gas station for no doubt, miles.

When Prudence returned, I’d already packed up the backpack again, and I gave him a little grin as I shouldered it and cocked my head toward the next hill we’d need to climb. Without preamble Prudence snatched the backpack right off my back and slung it over his own.

It was nice to see that he was feeling stronger lately.

His pendant burned where it was tucked safely between my pecs.

“I saw him,” Prudence told me, scowling. “We need to get away from the road for the night.”

Immediately, fear blossomed beneath my skin as I licked my lips, and the sting of sugar clung to my tongue. I shuddered, glancing back the way he’d come from.

“No fire then?” The lighter in my pocket no longer felt quite so useful.

“You won’t survive the night without one.”

I wasn’t sure that was true, but…already the air was getting more chilly. So I supposed there was some merit to the thought.

“We need to cover as much ground as we can before the sun sets.”

The weak afternoon light was growing fainter with every minute that passed. With adrenaline and sugar to fuel me, I ignored the aches and pains in my body as we headed east as far as we could, moving in a straight line so we could find our way back to the road the next day.

For a while we climbed uphill, dodging rocks, and searching for footholds on the unruly mountain. I was sweaty, and exhausted by the time we reached the peak. A long line of boulders marked the top of the hill, and I gasped as I stared out at the open valley below us.

Thousands of trees dotted the landscape, all different, yet cohesive. Splashes of a variety of greens and blues, tall trees, small trees, skinny, wide. Sunbeams shattered the peach-colored clouds that streaked the pastel skyline as I stumbled to a stop and Prudence paused beside me.

“We’re far enough,” he decided, just as I realized I was about to collapse if I didn’t sit down.

“Oh thank god.” My muscles ached as I flopped onto one of the boulders, sprawling my legs wide with a quiet laugh. I stared out at the lonely mountain peak ahead with a wry smile. That was it. My mountain. Another day of this—maybe two—and we’d cross over it, down to the valley I’d grown up in. Where my family waited.

For so long I’d avoided them, too overwhelmed with guilt to stomach seeing their smiling faces when I didn’t deserve them. But…after my deal with Prudence I no longer dreaded the inevitable meeting. I was excited. With a plan in place to fix my mistakes, there was room for me to miss them.

I rubbed the ache in my chest with a little smile as Prudence sat down next to me, and crossed his arms. There was a bird chirping overhead as it flitted from branch to branch but despite its incessant warbling my attention never wavered from where Prudence sat solid and quiet beside me.

Usually silence bothered me.

It always felt like there was a lack of something, a lack of understanding, a lack of communication, a lack of basic interest.

But when I was with Prudence, silence was just…silence.

He didn’t talk a lot, so when he did I found myself cherishing the words. Each one was special, no matter how mean, rude, or utterly pessimistic it was. I’d covet the stories he’d told me earlier, because I knew how precious they truly were.

The boulder we shared scraped against my ass as I adjusted myself. Prudence ignored me. I wiggled again, this time intentionally, in the hopes of annoying him enough he’d pay attention.

“What?” He finally asked, turning to arch one pierced, dark brow my way, his eyes narrowed. Normally, he wouldn’t have acknowledged me at all, so it was a testament to how close we were becoming that he did now. He’d told me so much about himself today, I was honestly humbled by it.

I swallowed the lump in my throat.

The bird chirped again.

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