Page 88 of Fight

King

Not to me.

Xander

I’m gonna reach out to Teddy. She might know.

King

Word is Scottie’s gone missing… think they’re together?

Xander

Maybe?

Scottie and I are at the fire tower on Quell’s waiting out the storm. Trail is blocked with a rockfall, both of us are fine. We have water and supplies. We’re going to take Goat’s Ridge to get back as soon as the weather breaks.

Not sure if my last message went through, battery low, but the storm is easing up, we’re starting our descent early 11/12.

Xander

Holy shit.

King

Thought I told you I didn’t want to go on one of your damn hikes during my off-season!

Goddamn it. I’ll get the UTV on the trailer.

Xander

I’ll spread the word.

It takes real effort to resist texting Scottie, but I open the text thread with her name anyway and frown. I hate the last texts I sent to her. They’re cold and callous.

Things have run their course with us.

Scottie

Okay.

Hey. Are you off the trail?

I tap a message across the screen.

You don’t need to respond to this, but I don’t want you to open our texts later and have the last message you see from me be that. So instead, you’re getting this one, where I tell you that I miss you. That it was really hard to drive away from you today. That I can’t stop thinking about you. That I wish you were with me right now. I can’t help but feel like a part of me is still at the top of Quell’s and I hope like hell there’s a piece of you there too, because I’m not ready to let go of that version of us. The rest of me is here, only a few blocks away, waiting for you. I’ll be here as long as it takes, but you should know I’m keeping my word: I’m not walking away without a fight.

After I hit send, I leave the phone plugged in, and finish getting dressed. There are no new notifications. Scottie needs time to work through things with Jonathan, and it’s important I give her that space. For now, there’s nothing more I can do.

I flop on the bed and close my eyes, knowing this nap won’t leave me feeling as rested as it is when her body is wrapped around mine.

Brushing my teeth was a lot more satisfying than my shower. I knew the water pressure wouldn’t be strong enough to clear the dirt from my scalp. I miss the showers from that gym I had a membership at when I first moved to Sky Ridge. I stand in front of the mirror in my tiny bathroom, combing my fingers through the gritty strands trapped with filth. Everything feels sandy and wet. Not at all clean the way I wanted to feel when I got out of the shower. I try a hairbrush, but all it does is transfer the dirt. I slam it down on the sink.

“Goddamn it!” I shout.

Closing my eyes, I take four slow, deep breaths.

“Scottie?” Jonathan lightly raps on the door.

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