It all ends on Friday…
The thought penetrated my mind and I had to force myself not to physically flinch.
"Can I see it?" she asked and her Irish accent curled around me like a blanket of comfort.
Reaching over, I opened the glove compartment and handed her my passport. "Why?"
"I have a proposition for you," she told me as she twisted sideways to face me.
"Remember when you said that you and Logan were planning on hiding out at his grandfather's farm in Louisiana after graduation?" Her hazel eyes were wide and fixated on mine.
"Yes…" I coaxed, feeling like a douche for telling her and making her worry. I'd spent weeks trying to assure Teagan of this. Besides, that plan had gone to shit the minute I pushed myself inside of her…
She inhaled a deep breath before saying, "I think we should run away together."
****
Teagan
"I think we should run away together."
There, I'd said it. I'd admitted to my boyfriend the idea that had been plaguing me since he told me he was fighting on Friday night.
The look of shock on Noah's handsome face proved that was the last thing he expected me to say, but there it was. His brown eyes were narrowed on mine, his brow was creased and I was fairly sure he hadn’t taken a breath in over twenty-five seconds.
"Well?" I asked after a few minutes of stunned silence. "What do you think?"
A muscle in his jaw worked as he stared down at me. "Where would we go?" he finally asked, and his voice was thick with emotion.
"Ireland," I told him. I so desperately wanted to help him that I was prepared to do anything to free him from his stepfather's clutches – from controlling my boyfriend, making him fight, risking his life, his future… I would not stand back and let that happen to him.
"Ireland?" he croaked out.
"I already have a ticket booked for Friday night," I told him quickly as I tucked his passport into my coat pocket, taking advantage of the vulnerability I saw in his eyes – the desperation I heard in his voice. "Well, 3am Saturday morning, it's a red-eye flight – I can get you one, too. You'd be safe there…free from George and JD…from everyone." I was rambling, I knew I was, but this was the biggest pitch of my life and deep down in my heart and soul I knew this was his only opportunity at freedom.I needed to sell it to him dammit…
"Come with me, Noah?" I whispered. Reaching over, I grabbed his hand and squeezed it tightly. "Run away with me."
"What about your uncle?" he asked me in a soft tone as he stroked my knuckles with his thumb. "What about my mother?" Shaking his head, he let out a heavy sigh. "We can't just run away, Teagan."
"Why not?" I demanded, climbing across the console to straddle him. Sitting on Noah's lap, I cupped his cheeks with my hands and forced him to look at me.
"You were going to leave after graduation," I told him. "You said so yourself. And Max knows I don’t plan on staying here when school finishes." Leaning closer, I pressed my lips to his and kissed him hard.
"Three months, Noah," I whispered against his lips. "That's the only difference between Logan's plan and mine. Do this with me."
****
Noah
I wanted to say yes.
I wanted to say fuck the consequences and leave right now with Teagan, but what would happen to my mother if I did that – if I didn’t fight on Friday?
George would…
"Teagan, I can't," I choked out, eyes clenched shut. I didn’t want to see the disappointment in her eyes. I didn’t want her to see the pain in mine.
"Yes." she hissed before pressing her lips to mine almost savagely. "You. Can."