I glance over, catching the way his head has dipped slightly forward, his chin nearly brushing his chest.
Shit.
“Noah.”
His eyes snap open, sharp and disoriented for half a second before they settle back into that same guarded expression. “I’m awake.”
I furrow my brow. “Uh… You weren’t.”
“I said I’m fine.”
Shaking my head, I gesture to his arm. “You’re bleeding through the bandage.”
His gaze drops to his arm, where a faint red bloom has started to spread through the gauze. “Just keep driving,” he mutters. “It’ll heal on its own time.”
I let out a slow breath, forcing my eyes back to the road. “Maybe you should get some sleep… I just need to know where we’re headed…” I eye him, but his expression is stone cold.
“Just head west.”
“Iam.”
Silence.
My grip tightens. “This is not exactly comforting.”
“It’s not supposed to be,” he deadpans. “Nothing about this is going to be warm and fuzzy, Rue. It’s about fucking survival.”
“I understand that,” I accidentally snap at him.
“Do you?” he fires right back at me. “Because last I checked, you’ve had nothing but life handed to you on a silver platter. You got to run off to California, never missing a goddamn beat.”
Bullet shifts in the backseat, letting out a soft whine as he stirs. I glance in the rearview. He’s curled tighter now, his head resting awkwardly against the door, chest rising slower than it was earlier.
A knot forms low in my stomach.
“Hey buddy,” I murmur, reaching back to give him a pat. “You okay?”
His tail gives a small thump.
Noah’s eyes flick back to him, tracking the movement before settling back ahead. “He’s old,” he says flatly.
I glare at him. “Iknowthat.”
“Then don’t act surprised when he acts like it.”
“Thanks for the advice.” Something sharp flares in my chest—at this new fucking attitude Noah has apparently been spat out of the lake with.
His jaw tightens as he holds my gaze, not an ounce of softness he’s shown me our whole lives anywhere in sight.
And that leaves me feeling smaller than ever.
Maybe Idon’tknow him as well as I thought I did.
The sun finally breaks over the horizon, its light flooding through the windshield and filling the car. I squint against it, my eyes burning. If I turned around now, it wouldn’t be staring me right in the freaking face.
But it’s too late.
There’s no going back.
