It’s like fate or Mother Nature, orsomething,just gave us a break with this place.
I rip the driver’s side door open and then slide in, plopping down the key on the console. “Okay, well… I got a room.”I glance back at Noah, who’s hunched down in the backseat, zoning out. “I also got this.” I pass back the pamphlet.
He takes it, and then frowns. “This is a shitty map.”
“Well, I don’t even know where the fuck we’re going, Noah,” I snap at him. “I’m justheading westlike you asked me to.”
He doesn’t flinch. “Okay.” He sets the brochure down beside him in the seat, and I shift the car into reverse, my eyes protesting the bright sun with tears.
I wipe them away with my sleeve and make sure I donotpeer back at Noah. The last thing I want right now is for him to see me crying. That would just be embarrassing at this point.
“I don’t really know where we’re going,” Noah’s voice cuts through the hum of the car, as I head toward the room. “I think Mexico might be the answer, but it’s going to be hard to get across, and Netty said Texas wasn’t the place to do it.”
“Well, west sure as hell isn’t south.”
“If they catch wind that I’m not in that lake, they’re going to look at the closest border crossing,” Noah continues, unbothered by my shitty attitude.
“There are a ton of people who illegally cross.” I pull into a spot.
“Not with their face all over the news. That’s the kind of shit they’re looking for. We’re gotta let this shit die down a little.”
I nod, grateful to be parked again. I didn’t realize how sick of driving I was until I wasn’t driving anymore. I grab the leash, push the door open, and then help Bullet out of the car.
“Rue,” Noah calls out from the backseat, before I can close it.
I lean back in the car, catching his gaze. “The cameras aren’t working. The whole system is down. I had to pay with cash. So, it should be fine.”
He nods, and I slam the door. I’m too tired to deal with his coldness.
Bullet makes quick work of going to the bathroom, sniffs around in the dead grass, and then tugs back toward the car. He’s long since eaten his breakfast.
The back driver’s side door opens, and out slides Noah, slowly, his hood up over his head. He has the duffle slung over his shoulder and my backpack in the hand of his good arm. Still, his movements are stiff, and he winces as he makes it to the door, shoving the key in the lock.
I follow him, catching the door for him before it can knock him off balance. Bullet darts through the opening, and I drop the leash, letting him go. My eyes follow him as he darts across the tile floors and hops up onto the teal quilt on the bed.
Theonebed in the room.
I eye Noah to gauge his reaction, but he doesn’t seem to have one. He just plops the duffel bag down on the desk beside the TV and opens it, pulling out the pill bottle. He pops one of them and then lets out a sigh.
“You should take a shower,” he says to me, turning the bottle in his hands. “While you can. We won’t get to stop like this all the time.”
“Yeah,” I say, my shoulders falling. “I just feel so tired.”
He looks up, his brows furrowing. “Then maybe you should sleep first. You can shower before we leave.”
“You should rest, too,” I reason, forcing myself to take a step toward my backpack. “For all we know, we’re in the easiest stage of this whole adventure.”
His eyes darken. “Oh, I know we are.”
13
NOAH
Hesitation lingersin every inch of her body as she picks up her backpack and slings it over her shoulder. She eyes me, the bed, Bullet, and then the bathroom—all in one quick succession.
I don’t understand it entirely, but then again, I haven’t had privacy in God knows how long.
“I think I actually will shower,” Rue says suddenly, and then darts for the bathroom. She shuts the door, and I hear the lock click.
