No matter what it takes.
No matter how patient I need to be.
I’ll be that for you, I vow silently.Of course I will.
“I’m so proud of you,” I smile.
And that’s when I feel my Marco return to me.
The one I’ve spent all day missing.
“I want you to know me. For real,” he says.
His voice breaks as the tears spill down his face.
“Beautiful boy.” I kiss him gently on the mouth. “I want that too. More than anything.”
“And I’m sorry for pulling away today,” he continues, sinking into my arms.
“When you said you weren’t afraid of my shadows, part of me was scared to let you any closer.”
“That makes sense,” I smile.
“I’ve tried so hard to bury everything that happened when I was younger. Even watching these trucks, knowing where they’re headed, makes me nauseous. But I’m trying.”
“That’s brave,” I tell him. “And it means the world to me.”
We hold each other close, seatbelt digging into my hip.
He reaches for the steering wheel.
The engine purrs as we merge back onto the road.
Then instead of turning west, he veers south.
“There’s a place I’ve been wanting to show you,” he says. “Honestly, I’ve thought about bringing you here ever since that night in the pool when you...”
The night I first noticed the burns.
Acres of land unfurl in front of us, a tapestry of fields and painted lines that stretch for more than an hour.
Gradually the roads narrow to a thin taper, leaving only the occasional lorry or ute driving in the opposite direction.
We have the left lane all to ourselves.
Tiny towns named on signs are my only clue.
Willowbank. Silverdale. Charlwood.
No more city.
No more city boy.
For tonight, at least.
Darkness blankets us in every direction.
Leaning my head against the glass, I observe a thick dusting of salt against the sky.
