If I could just...
I need more time to decide.
And it’s not like we have to go all the way to the house.
I just want to be near her.
We could drive as far as the river, no further.
Technically it’s Jundah, but not monster territory.
That drunk bastard hates the river.
Which is why I used to go there all the time when I was little.
Some days I’d be there for hours.
“Let me show you my hiding spot,” I smile.
“The one place he could never ever find me.”
Amos’s eyes rim with pride.
He turns my palm upward, then draws a heart with his finger.
???
I slow the truck before we reach the edge of town.
There it is.
White letters against green.
The word ‘welcome’ feels hollow.
I know this place like the back of my hand.
But years later, it seems so foreign.
I’m foreign.
I’m a visitor now.
We could stay on this side of the bridge.
No need to see the town.
No knock on the door.
That would be the simpler option.
But I’d really love to show Amos that particular spot.
That pocket of calm was once my refuge.
And that's what keeps me going.
I turn the key before I can reconsider.
