My chest squeezes to the point of pain.
“They’ll take me away.” His voice cracks. “They’ll know it was me—what I did for you.”
His lip quivers.
“It has to end here. Like you wanted it to.”
Cullen gasps, lips tinged blue as he fights for air, clutching Matt’s arm.
“Matt—”
In the distance, sirens start to wail.
Faint at first.
Then closer.
Matt tenses.
“No,” he whispers, broken.
The sirens grow louder.
Red and blue lights flicker through the trees as patrol cars tear down the dusty road.
“No, no, no—”
His grip slips from Cullen’s throat as panic floods his face. Cull stumbles straight into me, coughing violently as I catch him against my chest.
Matt’s face crumples when he sees me hold him.
“You called the police?” he asks, his body shaking.
“I did,” Archer admits quietly, holding up his phone.
Tears cling to Matt’s lashes, his head shaking back and forth.
“Matt,” I say carefully, pulse still hammering. “It’s going to be okay.”
“They’ll take me away!” he screams, the sound tearing from his chest.
Matt staggers backward, dragging a trembling hand through his hair. The gun shakes uncontrollably at his side.
“They’ll lock me up—I’ll lose you—I can’t—”
His breathing turns ragged. He claws at his hair hard enough to yank strands loose.
“Matt, listen to me—”
“NO!”
His eyes dart wildly between all of us, unfocused and terrified.
Patrol cars show up in droves, officers climbing out of their vehicles, guns drawn and shouting.
Matt looks towards the woods.
Then back at me.
