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While I sadly may never best an Olympic track star, my sprint into the woods is definitely the fastest I’ve ever run in my life.
But that’s how it works, isn’t it? For most of my adult life, I’ve joked that the only way I’mrunningis if I’m beingchased. And now, here I am.
Beingchased.
My lungs start to burn as the trees rush around me, and the only light is from the moon up above.
It occurs to me after a few minutes that I’ve always been better at hide-and-seek rather than tag, and I wonder what in the world I’m doing still crashing through the forest like a bull in a china shop.
I want to get to the lake. I want towin.
Well, my brain wants to win. Most of it, at least. But there’s definitely a huge part of me thatdoesn’t. After all, how in the world can I help but wonder what it would be like for Ezra and Ashe to pin me down and carry out their threats?
Well, promises, really. Not quitethreatswhen I’m only a little afraid of what they’ll do, and it’s a tingling, almost good kind of fear that twists my stomach in ways that aren’t anywhere near as unpleasant as they should be.
And maybe, just maybe, I’m a little bit fucked up too.
Have I always been this way? Have I always had the capacity to watch someone get murdered and only feel fear about being caught? If so, that’s pretty troubling and probably something to examine later. With a therapist. Definitely, with a therapist who might be able to help me sort out all of these problematic feelings that I’m too worked up to bother pushing away.
“Fuck,” I whisper, trying not to die, panting as I slow to a stop in the trees. It hadn’t occurred to me earlier that I’m not quite sure where the lake is, and in the moonlit forest, Ireallydon’t know where I’m going.
But at least if I’m not making noise, I’ll be harder to find. Hopefully, I’ll buy myself just enough time to get to the lake andwin.
My footsteps are as soft as I can make them in the grass and leaves. While I do my best to look for any sign of the water reflecting the moon anywhere around me, I also try to listen to make sure I’m not being tracked down just yet.
How long do they plan on giving me? Have they started to come after me already? After all, it’s been at least five minutes since they told me torunand, unless they’re playing some kind of joke on me, I can’t imagine they’re going to give me enough time to actually get to the lake–
Footsteps crunch in the leaves, prompting me to duck down between two trees that are positioned just close enough together that I can use them both for cover. The person isn’t eventryingto be quiet, and I hold my breath as Ashe strolls into the clearing, whistling softly as his head turns first one way, then the other. He stops, pausing to look around a moment longer before heading off in a different direction from where I plan on going.
I can’t help it. I let out a soft exhale, relief ebbing through my body, along with something that probablyshouldn’tbe disappointment.
“Think he’s gone?” The words are whispered against my ear, and I can’t help the shriek that escapes me when I turn and find Ezra kneeling beside me, his face full of earnest innocence that I know for afactis just a mask.
It quickly fades, replaced with his taunting, unfriendly smile. “Run,” he invites as I get to my feet. “But not toward Ashe. I’ll give you ten seconds.”
“Ten seconds doesn’t seem like a lot–”
“Nine–”
“Wow, you’re actually–”
“Eight and a half.”He pauses to meet my eyes, his brows raising. As my heart hammers against my ribs, I take off in the direction I’d been planning to go anyway, my strides long and my thighs burning as Irun.
It doesn’t feel like ten seconds by the time I hear footsteps in the woods behind me, but I ignore that because through the trees in front of me, I can see the lake. I can see the water reflecting the light from the moon above, so I lengthen my strides as much as I comfortably can and make for the water.
I’m so fucking close to this victory that I can taste it.
Until Ashe steps out from behind a tree, causing me to collide with him for the second time tonight. He grabs me and, with a shocking amount of ease, spins me around so that my eyes find the gaze of Ezra, who’s running toward me like he actually intends to fling both of us into the water.
“You lose,” Ashe purrs in my ear, just as Ezra slams into me, taking all three of us to the ground. It doesn’t hurt, though I have to wonder if Ashe is okay with being used to cushion our fall. I shriek in surprise as Ezra rolls me over until he can pin me under him andsnarls.
“You kind of ran towards him. Didn’t I tell younotto?” Ezra sneers in my face, his eyes dancing with amusement as he rolls me off of Ashe and presses me to the ground. The leaves are cushioning, thankfully, and I barely notice the cold as Ezra pins my hands above my head with one hand and sits on my hips to keep me where I am.
“I did not,” I say, breathless and affronted at the implication. “Ashe was in the clearing.”
“I left the clearing.” Ashe rolls onto his side, one hand sliding up my sternum until he can grip my chin in his fingers.
“I thought about not letting you run at all,” Ezra says. “But you were so easy to catch. So predictable, sweetAri.” His grin is wolfish, and he leans down over me, teeth bared in a grin before he bites down on my bottom lip hard enough to make me gasp at the sharp, hot pain.
