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She reaches up, her hand steady as it cradles mine, lowering it from her face. “And I won’t let you smother me with your madness. I can handle myself, and you need to trust that. I’m not a damsel in distress.”
I scoff, admiration swirling within me. “Listen, I’m not…” I trail off, searching her determined expression. “Alright,” I relent, my voice tight, “but we use the radios, non-stop contact, and at the first sign of trouble, we ditch a truck and converge. I mean it, first damn sign.”
“Agreed,” Lila says, glancing at my dad.
He nods his agreement, the worry lines etched deep in his face. He knows this world better than us, the world where the thin veneer of civilization has cracked. “Get me into my truck, and Lila can drive it. I’ll direct her, and you can follow.” He pullsa piece of paper from his pocket and passes it to me. “These are the coordinates just in case we get separated.”
I take the paper and put it in my jacket pocket. And then we ease him up and help him limp back out of the cabin and into the passenger’s side of his truck. Once the door is shut, I pull Lila out of view and against the wall of the truck, pressing her to it. “Be careful, starlight.”
Her eyes meet mine with a fierceness. “Always am,” she whispers back, the hint of a smile on her lips. She turns her head, kissing my cheek quickly before stepping away.
I reach out, grabbing her arm and yanking her back before she can slip away. Our bodies collide, and without a second thought, my hands cradle her face, pulling her into a hard and deep kiss fueled by a storm of emotions I’ve barely kept at bay. When I finally break away, I can’t help but growl the promise that’s been burning within me, “You’re mine, Lila, now and forever.”
She looks into my eyes and nods. “Yours. We should get going.”
As I look at her, I know I love her with all my heart. A crazy, all-consuming love that drives me mad.
Stepping back, I watch her climb into the truck, gripping the wheel with those delicate hands. Dad already looks more at ease.
I shake off the swarm of butterflies caged in my chest and head to the other truck.
I fire up the engine, the rumble a familiar comfort in these unsettling times. Glancing in the rearview mirror, I catch a last glimpse of the fading security of Dad’s cabin, a once haven now vulnerable.
I won’t be at ease until we’re safely in Alaska, I think to myself, gripping the steering wheel until my knuckles turn white. Crossing the border to Canada is treacherous, but it’s the only path to a real future with my starlight. It’s a risk we’ve gotto take. With every mile we move away from the cabin, we’re one step closer to salvation—or so I hope.
20
LILA
The sky has begun to bruise with the purples and blues of twilight as the truck crunches over the gravel road. Every thrum of the engine is a step further into the unknown.
Gone is the Lila that once clung to rules and the safety of the familiar. Trees blur into a monochrome dance as the wilderness envelops us. The road ahead is a murky, uncharted path, but I’m ready to chase the Northern lights to freedom with every fiber of my being.
The unruly wilderness of Canada looms ahead, a guardian of the threshold that separates my old life from the new. Tonight, we’ll brave it, paperwork be damned. Tonight, I trust in the wild and the raw love that propels me forward into a life that’s mine to shape.
I glance in the rearview mirror to see Ash’s truck close behind.
“Take it steady here. We’re close to the border,” Ash’s dad, Liam, grunts. His face is still ghostly pale after he got shot, and the bumps on this track are punishing on his wound.
“I will,” I breathe, biting my lip. “How many times have you successfully crossed over this border?”
“Two times, this is my third attempt.”
That’s not many times, but I don’t voice my doubts. I try to remain positive, hoping we make it over. The last thing we need is to have come all this way to stumble at the last hurdle.
The dusky sky is now streaked with the last hints of day. I tighten my grip on the steering wheel, willing my nerves to steady as we inch closer to the invisible line that cuts through the wilderness – a border unseen but heavily felt.
Ash’s voice crackles through the walkie-talkie. “Remember, if anyone stops us, we’re out for a late-night drive, got lost from the main road,” he reminds me.
I nod to myself. “Promise me we’ll make it,” I whisper into the walkie-talkie.
“Promise,” comes the reply, near-instant and certain.
Suddenly, red and blue lights slice through the shroud of darkness ahead, a stark warning that shatters the silent tension. I pull over before the cop car, heart thundering, as an officer steps out of the patrol car with cautious strides, a hand resting near his holster. “Are you folks alright?” he asks, his beam of light scanning the area, systematically stripping away our veneer of calm.
I can barely find my words. “We lost the main road,” I lie.
The officer shifts, attention snapping behind us. “Is that truck with you?” he asks, voice rising with a clear edge of alarm.
