Noxious

37 | end and beginning

Charly 

We had stopped for the night. 

After we ditched the police on the backroads through the country, we found a field to park in. The farmer who owned the land wouldn't be happy but we figured it was a safe place to stay for the night until the heat died down. 

Tommy was beyond exhausted. He had laid his seat back and propped his arm over his eyes. Within seconds, his breathing evened out. 

Kyle hadn't gotten out of the passenger seat, his eyes dropping heavily as he fought the remnants of his system adjusting to a drug-less function. He had been awake earlier but as night had fallen, so did he. 

It was just Rowan and I. 

We silently agreed to stay awake together. Just in case someone found us. 

I had grabbed my blanket from the backseat and quietly closed the door. It clicked softly and the two didn't stir from their slumber. 

Rowan had crawled onto the hood of the car and leaned back against the windshield. He had his arm thrown behind his head, gazing into the night sky. I crawled onto the hood next to him and cast the blanket over both of us. 

As I settled, he reached out and gently grasped my wrist. 

I didn't immediately pull away. I just relaxed and let him pull my arm closer to him. I had taken off my hoodie since it had gotten soaked so I was only wearing a t-shirt. 

My eyes wandered into the inky sky and for a moment, I sighed contently. We may be on the run from the police and a gang but somehow, we had found a little calm in the storm. It allowed us to see each other for who we were. 

Suddenly, my eyes sprung open when I felt gentle fingertips on my skin. I zoned in on Rowan's face, his eyes were transfixed on my wrists. I hadn't realized he could see the other one, which I had let rest on the blanket. 

He was softly tracing my scars. 

Usually, I would have been repulsed to have anyone touch me. My skin would crawl and try to peel itself off my bones. But I watched Rowan study my wrists and his fingertips skimming over my scarred skin, and I realized I didn't mind. 

I wondered what he was thinking. 

"How did you meet Milo?" 

Those words escaped my thoughts before I could stop them and his fingers abruptly froze before he pulled away from me. 

"I'm sorry," I blurted, "I shouldn't have said that, I don't know what I--" 

"It's fine," He cut me off, "I... I need to talk to someone about it anyway." 

And he did. 

I listened to his story, I listened as he told me about his best friend. 

He told me about the first day he met Milo, he told me about their adventures after high school, and he told me everything he missed about his best friend. He had choked up a few times when he explained Milo's fatal condition, and he didn't have to tell me how the story ended. I already knew. 

"But, he made it his own mission to find you," He said, quietly, "He was adamant about it, even when he was dying in that hospital bed. I just wish I had been there when he succeeded. He would have been happy..." 

"He was an incredible person," I spoke when he trailed off, "And he is happy." 

Rowan met my eyes. 

"Death is a really fucked up thing," I continued, "It takes away the people who deserved life the most, and it leaves the ones who want to die." 

"I miss him," He admitted, "I wish I had known sooner."