Chapter 17
Chapter Seventeen
Bobby
The wind outside howled like a living thing, slamming against the rotting wood of the cabin, rattling what was left of the windows.
Rain lashed at the roof, a relentless downpour that hadn’t stopped since last night.
I lay on the hard floor, staring at the ceiling, exhaustion weighing down every muscle in my body, but my mind wouldn’t shut off.
I was too wired, too alert, too aware of where I was and who I was trapped here with.
My body might have needed rest, but my head was still running, still calculating, still preparing for whatever was waiting for us outside once the storm passed.
I turned my head slightly, my gaze landing on Gabbi.
She was still asleep, curled beneath the tattered blanket we had found in the corner.
Her breathing was deep and even, her face relaxed for the first time in as long as I could remember.
She looked peaceful like this, her dark hair fanned out over the old floorboards, her lips slightly parted.
It reminded me of all the mornings I used to wake up beside her, those quiet moments before reality crashed in, before the weight of the world reminded me that happiness wasn’t something I got to keep.
I forced my gaze away, sitting up slowly as my back protested.
Every muscle in my body was stiff from last night’s run, from the sheer panic that had fueled every step deeper into the woods.
My ribs ached, my legs felt like lead, and I was sure I had bruises forming along my side from when I’d shoved us both to the ground to avoid getting shot.
But none of that mattered. Pain was temporary.
Liam was still out there, and we were still wasting time stuck in this goddamn cabin with nothing but a broken door and a dying fire to keep us warm.
Gabbi stirred beside me, shifting slightly under the blanket, and I glanced at her again.
Her face scrunched up, her body stretching just a little before she let out a soft groan.
She blinked slowly, her brown eyes still hazy with sleep as she took in our surroundings.
Then, like a switch flipping, I saw the exact moment she remembered everything.
"We’re still here," she muttered, her voice rough from sleep.
"Storm’s still bad," I said, nodding toward the cracked window. "We’re not going anywhere until it lets up."
She pushed herself up, wrapping the blanket tighter around her shoulders. "Great. Because being stuck with you is exactly how I wanted to spend my day."
I smirked, stretching out my legs. "Right back at you, Mason."
She didn’t have a comeback for that. Instead, she winced as she shifted, rolling her shoulders. "God, everything hurts."
"Yeah, well, running for your life through a mountain will do that," I said, pushing myself onto my feet. My legs protested, but I ignored the ache, walking toward the old fireplace. The fire from last night had burned down to almost nothing, a few glowing embers barely putting off any heat.
She sighed heavily, rubbing a hand down her face. "Please tell me you have food in that magic bag of yours."
I grabbed my pack from the corner and brought it over, setting it down between us. "Some. Not much."
She reached for the zipper before I could, yanking it open and pulling out what little we had—a couple of protein bars, a half-empty bottle of water, and a small bag of mixed nuts. Her lips pressed together, her shoulders slumping slightly.
"Guess we’re rationing," she muttered, unwrapping one of the protein bars.
"Looks like it," I said, watching as she took a small bite.
She chewed slowly, not looking at me, her gaze focused on the fire like she was gearing up to say something.
Then, quietly, she asked, "Do you really think he’s still alive?"
I stilled.
The question hit like a punch to the gut, knocking the air from my lungs in a way that nothing else ever could.
My fingers curled into my knee, my throat tightening as I forced myself to swallow down the lump rising there.
I had asked myself that question every single day for six years.
And every single day, I had given myself the same answer.
"I have to," I said, my voice low, rough. "If I don’t… then I don’t have anything left."
Gabbi’s gaze finally lifted, her eyes locking onto mine. I saw the flicker of pain there, the understanding, the regret that never quite went away.
"I don’t know how you’ve done it," she murmured. "How you’ve kept believing for this long."
I clenched my jaw, staring into the dying embers.
"Because I have no choice, Gabbi." My voice came out sharper than I intended, but I didn’t take it back. "I wake up every day with the same fucking question in my head. ‘Is today the day I finally find him? Or is today the day I realize he’s never coming back?’ And every single day, I have to decide to believe that he’s still out there.
Because the second I stop believing, the second I let myself think he’s gone—" I shook my head, my hands tightening into fists. "I won’t survive it."
Gabbi exhaled, her fingers curling around the blanket. "I know," she whispered. "I know, Bobby."
Silence hung between us, thick and heavy with everything unsaid.
Then, suddenly, her expression changed. Her lips pressed together, her body stiffening slightly.
"But you never let me believe with you," she said, her voice sharper now. "You shut me out. For six years, Bobby. Six years."
I felt my chest tighten. "Gabbi?—"
"You never once let me be there for you," she continued, anger creeping into her voice. "You decided you’d carry this alone, like I didn’t lose him too. Like I didn’t lose you too."
I gritted my teeth, pushing to my feet. "You didn’t lose me. You left."
Gabbi’s eyes flashed with frustration. "Because you wouldn’t let me stay!"
My pulse roared in my ears. "You made that decision for me."
Her breath caught slightly, but she didn’t back down. "No, Bobby. You pushed me away. I tried. I tried to stay, I tried to help, and every single time, you shut me out. You couldn’t even look at me."
I turned away, dragging a hand over my face. "You think it was easy for me? You think I wanted to push you away?"
"Then why did you?" Her voice cracked, raw and broken.
I turned back to her, my hands clenched at my sides. "Because you were the last person to see him alive." The words ripped out of me, sharp and painful. "Because every time I looked at you, I saw that day. I saw him. I saw everything I lost, and I didn’t know how to live with that."
Gabbi flinched like I had physically hit her. Her chest rose and fell unevenly, her fingers tightening around the blanket like it was the only thing keeping her grounded.
I let out a rough breath, my heartbeat pounding in my ears. The argument faded into silence, but nothing about it was resolved.
The wind outside howled, rattling the broken window.
Gabbi looked away first, her expression unreadable.
I clenched my fists, shoving everything down, locking it away where it couldn’t touch me.
We were stuck here.
And the past was still between us.