CHAPTER forty-three
Shadows Stretch and Colors Gray
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
I needed to move. To breathe.
So I step out into the stillness just after dawn. Mist clings to the air, cool and damp, like the earth hasn’t quite woken up yet.
My heart warms slightly when I look at the Winnebago, still parked in the same spot on the street. Ashton and Danya sleeping inside. They haven’t left, and I know they won’t.
I slip in my earbuds and start to run down the street, slow at first. My legs feel stiff, like my body has forgotten what it means to exist outside of anxiety.
The music steadies me, gives my heart something else to match. Step. Step. Breathe.
Fog kisses my arms as I pick up the pace, my breath puffing out in delicate clouds, lungs aching but alive. For a few moments, I feel… something like control.
And then the music cuts out. Replaced by my ringtone.
I slow to a stop, chest heaving, my screen lighting up with Cody’s name. Panic blooms instantly in my throat as I answer.
“Hey,” I say, voice rough with exertion.
There is a pause. Then three words.
“Elias is awake.”