“No, I have no problem fucking a good looking man if there is little chance we are going to survive tomorrow. But the ocean is freezing, and the sand is messy.”
“Would you consider the ocean if I warmed you up?”
“Maybe,” she says.
“Or the sand if I promised you could be on top and I’d clean you off afterward?”
“Hmm,” she purrs.
I grin but don’t get too excited. We’re just blabbing to distract ourselves. We aren’t fucking—now or ever.
We don’t talk for a while. We just focus on kicking and keeping our heads above water. The sun begins to set, and the cool water turns ice cold. Every part of me is numb. My head falls onto the driftwood, too hard to hold up. I can no longer see where we are going.
“Langston,” Liesel whispers.
My eyes flutter open, and I realize I’ve practically been asleep while kicking.
“Look!”
I lift my head, taking almost all the strength I have left. But it’s worth the effort—shore.
“We’re going to make it,” we both say at the same time with a renewed energy.
We kick harder, and luckily, the tide gives us a push as well until our feet hit sand. We stumble up to get out of the water, and then we crash onto the sandy beach, collapsing with heavy breaths.
“We made it. I can’t believe we just did that,” Liesel says.
I nod. I don’t want her to think we are out of danger, but I don’t want to worry her either. We both need to rest before we move on. We just can’t rest as long as we need, or it will all be for nothing.
The moon is shining down on us, and for once, I think we finally did something right.
“We should get up and find a better place to rest for tonight,” I say.
“Okay.”
Liesel pushes herself up and then holds out her hand to me. I don’t want to seem weak, but she’s the physically stronger between the two of us right now. I take her hand, and she helps me up.
“Can you walk?” she asks, still gripping my hand.
I look down at where our hands meet. “I can with you by my side.”
“Good, then let’s go.”
We start walking up the beach and into the nearby forest. I don’t know where we are in the world, and I don’t care. We just need to find some shelter for tonight and hope that Rowan doesn’t find us. In the morning, it will be easier for us to escape once we’ve regained our strength.
“What are we looking for?” Liesel asks.
I stop suddenly. “That—that is what we are looking for.”
A small cabin sits in the woods. There are no cars parked in the gravel drive and no lights on.
I pull my gun from where I fastened it to my waistband.
“You’re not going to shoot an innocent person,” Liesel commands.
“I’m not, but it could be a trap. Or if someone does live here, they might try to protect their property if they see me. I won’t hurt them unless they work for Rowan.”
“Okay,” she says.