Thump, thump, thump.
Reina pulls me by the sleeve of my jacket, a slight tremor in her hand. “You need to run.”
“No. I’m not going without you. Not again.”
She shakes her head. “Now that Grandpa is gone, if they find out about you, it’s game over. You have to go, Rai.”
I shake my head frantically, holding on to her with all my might. “I won’t lose you after finally finding you.”
“You won’t. We’ll always find our way back to each other. After all, we’re…”
“One.”
We say the last word together.
She nods, eyes hardening again. “Remember when we used to play hide and seek with Mom?”
“I do. We’d go in different directions to distract them.”
She grins. “Diversion.”
“Okay, okay,” I mutter with resignation I don’t feel.
The last thing I want to do after reuniting with Reina is to part from her again, but I have to believe we’ll find each other like we always do.
“I’ll take the window, you take the door.”
I pull her in for a quick hug, my chest constricti
ng and full of all types of chaotic paranoias. “I’ll meet you outside.”
“I love you, Rai.” She ruffles my hair.
“I love you, too, Reina.”
The moment I let her go, my heart squeezes so tight it nearly bursts.
I watch my sister hop up and climb out the window. She’s so agile, which is no surprise considering where she lived all this time.
We’ll change that. She’ll get her fresh start.
With one last look, I sprint out the back door.
When we were with Mom, Reina and I learned something important.
Never look back.
If you don’t look back, you run faster.
If you don’t look back, no one will catch you.
I sprint through the woods, the smell of earth and the forest filling my nostrils.
Dirt smudges my white shoes and my breathing deepens as I cut across the distance. I search sideways for a place to hide then notice my bracelet is gone.
No.
I come to a halt and break my own rule.