48
CLAIRE — ALMOST TWO MONTHS AGO
In a dimly lit room a few blocks from our apartment, Johnny and Bram face each other for what will be the last time.
For now…maybe forever.
I try to give them distance to say their goodbye, but with the confined space and the pull on my heartstrings, it’s difficult not to pay attention to such a beautifully tragic moment.
The two embrace but are careful not to be too rough with Johnny’s injury.
Under his shirt is a bandage-wrapped torso that will have to be checked periodically to make sure it’s healing and not getting infected—something that should be done in the hospital, or at the least in a proper doctor’s office.
We don’t have that luxury anymore, not if we want Johnny to live through this.
If Franklin catches wind that Johnny is still alive, he’ll be furious, and there’s no telling how many casualties will pile up on his way to end Johnny once and for all.
Pulling this off will be no easy feat, but there isn’t anything I wouldn’t do to keep this man alive.
Volunteering to drive us across the country to flee a psychopath is nothing compared to the idea of going through life without Johnny. I witnessed the light drain from his eyes, and I thought I had lost him. My heart shattered, and I begged the universe to bring him back to me. Maybe I used up my one allotted miracle, maybe it was some kind of divine intervention, but whatever it was—I refuse to lose him again.
“When will I be hearing from you?” Bram keeps his hands planted firmly on Johnny’s shoulders, looking him in the eyes.
I can feel the sadness radiating off the two of them. Neither one of them are good at this kind of thing, but in reality, who would be?
“I don’t know,” Johnny says, his voice a bit tattered. He’s hurting, probably in more pain than he lets on, both physically and emotionally, but he’s well aware of what needs to be done.
Bram sighs, releasing Johnny. He shakes his head. “I can’t believe this is it.”
The scene resembles something of a teenager going off to college, only more heartbreaking and permanent.
Johnny clears his throat, wincing in the process and sitting down to catch his breath. “Thank you, for everything.”
Bram stands there like there are a million things unsaid between them. Yet all he replies with is, “Of course.”
Johnny may have his secrets from Bram, but he’s still there for him no matter what. Bram knows with certainty that Johnny is a good person, and that whatever he was involved with was for good reason. He blindly trusts and supports him at the distance Johnny keeps. That’s why the second Johnny asked for his help, he leapt at the opportunity without asking any questions.
I may have only been around a few months, but the relationship between Johnny and Bram runs deep, something that exceeds bloodlines and time. They are family despite the lack of DNA linking them together, something I’m not sure either one of them realized they had until now, when they had to walk away from it.
“Do you have everything you need?” Bram glances between us.
I approach him, reaching my arm around his torso. “Yeah. Thanks.”
Bram pulls me in for a hug and grips me tightly. “You take care of each other, okay?”
I don’t miss the way he fights through the words in his attempt not to cry. Johnny is like a son to him, and I can’t imagine the way this must break his heart to let him go this way.
It would be one thing if there was a plan in place, a possibility of being in each other’s lives again, but with the magnitude of the situation, this could be it. It would be unfair to give anyone unrealistic expectations of a future so unknown.
I’d like to think we’ll slip completely from Franklin’s grasp, but that’s a reality that might not be possible.
As much as I harbor a boundless well of hatred for Franklin, actually getting the revenge I want will be an incredibly challenging task. Especially if I want to keep Johnny safe. And at the end of the day, keeping him far from death’s door is my greatest priority.
Johnny brings himself to his feet once more, a massive task considering the freshness of his injury. It’s a wonder at all that he’s able to do what he has in such a short time, let alone while healing from his surgery after he was shot.
One thing is certain, Johnny is a fighter, and no matter how far he’s backed against a wall, he will do everything in his power to overcome the situation. It’s how he’s managed to exist in Franklin’s world this long.
I give Bram a final squeeze and let him go.