Nearing the End
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the next morning i woke up in bed alone again.
as i yawn and rub my eyes i notice something on the nightstand. my phone?
i quickly pick it up to see only a few messages.
Bev:
when are you guys coming back from New Hampshire?
I guess Richies been texting everyone for me.
today i think
Bev:
good, Mike and i are having a search party before we go back to classes tomorrow. are you sure Ben didn't tell you guys he was going over to your place?
i try to think of what Richie might've told her.
we've been gone for days now, he wasn't there when we left
Bev:
alright.. well text me when you guys get back
i set my phone down and jump as i notice Richie in the doorway.
"jeez.. you scared me."
he walks over to me and kisses my forehead, "who were you texting?"
i hand him my phone, "Bev, are we going to help them with he search party?"
he scans through the texts, "yeah, we need to make it seem like we don't know where he is either." he hands the phone back to me, "i think i can trust you with this, right?"
i nod, "yes, thank you for giving it back to me."
he gets up and grabs a few bags, apparently he had packed for us while i slept, "we should get going, we have a four hour drive ahead of us."
i was kind of sad to be leaving the cabin. but it was a nice few day retreat, hopefully we can come back. as i look at Richie it seems he went another night without sleep.
"so.. did you figure out what we're going to do?"
Richie shrugs, "for now, let things be normal. we're gonna go back to classes—"
"—really?!" i say excitedly making him chuckle. i really missed uni, doing things on my own. he finally trusts me enough to do stuff like that and it warms my heart.
"yes, really. considering we've both killed now, it would be a big mistake on your part to betray me at this point."
thinking about what i did to Ben makes the excitement disappear.
"and what about your dad..? you aren't going to..." i trial off not wanting to even speak the words
"i would never." he states sternly, "he'll understand soon enough."
"so.. what then?"
"either i stay here with you or you come with us. you don't want to leave me, do you?"
"of course not," i say as i grab his hand and hold it to my face, "that's the last thing i want."
he smiles and runs his thumb across my cheek, "good."
