WHERE TO NOW? (M/M) 18+

Chapter 18

The final hours

After some time of wallowing and yelling silent curses at Damien, I walked around. Moving around the house felt different, it felt empty almost even though I knew it was still full of people. I could hear them collecting their things and quietly sighing.

I walked into the kitchen, a light chill washing over me as my bare feet touched the cold tiles, not yet warmed by the morning sun, when I found Skyler packing a bag full of food. “Hey..” I said quietly.

She looked at me and her eyes lowered. “Hey..”

“Are you leaving soon?”

“No, we're leaving tomorrow” she sighed. “Daz wanted us to be ready by sunrise” I nodded.

Footfalls on the kitchen tile made me turn around. Damien looked back at me with his eyebrows lifted as if he found who he was looking for. “Pack up, we're leaving at sunrise”

I turned to Skyler, shock and a fraction of excitement on her face. I could hear him leaving but my eyes were glued to hers. I'm sure I was showing the same facial expression she was.

“Does that mean we're staying together?” I could hear the squeal forming in her throat, the excitement bubbling to the surface.

“I don't know” I said, confused. “I'm gunna go find Daz, see what's going on” she nodded before she turned, continuing to clean out the pantry.

Finding Daz seemed impossible, I found everyone but him. When I found Kieran in his room, he was packing his bag with clothes. I pushed the door open and it creaked quietly, making him turn around. “Sam”

“Hey, have you seen Daz? I wanna ask him something” I said, looking around the room as if I could find him in there.

“No I haven't, but I talked to him earlier if you have anything you wanna ask me” he said, zipping up his bag and sitting at the end of the bed, lacing his fingers together.

“Well..” I wandered towards him, taking a seat beside him. “Are we all going to a settlement?”

He shrugged. “I'm not sure, all I know is that we'll be travelling together for the time being. That wasn't the original plan, we were going to leave sooner but Damien spoke to Daz again and they agreed to head out together. So I guess we'll be around a little while longer.”

I felt my body relax as he spoke, knowing they weren't leaving as soon as I thought and knowing I got to see them even just for a little while. It sent a wave of relief through me.

He looked over at me as I sighed. “Daz is only doing what's best for the children. They won't make it out there” he said quietly.

I nodded “I know, but why can't we all stay here? It's safe and it's got electricity” I was grasping at straws, I knew that but I couldn't help it. I didn't want to separate. I wanted to get to know them better. I wanted to know what Daz’s wife was like, I wanted to know how they got away from the gangs, I wanted to know how Kieran and Skyler met. I wasn't done learning about them and with every new bit of information, I found myself being more and more attached.

I knew he was watching me but I couldn't bring myself to meet his eyes. With the way that I was feeling, I would melt into his burning gaze and I didn't want to be consumed by it, not when I knew I had to say goodbye.

“So we're all leaving together?” I asked, still kind of confused by what was going on.

He smiled softly. “Yeah, we'll be travelling together until we figure out where we're going, then I assume you and Damien will go to Bronka to find the doctor” He looked at me for a long time, analysing me before he finally spoke again. “I don't want to separate either”