Expelled and needing to transfer for his final year, Liam had known immediately where to go. It was the place that'd taken everything from him; that'd ruined him so absolutely it'd twisted his personality beyond recognition.
The place where he'd met...
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It felt as though hours had passed. Down long, straight roads, and through slicing alleys which blurred together the longer they ran, for a while there was nothing but the pounding of their shoes and the throbbing of their panting lungs.
ㅤLiam feared the industrial wasteland would never end, glass crunching under his feet—even so, his eyes squinted as they jumped from a narrowing opening out into the sun. Trees rustled gently, dappled light soft on his face, and they found themselves standing on a grassy riverbank.
ㅤThere was no bridge he could see, and Liam panicked. He sprinted along the bank, racing down the slope to peer past the long bend until he suddenly had a faceful of grass. The shock had frozen him.
ㅤ"Liam!"
ㅤHe heard Charlie come to his side, a hand gripping his shoulder in concern.
ㅤEven though Liam knew he hadn't fallen into the river, it felt as if he had. Charlie's concerns were distant and muffled, whilst the air leadened his lungs—thick like water.
ㅤThrough his panic, pushing his face into the crook of his elbow, Charlie was beside him, a hand idly stroking his back throughout. Black somehow crept into his closed-eyed vision, and Liam thought he would pass out for a few moments, but his breathing eventually calmed. His heart tired and slowed. He concentrated on the quiet swish of air through the grass and the faint rumble of cars on some distant road.
ㅤLiam peeked from behind his forearm, finding Charlie in a relaxed sit, blanking looking out at nothing. He noticed Liam staring.
ㅤ"Better?"
ㅤLiam did his best to nod and tried to get up.
ㅤHis stomach woozed with the movement, and he found himself coughing and spluttering off to the side, his mouth sour and the image of the man's unnaturally bent head under Charlie's brick.
ㅤ"We have to run," Liam croaked desperately. He spat the taste away, scrambling to stand.
ㅤ"We're fine," Charlie calmly said, unmoving. "We're far enough. It's fine now."
ㅤLiam breathed deeply, adrenaline beating at odds with Charlie's casual unurgency. He attempted to compose himself. He'd no idea how far they were. Charlie reckoned they were okay, and he'd always had better instincts than Liam.
ㅤReseating himself, Liam's hands still shook. He frowned down at them until a sudden grip speared into his hair, and Charlie ruffled it. The touch eased his heart from the cliff's edge again.
ㅤ"We just saw a man die, Charlie," he said, his voice flat.
ㅤ"He's probably alive."
ㅤ"He's dead."
ㅤ"We're safe," was all Charlie had to say on that.
ㅤ"You were gonna kill him," Liam said, the thought of Woods almost-bowing before the gun in Charlie's steady hands—the seriousness.
