rogue ⇒ l.h

[23]

[23]

it was days from now. erik's men were now looking for us and we were fugitives on the run.

it was hard to keep running and hiding, going from place to place with no permanent location, no exact destination.

i couldn't even contact raven or cade without putting them in harm. i knew that soon, our luck would run out and we wouldn't be able to escape. we were barely threading on water.

"what are you thinking about?" luke asked me as i lay on his chest, his hand stroking my hair. we were staying in a small motel for the past couple days. "i wish we could stay like this forever. no worries. no running. no dying. no killing. we could live like normal people, you know?"

"you and i both know that we aren't normal, anna." luke cupped my face and kissed me softly. there was silence after that.

i looked away from him and closed my eyes. "what's wrong anna?"

"do you—do you think that maybe i'm a monster? i kill people with my bare hands. i killed erik without thinking and... i enjoyed it. i didn't want to stop, i wanted to keep shooting him, wanted him to die over and over again even though he was already dead. i could felt elated to see his dead body before me and knowing that i was the one who did that to him."

the words tumbled out of me and i wondered how luke would react now that the truth was out. i was a monster wasn't i?

"look at me," luke demanded and grabbed my chin roughly so that i faced him. "you are not a monster. you are not a monster. you had to kill him because he didn't give you a choice. you were doing the right thing. and the fact that you even felt guilty about it proves that you're a beautiful amazing human, not a monster. don't ever say that again, promise me."

i sealed his lips with a kiss. a promise. i am not a monster.

---

"it's time to go." luke's voice echoed from the bathroom. i immediately changed into new clothes and got ready to take off.

i reached for the glass of water on the table but my clumsy hand accidentally knocked it over and the contents spilled into my bag. "shit!" i emptied my bag onto the bed, checking if the water had damaged my phone or wallet. however, something caught my eye.

a small piece of white paper was sitting on the bed. i held it up and read it. it was a name card. i was immediately taken back to the time when luke had robbed a woman and i saved her and she gave me her name card if i ever needed any help.

she was a lawyer. she could help us. she could help us escape from los angeles to somewhere new where we could start again.