uninvited

chapter sixtythree

undeserved

All it took was a few hours. She knew the moment Kell knew something was wrong.

"We aren't going to find a car. Was that your big plan?"

"We'll find one."

"What was going to be your plan if we weren't with you?" Julian asked the other boy with a sneer.

"If it was just me, I wouldn't have to worry about them hunting us down."

He had them on that.

"We______."

Ever had to watch someone you love fall apart? Be glad you didn't have to feel it.

His pain was worse than any pain she'd ever felt in her life. You could combine them all, every broken bone, every heart ache, every cut, scrape and burn and it would be nowhere close to the pain he felt. He was right about that too. His pain was her pain.

There was no stopping her tears or her body shaking sobs. All Julian could do is hold her as tight as he could.

"We could go back. We could_______."

"I can't."

His arms tighten around her, but they were not the arms she needed.

She knew he would be hurting too, and she couldn't bear the thought of no one there to hold him through it.

How could she have done this to him? How could he ever forgive her for this? She deserved her insides to be shredded by her broken heart.

"If we can't go back then we have to go forward." Julian told Hayley looking around.

"We can't stay on the side of the road. It will be dark soon."

She knew all of this, but she couldn't bring herself to move.

"He'll come for you." Julian whispered just for her.

She could only shake her head as more tears fell.

"Let's keep walking."

Sinful had went on ahead but hadn't found much before he turned around and came back.

"Bullshit." Hayley left Macie playing with some wildflowers. Jess knew Lee's patients were wearing thin.

"Tell us what is going on, so we'll know how screwed we are."

So, she told them all of it. She had no reason to be loyal to men who would turn her out onto the streets.

Sin looked bored. Lee wanted to kill, and Julian was outraged. Because the dumb fucks didn't think she was good enough.

Yeah, that was the biggest problem they had right now.

"I knew it. Knew we couldn't trust those alien fucks."

"Some of them."

"You think they will keep their word? About the other aliens?"

"I wouldn't be here if I didn't."

"So, we split up. We can't stay with you because he can find you wherever you go. I need to get my sister out of here. Where he can't find her. It's been just me and Macie before. We can do it again."

The other girl wasn't fooling any of them.

"You're right. To be safe you can't stay with us. But for now, I think we all need each other. To see if we... if she can handle the separation. If she can't then we are going to want him to be able to find her. Let's give it a few days then we will come up with a plan."

"She has to be okay. I can't let him take her. I can't."

"I'm doing everything I can. For right now we are going to have to take this one day at a time."

"You're already sick, aren't you?"

"I don't know. Maybe." And it hadn't taken twenty-four hours to get there.

"Look, I just want the car and supplies you promised. No way I'm sticking around if you're some kind of homing device. I thought you were human."

"I am. Same as you. And you'll get the stuff. I just need some more time."

"Apparently, we don't have time."

"They don't even want you. What the hell are you bitching about?"

He grinned. "That's right. I'm usually the one someone is looking for. Fine, then. Guess I have nowhere else to be."

By nightfall she had managed to get them all to an old gas station that had probably been closed down for years. She offered her blanket to Hayley and Macie then let Julian tuck her in close.

She didn't know if everyone was too tired to talk or if there was just too much to think about. Even once Macie was long asleep and everyone was quiet, she knew they were wide awake.

Squeezing her eyes shut, she tried not to move. Tried not to think by concentrating on the burning. His mark.