LIS: My Other Half (Nathan Prescott)

11

The stairs squeaked with every step I planted, and the hallway up ahead was completely unlit. I finally made it to his door, pushing it open and revealing his room. I was almost surprised at how lively it was, the complete opposite of his dorm room.

I rummaged around in his closet until finding a good bag that wasn't torn. Pulling it out and throwing the strap over my shoulder, when I turned, I found myself at a halt when a small figure blocked my path. It was Hazel, standing and crying, her fingers fiddling.

"What's wrong?" I asked immediately, getting down on my knees and looking up at her.

"We always talked about running away together..." she sniffs, wiping away her big crocodile tears. "Now you're running away with him."

"Oh, Hazel." I embrace her tightly. "You can come with us." I pull away.

She shakes her head and forces a smile. "No, it's okay. I don't mind."

"Then why are you crying?"

"Because that could've been us." she gave a laugh which turned to a cry.

From downstairs I heard Nathan call my name. I turned from the door back to the room and saw Hazel had vanished. A faint smile formed on my face before I finally walked out, running down the steps and meeting Nathan in the office where he began stuffing it with the cash and snacks/water from the kitchen. Once the bag was full, we jet out the door, getting into his dads car and taking off through all the destruction and decay. It was sad and hard to look at, my home town gone in just a few hours.

But I tried not to think of it too much. I switched on the radio, listening to some 60's country music until my nerves could settle and listen to what Nathan wanted. After some time, Nathan got tired of the country music and connected his phone, blasting his vortex club playlist. We drove like this for a few hours, nothing but the music, a few glances to one another. I think we both just needed some time alone to assess it all, to finally accept what has happened. We had no clue if our families were alive and even if they were, the best choice was to stay as far away from them as possible. We were fugitives now, and there was no going back, despite there being no home to go back to.

But it was better like this. Neither of us wanted to know if our parents were... gone, so running away and staying in the unknown was for the best. Maybe in a few years when the world forgets about us we can go back to figure out the truth, but for now, we had nothing but the open road and the bag full of cash.

End