The North Star | COMPLETED ✔️

Chapter 62 ~ What Do You Want?

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Chapter 62

Bard lead us deeper and deeper into the woods, and with each step, the trees seemed to multiply. The foliage in some spots was almost too dense to get through, and the further in we traveled, the darker it became. I wasn't sure if it was the trees, or the storm clouds quickly closing in on us. Either way, it wasn't helping to build my confidence. It was bad enough to walk around knowing Drake could come pop up at any moment, without also having to do so in the dark.

Bard pushed forward quicker than usual, and I struggled to keep up with his pace. The majority of the tree limbs that smacked into me seemed to favor my face. Bard, however, got none of it. He maneuvered himself like a jungle cat, over logs, under limbs, around holes, all without a moment's pause. To him, the acres upon acres of forestry was all just a big back yard.

I'd reached the point of cursing, when a slight break in the trees loomed into view. I rushed towards it, more than ready to be out of the hell they called nature. When Bard had brought me there before, it hadn't been anything like this. This was suffocating. This was claustrophobic. A girl had her limits.

Bard roughly grabbed my arm and jerked me to a halt.

I flinched. "What is it?" I fought for calm and scanned the area.

Bard pointed down, and that's when I saw it. A wire, barely noticeable. It ran across the space in front of us, and I followed it to find its end attached to a metal box. "What is that?"

"It's a trip wire." Bard walked over and lifted the lid off the top of it. He motioned me over, then waited until I could see inside. "This is a twelve gage shotgun shell. If someone trips that wire, it will go off." He put it back together and met my gaze. "Nobody can sneak up on us."

A sense of relief rushed over me. At least I'd know. "Did you do that?"

Bard studied me. "I worked out here for weeks, Jessie. What did you think I was doing?"

All those times he'd taken off right after we trained flooded my mind, and I almost laughed. Of course he'd been doing something. What had I expected? That he just sat on a stump and looked manly? "I assumed you were just avoiding me."

Bard stood and looked down at me. "You needed space. I needed to make us safe. It was best for everyone."

I stared at him. "And now? Or... when this is over?" I let the sentence hang. Bard didn't remember any of his drunken ramblings from the previous night, not the apology, not my forgiving him, not his promise to marry me, none of it.

His eyes sharpened and roamed my face. I braced myself, knowing it was what he always seemed to do just before he said something that caused my heart to burst. "What is it you're asking me, Tequila?"

I shrugged. What was I asking? I had no fucking idea. Things were different now. I'd been prepared to let him go. No. Not prepared. I'd been suffering because I felt like I had to. He'd made it clear how he really felt when he called me a liar... but now? Now, with everything that had happened, everything that could happen still?

I bit the inside of my cheek. I knew what I wanted, and with a limited amount of time left on my lifeline, I was finding it a lot harder to worry about reasons against it.

He took a step closer. "What do you want after this is over?" His voice was thick. It resonated with me, and with it came the memories of every moment we'd shared.

My heart beat an erratic tempo, each breath more shallow than the last. I closed my mouth and focused on the ground. When it's over... I snorted. "Being alive would be a good start."