Total pages in book: 145
Estimated words: 135792 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 679(@200wpm)___ 543(@250wpm)___ 453(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 135792 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 679(@200wpm)___ 543(@250wpm)___ 453(@300wpm)
Liv grinned, showing off the large teeth that somehow made him even more charming. “Might as well join in while I’m there.”
Knox didn’t have the energy to stand so he just stayed in the dirt with his head hung low. Maybe he watched too much porn, and that was why imagining Liv with Amanda felt kinda hot? “I hate you so much right now.”
Liv slapped his arm. “And I love you as I always do. She doesn’t matter. Nor any other girl,” he said softly, as if he somehow sensed the vulnerability of Knox’s state. “It’s just you and me now.”
Knox got up, desperate to change the subject, to focus on the daunting reality where they were on the run after killing a man, because even that was better than fighting Liv over all the messed-up shit he was suggesting.
“What’s that noise?” he asked, looking around when the hum he’d noticed earlier got even louder.
One side of the sky remained dark, with visible stars, but the other half was getting the pink glow of a new dawn. And that’s where Knox spotted a bright light moving along the train track.
“Fuck me,” Liv muttered, shooting to his feet. “This is it! Our ticket out.”
Knox was right behind him when Liv sprinted for the train. It slowed as it approached a curve in its path, but it wouldn’t stop. If they wanted to hop on, they had to be quick.
“I’m right behind you!” Knox yelled over the loud rattle of steel wheels. The railway here hadn’t carried passengers for a long time, but the endless trail of big, windowless cars confirmed that this was a freight train. The closer they got to it, the more the ground thudded under the weight of this enormous snake. Liv was several paces ahead as he sprinted toward the passing railcars like a man possessed, changing course when they both spotted one that had an opening in its side.
The air was dry in Knox’s throat, and the speed made his head feel light, but he fought through it like he always did and pretended running didn’t affect him at all. What good would it do to make people pity him and see him as more of a failure?
Liv should have dropped him like a hot potato long ago.
It was a thought that penetrated Knox’s mind as he choked his lungs out, watching Liv grab the handle of the open door for leverage and pull himself into the compartment. Liv could disappear. Leave Knox and tonight’s nightmares behind. Start anew without anyone knowing his secret.
Knox’s chest compressed even more as sheer desperation fueled his muscles. He didn’t want to be left behind. He didn’t want to lose Liv.
“Liv!” he yelled despite having painfully little air to spare. Now that he was running parallel to the massive train, his legs were starting to give up, and a sense of panic settled in his chest, but Liv stuck his head right out, and then his arm.
“Take my hand!”
Knox reached out, running as if he were chased by armored police vans, and yet he could barely brush his fingers against Liv’s. They only had so much time on the bend. Once the train sped up, Knox would stand no chance.
Liv must have realized that, because he leaned farther out like some circus contortionist, standing with half his foot on the protruding step below the door. He held on to the handle with one hand, and grabbed Knox’s wrist with the other.
Their eyes locked as the thrumming of wheels picked up the tiniest bit, and Liv spoke over the noise, “One. Two. Three,” he said and pulled just as Knox leaped up.
Knox’s knee hit the edge of the open compartment, and when Liv rolled in, his weight pulled Knox all the way inside. They caught their breaths surrounded by wooden crates that judged them in silence.
Knox patted the dusty floor in disbelief, but then let out a manic laugh, resting his head on Liv’s chest. It thudded with a furious heartbeat.
“We’re in!”
Liv rubbed the back of his head, resting as the floor shook under them, and the train sped up. “Yeah. Let’s keep our heads down. It’s going up north.”
Knox groaned, for once not fighting the comforting touch. He was too tired. “So much for our dream of Mexico. It’s gonna be fucking cold, isn’t it?”
Liv moved his hand down to Knox’s back. “We’ll be fine. It’s not winter yet. We’ll just have to huddle up together.”
Typical Liv, always looking on the bright side of things.
Knox sighed. “We do have your fuck blanket. It’s in my backpack.”
“Ooh, good memories will keep us warm,” Liv said with a chuckle, but for now Knox didn’t want to consider whether the thing had ever been washed.
For now, he would just enjoy what they had.
Chapter 5