Molly:

I’m riding shotgun in this big black Range Rover. Max is trying to make small talk with me, but it’s very obvious we have very little in common. It’s ok. I like being around him.

He reminds me of Tucker in so many ways, but in other ways I can tell they’re polar opposites. It feels good to be around someone who knows him better than I do, though. It feels good to be around someone who’s just as determined to bring us back together as I am.

“You ever been in a helicopter?” he asks me.

“When I was a kid, we went on one of those helicopter tours at the beach. I don’t really remember much, but I think I threw up,” I say.

“You know where Tucker’s cave is?” he asks. “Like you’d be able to tell me how to get there?”

“Sure,” I say. “I hiked there a few times before.” Our little secret spot where we made love, our backs pressed up the cold stone, our sounds of lust echoing through the cavern.

“Well we’re not going to hike.”

The thought of being up in the air is making me queasy already. I’m glad I didn’t make it downstairs in time for dinner because I don’t think even the idea of finding Tucker is enough to rally the strength to keep my stomach in check.

“Where are we going?” I ask. It’s already dark, and we have at least a four-hour drive ahead.

His phone rings and I try to listen in, but his tone is hushed and his expression is blank.

“You ever heard of Manassa, Colorado?” he asks me after hanging up.

“Nope.”

“Me neither. But that’s where we’re going.”

“Was that him?” I ask, my heart fluttering just knowing that he’s alive. Knowing that I might get the chance to see him again. I can’t hold back my tears, joy mixed with concern. Concern that he might not want to see me.

“It was one of our guys. He’s in the hospital. He’s stable but he was shot. Apparently there was some sort of armed robbery situation.”

My stomach sinks. “He wouldn’t do that,” I say. “He was just running with a bad crowd.”

“He didn’t do that. He stopped it from happening. One of the guys in the gang shot him in the leg before the police could subdue him. He told them everything while they were dragging him out on a stretcher, and he told them to call you. That you’d know.”

“Well we gotta get to him,” I say. “Punch it, grandpa.”

His GPS screen lights up and he turns off of the highway and down a long dirt road into a clearing. Not a minute later, I hear the deafening sound of a helicopter overhead, the trees swaying in the wind all around us.

“Four hours or forty-five minutes,” Max says to me. “Pick your pleasure.”

“Do you have a paper bag or something?” I ask. We’re getting in that helicopter. I don’t care if I puke all the way there, as long as it gets me to Tucker as quick as possible.

“I’m sure we can figure something out,” he laughs. “I can see why Jesse likes you, by the way.”

My hair is still damp, my make-up is questionable at best, and my skinny jeans and hoodie make me look like I’m wearing a burlap sack compared to him.

“I don’t have a word for it,” he says. “It’s like being around you makes me feel calm. Like everything is going to be ok.”

“It always is,” I say. “No matter what happens.”

I try to remind myself of that fact. Even if Tucker doesn’t want anything to do with me, everything’s going to be ok. As long as he gets the treatment he needs and he’s healthy and safe, life will go on. Hopefully, though, our lives will go on together in some sort of way. I’m sure we’re going to have a lot of repairing to do, but I’m currently unemployed and really don’t have a clue with what the next chapter of my life is supposed to be. I have all the time in the world to figure it out.

We board the noisy helicopter and I put on the headphones and close my eyes tight.

“You’re not even going to peek?” he asks.

I open my eyes and look out the window as we take off.

“You got that bag?” I ask him, cupping my hands over my mouth.

“Yeah, maybe you should just try and go to sleep,” he laughs.