Love Among The Ruins-Chapter 118

NADINE’S P.O.V

We split up into the two cars.

Rowan, Amy and I took one of the cars while Joshua rode with the others. It was not my first choice to leave Joshua and Jennifer in a car together, but he’d insisted and she claimed she was fine with it.

Still, I listened out every few seconds to make sure that they weren’t trying to kill themselves behind us.

I was still shocked by how quiet these cars were. They were massive, they shouldn’t have been this quiet. It seemed impossible, but I’d come to realize that nothing was truly impossible.

"How long did they say the car would go for?" Amy asked.

"They didn’t," Rowan answered from his spot behind the wheel. "It’ll show signs before it stops and it’s in our best interest to stop for the night."

She let out a sigh and ran her fingers through the air. "So what? We just drive until we’re tired?"

"No, we’ll try and get to the town first." I explained for what felt like the tenth time. "It’s always better to stop at open space. We’ll find somewhere to crash for the nights and cover the cars until morning when the sun is up. Then we keep going."

I didn’t blame her for the constant questions. There was nothing else to talk about and our plan was half asses at best and based entirely off chance. It was a recipe for disaster and yet, we kept going, because the only other alternative was to give up, and that wasn’t in our cards.

I glanced over at Rowan. His eyes were firmly fixed on the road, but I could tell that his mind was elsewhere.

"How long until we get to the town?" Amy asked.

I glanced at the map in front of me. "Hopefully, not long."

We ended up driving for another hour before we finally found a place that looked decent enough to stay. We stopped the cars in front of the simple house and got out.

It was already dark, the moon was high in the sky and the crickets were chirping. We could’ve kept going if we wanted, but the chances of running into a creature grew astronomically at night and we needed to rest.

The other car pulled up next to us and I watched surprisingly as Joshua and Jennifer walked out, both unharmed.

"I’m surprised that you didn’t kill each other," Amy said and they both turned to her.

"It wasn’t for lack of me trying, believe me," Jennifer said with a sickly sweet smile aimed at Joshua. "Who is taking first watch and keeping an eye on the cars?"

"I will," Rowan said quickly and my brows furrowed in confusion.

"I’ll stay with him."

No one protested.

We covered up the cars with the waterproof material that Sam had left in the back and once that was done, everyone filed in to find a place to sleep,

Rowan and I sat in the living room, the curtains drawn so we could have a clear view of the outside. He didn’t speak to me at first, I’d even begun to worry about whether he noticed my presence when he placed a hand on my thigh and began tracing tiny circles absentmindedly.

I had no idea what was going on in his head but I didn’t ask. I knew he’d share it with me when he was ready.

We ate with the others and it wasn’t until everyone had finally gone to bed that he spoke to me.

"It seems to easy, don’t you think?" Rowan asked slowly. "The whole thing. They just agreed to give us the cars and let us go, Haven’t you thought about it?"

"I have." I admitted.

It was one of the first things I thought about.

Were they trying to kill us? To get rid of us? Was there a greater thing at play that we didn’t know?

I’d thought up every plausible scenario but none of them made any sense to me.

"What do you think?" I asked and he hesitated for a moment before sighing.

"I don’t know. I truly don’t." He didn’t look away from the window when he spoke again. "Every single time we’ve gone on a journey, someone has died."

"That’s not true."

"The first time, it was Dan and the siblings—Max and Irene."

I’d forgotten about them.

It felt like a completely different lifetime ago. I remembered their soft brown eyes and the desperation in Irene’s voice as she wanted to save her brother from his fate.

"They would’ve died whether they met us or not."

"Maybe, but what about after? The next time, our baby died, and Amy’s son."

I couldn’t speak because he was right. I hadn’t realized just how true and terrifying it was.

"This time may be different," I offered but he just smiled sadly. "Rowan, none of us is going to die. We have a plan."

"How often do our plans go the way we want them to?"

"Rowan-"

"I appreciate your optimism, princess. Lord knows I need it, but I need you to make a promise to me."

"Anything."

For the first time since this conversation started, he turned to look me dead in the eye. There was no warmth in his eyes, just fierce desperation. The kind that threatened to bring me to my knees.

"Don’t die."

I sighed softly. "I’m not dying, Rowan."

"You don’t understand, I need you to swear that you’re not going to die on me. I don’t care if someone is in danger, I don’t care if you have to let the rest of us go, but you’re going to survive this."

"You can’t ask me to do that."

"I can and so help me, no one is ready for what the fuck I’ll do if you die. Stay alive, Nadine, swear it to me."

It was in that moment I understood what Solomon was trying to say to me a few days ago. I understood what Edith meant when she said I’d found love.

He’d let everyone else die if it meant I survived and I wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or not.

"I promise, but you can’t die on me either, Rowan Caine or I’ll kill you myself."

He laughed. "You have a deal, Nadine Tyler."