Chapter 471: Unintended Consequences
That night, I stared up at the stars, my mind wandering to places it shouldn’t go. Everything was too bright, too clear, too quiet, and it forced me to confront things that I really didn’t want to confront.
Why couldn’t I just go back to the chaos of everything before? Why did everything have to follow this path until there was no way out for me?
I sat at the edge of the beach where the light from the guys’ fire couldn’t quite reach, my toes buried in cooling white sand. The moon hung heavy and full above the sea, casting silver paths across the water that no one ever seemed brave enough to walk.
Behind me, the guys were laughing. Softly. Warmly. The remnants of dinner still lingered in the air—grilled fish, roasted pineapple, and mint.
It should’ve been enough. But it wasn’t.
"You can feel it too, huh?" came a deep voice from behind me.
I didn’t turn. I didn’t need to.
Beau sat down beside me, his feet sinking into the sand with the same slow weight as mine. He held a glass of something blue, glittering faintly, probably stolen from one of the zombie waiters. He didn’t offer it to me, but I wouldn’t drink it even if he did.
"The air’s heavier than it should be," he said, stretching his long legs out. "Like someone is waiting for the other shoe to drop." There was a moment of silence before he continued. "I know about the note," he started, not meeting my eyes. "How do they keep finding us, Hat?"