The Perfect Escape (The Perfect Escape #1) - Suzanne Park Page 0,61
was comfortable. Talking with her was easy. “What about you? What are you doing with our vast winnings after your trip to New York?”
From the jagged cliffs above us, an eardrum-piercing howl echoed. The hairs on my arms shot up straight.
“Maybe the coyote wants to visit New York too,” I said in a nervous whisper.
She giggled and gave a thumbs-up in the coyote’s direction. “I bet the coyote could eat all those subway rats I hear about. It’s perfect, actually.”
I grabbed a hunk of wood and poked at the fire, sending embers into the night air like fireflies. The only way to keep it going through the night was to take sleeping shifts to tend it. A way to stay even warmer was by sleeping together—not sleeping with each other in the biblical sense, but just, sorta, spooning without groping. Maybe I’d hold off on mentioning that.
Kate cleared her throat. “I’m wide awake, and I don’t know how I’m going to sleep. I’m a little wired. What about you?”
I nodded like a bobblehead on speed. She mentioned sleep arrangements first but didn’t suggest cuddling. Damn.
I stood to stretch my legs, which had stiffened from the uphill climb.
She reached both arms in the air and straightened her shoulders. “Well, maybe one of us should try to sleep.” Standing up too, she added, “I’ll go first. Since I made the fire and all.”
“Yeah, no problem.” I yawned.
“Um, one more thing.” Kate shifted, smiling awkwardly. “I’m actually moving to New York, not just visiting,” she said, resuming the conversation I thought we’d ended. “My dad doesn’t know. We’re not exactly talking right now.”
“So, you’re like every teen hating their parents?” I joked. Her smile turned sour. “Or, wait, how bad is it? Other than the fact that he wants to ship you off to Asia.”
It took her a while to answer.
“Well, for one, I blame him for my mom’s death,” she said quietly.
For one? There was more than that? That was a fucking big one. “Oh wow. How’d…how’d it happen?”
Kate crossed her arms and shivered again. “She had pneumonia. She got it from Dad.” She paused, her eyes brimming with tears. “She was a bit of a hypochondriac honestly, so she tried herbal supplements, but when none of her home remedies worked and she got worse, Dad didn’t take her to the doctor. He told her to sleep it off and went on another business trip. He said when he was sick he’d still gone to work and didn’t take any sick days. When her fever spiked to a hundred and five degrees, I drove her to the ER. I’d just gotten my driver’s license. She passed out in the waiting room.”
“Oh God, I am so sorry, Kate. That must’ve been so…I’m sorry.” I didn’t know what else to say. Words weren’t forming. My brain was numb from the cold. I walked over to Kate and hugged her tight.
She sniffed. “Mom fell into a coma later that night. She died the day after my dad got back from his trip. It’s like she held on so he could see her go.” Her tears beaded on my chest and dribbled down my waterproof parka. “He should have been there,” she murmured. “For her. And for me. I miss my mom so much.”
We stayed like that for a while. Kate fit perfectly in my arms. She tilted her head up, and our eyes met. “I’m sorry I dumped all of that on you. I just wanted you to know why I needed to leave home so badly.”
Another howl echoed from above, but it was much closer this time. Directly behind us, a loud rustle came from the brush. Kate and I hugged and drew in close.
Her breath quickened. Mine stopped.
A tiny rabbit tore out from behind the bush. Then another one shot out and followed. Relieved, we laughed and relaxed our grips.
Two more rabbits ran past our camp area, skirting around the fire. We laughed again, but when the chilling realization hit me that the adorable bunnies were running away from something, I let go of Kate and hollered,