The Perfect Escape (The Perfect Escape #1) - Suzanne Park Page 0,72
still warm from my body heat.
Nate checked his wristband. “If you’re tired, though, we can hang out here a bit. It’s raining out there.”
A light drizzle fell outside of the cave opening, but nothing we couldn’t handle. I hoisted on my backpack, which added extra weight on my inflamed ankle. From the first aid kit in my backpack pocket, I pulled out two Advils and swallowed them.
Our wristbands lit up and buzzed, grabbing our attention with the incoming message. I scrolled down the teeny screen.
EIGHT TEAMS REMAINING. CONGRATULATIONS TO THE FINALISTS! AND SURPRISE! WE’VE CHANGED THE RULES (SEE APPENDIX B, SECTION 2 THAT YOU INITIALED, ACCEPTING ALL CONDITIONS LISTED IN THAT SECTION, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, ALTERING TERMS OF THE COMPETITION).
EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY, TEAMS ARE ALLOWED TO DISBAND AND PARTICIPATE AS INDIVIDUALS. GRAND PRIZE REMAINS THE SAME. SEE YOU AT THE FINISH LINE!
I reread the message again. It was a lot to process.
Nate spoke first. “Your ankle, from here it looks pretty swollen, like a float in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. Can you walk okay?”
Based on the limited data I had, standing in a cave with a backpack, the answer was “sort of.”
“I…I think so.”
“Can you run?”
I bit my lip. “I can try.”
Nate’s shoulders stiffened. “Okay, can you outrun zombies, and other contestants, with your leg like that?”
“I don’t know,” I whispered.
He breathed deeply. “Yes or no? Which is it?”
“I—I—I don’t…” My eyes filled with tears. “No.”
“You don’t know? Or just no?”
“No.” Anger shot through my veins. “NO. Okay? NO. I can’t run. And if I can’t run, we can’t win. I get that. Is that what you wanted to hear?” My voice wavered. Do NOT cry, Kate. Don’t you dare cry.
He waited for me to finish. “I can still win, though.” He cleared his throat. “It’s still possible for me to win.”
“By yourself?” I barked. It came out more harshly that I’d expected.
“Yes. By myself,” he said, barely audible. “If we stay as a team…” His voice trailed off.
If we stayed as a team, we’d lose.
If he left me, he could win.
I wasn’t an idiot. Cutting him loose was the logical answer. But let’s face it, I wasn’t really letting him go. He was letting me go.
Abandoned again. A memory flashed of my mom, wildly clapping for me in the front row of the auditorium. Then another, of her casket being lowered into the ground. Did she know how much I loved her? How it hurt so much when she died? I hated being alone, but love inevitably turned into heartbreak. There was no point in going through that again. My heart couldn’t handle it.
“Go,” I whispered.
“Kate? Are you sure?”
Louder, I hissed, “Just go. Now. I’ll be fine.”
His wristband buzzed. “If I win, I promise—”
I cut him off. “Stop. Talking. Just leave while you still have a chance to win.” Nate wasn’t complicated. Money was the only thing that drove him. I was so stupid to think there was more to him than that.
Nate nodded. Standing up with his heavy pack on one shoulder, he walked to the front of the cave. “I left you extra food and water,” he said before he took off jogging into the rain. The wind had picked up, rattling the trees and blowing debris every which way.
If he’d shone the flashlight back at my face, he would have seen tears tumbling down my cheeks as the fire inside me blew out.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Nate
Kate wouldn’t let me finish talking, but honestly, I wasn’t sure what to say.
I wanted to tell her this was the only way to win the prize.
I wanted to tell her I’d split the money.
I wanted to tell her this was the hardest decision I’d ever made and there wasn’t a way out without losing everything.