world outside, and until you turn twenty-five, you pretty much don’t exist in ours. I didn’t really care what happened one way or another. About anything. Then you showed up, and in one night, you managed to fuck up nineteen years of mundane, orderly, normal life.”
“Not really seeing the reasoning here,” Colt said dryly. They were already deep in the sticks, and when he saw the only mailbox they’d passed in miles at the start of a dirt road, he knew that had to be it.
According to the GPS, they were only a few hundred feet away from their destination. Once the road widened to allow him to see beyond the trees, a surprisingly idyllic two-story farmhouse came into view. It wasn’t as rundown as the first spot Peter had sent them to, but there was no sign anyone had been there recently, either. The driveway was empty, and he couldn’t see Andrew’s car anywhere, so he knew they were the first to arrive. He parked near the end of the drive to wait.
“That is the reason,” Ronnie said, turning to face him. “My whole life, it felt like nothing would ever change. Like everything was just going to stay the same until I became this... thing I never wanted to be. And even the way my parents described their awakening, it made me feel hopeless, like I was just going to lose everything that made me who I am and become someone else entirely. Then I met you.”
“Yeah, covered in a stranger’s blood. Not exactly a shining example of humanity.”
“No,” Ronnie conceded, his lips twisting into a wry smile that matched the mischief in his eyes. “But you still felt like shit about it. You were still yourself. You fucked up more than anyone, and you had no idea what you were doing, but you never stopped caring that you’d fucked up. You never stopped trying to be better, and I don’t know.” He shrugged. “I guess it gave me hope not to give up trying, either.”
“You don’t even need to try,” Colt murmured. “You’ve never done anything to hurt anyone. You were born into this, and you’re still the most human person I know.”
Ronnie’s eyes widened. It was rare for Colt to see him surprised, let alone at a loss for words, but he was plenty of both at the moment.
When Ronnie finally looked away, Colt could see a hint of blush in his cheeks. “My point is, I knew what I was getting into. If anything, I’m responsible for you, so stop treating me like a kid who doesn’t know his own mind.”
Colt tried to think up a sufficient response, but the fact that he came up empty was proof there wasn’t one. “You’re right,” he finally said.
Ronnie blinked. “I’m right?”
“I do treat you like a kid, but you aren’t one. I did the same thing with Jason, and look where it got us both.” Colt heaved a sigh. “I don’t have any of this figured out. I finally think I’m doing something right and then all this shit blows up in my face. I’m just trying to do what I can moment by moment.”
“That’s my point,” Ronnie pressed. “You don’t have to do it alone. You’re not alone. You get that, right?”
“I know,” Colt said quietly.
Before he could say anything else, a dark gray car pulled up behind them. He looked in the rearview mirror as Andrew got out along with Vaughn.
“That’s him?” Ronnie asked, peering into the mirror. “He doesn’t look like a Plague Doctor.”
“I think that’s the whole point of the mask,” Colt said, getting out of the truck.
As Andrew walked over to them, he cast a doubtful glance up at the old farmhouse. “This is it?”
“According to the coordinates,” said Ronnie.
Vaughn looked at the younger ghoul, frowning. “What is he doing here?”
“Back at you, Bird Head.”
Colt grimaced. Leave it to Ronnie to mouth off to the deadliest type of ghoul in existence. Fortunately, Vaughn didn’t seem offended. In fact, he gave a soft chuckle that might’ve been eerie coming from someone less hapless looking.
“This is Ronnie. He’s my… associate,” Colt said for lack of a better word. He was really going to have to figure out a job title. “He’s just here for backup. And he’s going to stay far, far back,” he said pointedly, looking down at the younger man.
Ronnie rolled his eyes. “Yeah, yeah.”
“A pleasure to meet you,” Vaughn said, reaching to shake Ronnie’s hand. Ronnie returned the handshake, seemingly out