damn dog." Then, because my confidence was already faltering, I shot Riley and Beck a nervous look and wet my lips. "Excuse me."
Before anyone could argue further, I bolted out of the cabin and into the cool night air. I’d barely made it halfway across the lawn, though, when my legs gave out under me and I dissolved into a crying mess in the dirt.
Fuck me. Now that I'd seen Riley Duboise with my own eyes, I knew there was no hope for me and Dylan. Wrong place, wrong time. So what in the ever loving fuck would I do if I really was pregnant?
18
The office cabin door opened behind me, and I closed my eyes briefly, really wishing none of them would see me like this. Especially Dylan. He’d already referred to me as both a mouse and a fucking dog in the few-minute conversation with his friends. One might have come from Riley's mouth, but she was just repeating his thoughts. And honestly... he wasn't wrong.
I'd let myself become this thing, an animal to be either hurt or petted when the time arose. I was fucking done with it.
I didn't have to worry, because it was only Beck shouting out to the Delta goons, who had still been hanging around, that they could take off. Because, yeah, I was clearly no fucking threat. I could almost feel his pitying gaze, which sent a jolt of anger through me. His boots sounded on the deck briefly before the door slammed again.
The cars took off, all the black suits inside, and once again I was alone. Not wanting anyone else to see me like this, I pulled myself to my feet and wiped the tears off my face, all the while wishing it was as easy to wipe away the ache in my chest.
Beck didn't know this, of course, but he'd just done me a huge favor. No guards meant no one would see my next steps as I changed my entire fucking life. This was a point of reckoning for me, the moment of realization that I could no longer be the same Brooklyn Lawson who had first come to this camp. Who did what I was told the moment I was told it for fear of the consequences if I didn't.
That Brooklyn was dead. And from her ashes, I was going to rise into someone who took control of my damn life and stopped waiting for someone else to ride in and save my stupid ass.
Without a single look back at the office, because a new life meant letting that bastard go, I raced toward his cabin in the woods. On the way, I focused on my plan, running over my next steps in my head. I couldn’t waste time—Dylan would be on my ass so fast—but this was my best opportunity and I wasn’t going to waste it.
After tripping over more than a few rocks, I had to slow my pace. I wasn't worried about the injury to myself, but I was possibly pregnant with another life. It was my job as a possible mother to ensure I protected my child.
Step one of my new life was to get a damn pregnancy test.
When I reached the cabin, I grabbed my backpack because it would hopefully not have a tracker in it, and stuffed it full of the survival gear that had been in the camp provided bag. My plan was to leave via the same path I'd used on arrival, then hitch-hike from there. While the path we’d come in by seemed fairly safe, one thing I had learned from being here was it never hurt to be prepared.
Especially in the outdoors during winter.
As I packed, I debated whether I should leave Dylan a note. But then again, dogs and mice couldn't write, so surely, he wouldn't expect a note from me. Even his "little bird" wouldn't be able to write, so... fuck him.
Yeah, my anger over the animal references was building.
Exiting the cabin in no time, I went the long way around the camp, all the while hoping my sense of direction wasn't completely faulty as I navigated somewhat familiar landmarks. When the dirt path out of here finally appeared, I could have screamed in excitement. I refrained, not wanting to clue anyone in on my whereabouts… if they'd even noticed I was gone yet.
Once I was on the smooth road, I took off as fast as I could go, pushing through my fatigue. From the