𝐒𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐩𝐢𝐭𝐲

Chapter 32

— Chapter 32 —
Haven't You Ever Wanted to Fly?

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N O A H

"Crap! Police!"

My head jerked to the side to get a look. Surely enough, he was right—a marked police sedan was driving in our direction, though from its speed, I figured they hadn't seen us yet. Its headlights blurred my vision.

"Let's go!" I said, taking a grip on Elliot's small hand.

The sirens started blaring as the two of us broke out into a run. I almost jumped out of my skin at the sound, feeling the ringing at the back of my ears. Cupping the side of my head with my free hand, I tried to block out the wailing alarms and did my best to calm the shock in my bones.

An officer's voice rang out from the speaker of the car. "Boston Police! Stop in the name of the law!"

Heh. Never thought they really said that.

I pulled Elliot into a narrow alleyway with me, knowing that the car wouldn't be able to follow us inside.

"Stop!" I heard an officer call again, though this time it wasn't over the car speaker.

Elliot and I had already lost them from our fields of vision, but we knew well enough that we weren't in the clear yet.

I felt the aching in my thighs as I dragged Elliot into another short backstreet, illuminated only by spaced-out lamp posts with flickering yellow lights. Puddle water splashed onto my dark jeans as I ran blindly down the path, Elliot keeping up well behind me.

"You know where you're going?" He called out, craning his head to make sure we weren't being followed.

"Like the back of my hand," I told him, promising our safety with a reassuring look. "You're not the only one who's spent their life out here."

We swerved into another passage, one that smelled pungently of gas and smoke, before turning abruptly into another alley.

We ran for a few more minutes. Elliot's hair kept flying in his face as he squeezed tightly onto my hand, trusting me enough to follow me without question.

Pure adrenaline was coursing through my veins. All the excitement had given me a thrill that I hadn't felt in years—a wild rush, providing me with enough energy to keep pressing forward. With my hair in the wind and my hand latched onto Elliot's, I ignored the pain in my legs and just kept going.

Elliot was with me, running.

And it just felt great.

By the time we'd entered the last alleyway, the sirens were no louder than a faint hum in the distance. I figured we had put quite a lot of distance between us and the police, but it was safer to keep going and stay on the safe side.

"I-It's a dead end!" Elliot mumbled with wide eyes, pulling on the hem of my sleeve to get my attention.

I looked up, seeing the stone apartment building that was definitely in the wrong place. It was new—entirely cutting off what had once been a large backstreet. The square area we were standing in now was nothing more than a small parking space.