Love to Die for (SEQUEL)

Chapter 20: Cause Baby You're a Firework

How long had it been now? Days?

It felt like it had been forever since I've last been with society. I felt like a madman. How was this deprivation not getting to William?

He had always looked so calm. I don't know how he does it.

"These thorns are really painful..." I groaned. Multiple times I had been prickled and caught up in thorn bushes. It's at the point where my clothes were practically in shreds.

William said nothing but took off the jacket that was over his messy, white, long-sleeve shirt. I quirked a brow as he tried handing it to me.

"If you put this on, it will protect you better from the thorns." He explained. Which was true, the jacket was really thick and it would deflect a mere thorn. But I felt bad leaving him defenseless.

"You'll be cold..." I muttered. Afton rolled his eyes.

He put the jacket on my shoulders, it fell over my back. He softly patted my back as he smiled warmly at me. "Please wear it."

Blushing, I put my hands in the arm sleeves and zipped up his jacket. It smelled like him.

I love this jacket.

I snuggled into the jacket as he affectionately kissed my lips. It was short, but it was so loving and gentle that it didn't matter.

"William..." I spoke with nothing but admiration.

"I love you, Y/N."

"I love you to—"

BANG . BANG .

William grabbed me and we both ducked behind a tree, our knees to the ground.

I couldn't distinguish the noise, but it really sounded like a gun. Afton and I were in the middle of nowhere, so there was no reason to be hearing a gunshot.

Unless we were being hunted down.

BANG . BANG . BANG .

The shots sounded close but far. I couldn't describe it. I had heard guns before and this one sounded off.

I heard William scoff, then chuckle. He was looking at the sky. I slowly looked up and saw a huge mob of fireworks lighting the sky.

"Is it the Fourth of July or something?" I was genuinely confused. I mean, it could be...

William's eye lit up. He quickly stood up and grabbed my hand. "Follow me."

Immediately, he tugged me West, seemingly noticing something I hadn't. The fireworks appeared innocent to me. Like a local was setting them off, but maybe there was a reason behind it.

"What is it?" I asked, feeling him speed up more at the sound of more fireworks.

"It has to be Henry sending those."

I was seriously questioning his thought process. Henry would definitely have no idea of our situation. His smarts are not that great. Besides, out of all things, why would he find us with fireworks?

I let him do his thing anyway. At least one of us could be hopeful.

BANG . BANG . BANG . BANG .

He turned left, the thorn bushes began lessening. I looked around as the forest began looking less and less threatening.

Was this actually Henry?

I saw lights in the distance. We both ran as fast as possible. There was a trail now and everything in our path was cleared out.

Had we really been that close to society the whole time?

I let go of William and went right to the bright lights. He trailed slightly behind me as I basked in the glory of reality.

It was a freeway.

William grabbed my waist and pulled me back onto the grass, just barely before a big truck would've plowed me. I huffed heavily as I sat on the grass, William's arms were wrapped around me.

"You have to be more careful, Y/N! I almost lost you!" His panicked tone made me feel guilty. His face looked deeply perturbed. He completely ignored the fact we were free.

"I'm sorry!...But thanks for saving my life." I smiled, kissing his cheek. Afton took a deep breath and held me close, I snuggled in and acknowledged the passing cars. It was truly a sight.

We were finally out. I never thought the day would come. William looked at the highway, both of us just silently watching and appreciating.

BANG . BANG. BANG .

The fireworks were North of us. They were being set off in a suburban neighborhood. Afton smirked as he watched each of them explode.

I wonder if he knows Henry didn't set them...

"As much as I love this, it is getting dark out. We should try finding some sort of shelter or phone." William sprang up, giving me his hand. I took it as he assisted me and brought me up with him.

"Sounds good." I smiled, just happy to be here. "Should we hitchhike?"

His happy demeanor dropped vastly. "No."

Afton put his hand on my back and nudged me to start walking with him. "Never hitchhike. That is our last option."

We began walking on the grass. I'm sure people thought we were total weirdos. "I know it's dangerous, but it might be forever until we reach somewhere!"

"I'm not risking both of us getting kidnapped again!" Afton raised his voice. Years of torture and abuse is understandably traumatic. I didn't say anything more on the subject.

The two of us walked in silence for a while. I spent the time thinking about things and what my life may be like after this is all over.

Best case scenario, a happy family.

But when do those ever happen?

We passed by a few signs. They were extremely hard to read due to the lack of light. But most of them were about speeding and littering.

My legs were so tired. Countless days of walking really put a strain on me. I was almost to the point of having William carry me like a princess. That wasn't fair though. He has gone through the same things I have, and he's doing fine.

How is he doing fine?

As I looked over to question his health, I noticed he had stopped walking. He was few feet behind me, staring a something. I walked over to him and noticed a green sign.

HURRICANE UTAH
2 MILES