witness || h.s.|| ON HOLD

thirty-four || run, run now.

the song for this chapter is "run," by elio lio :) I highly suggest listening to it while reading! okay, enjoy!

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where the wild ones run,

with the setting sun

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Tate

    I was so engulfed in my book that I honestly had forgotten that Abel was still on the phone until I suddenly heard him speak, startling me a bit.

  "Tate?"

 I nearly dropped my book as he snapped me out of the daze I was in. I fumbled around for the phone until eventually, I grabbed it. 

   "Hey!" I called back.

 "Hey! We just got to your uncle's house. They haven't left yet, so we are going to go ahead and get into position and make sure we have everything while we wait. Are you still good?" he asked.

   "I'm great! I'm still reading! It's helping to pass the time! How are you all?" I ask, laughing a bit in the end as I replied like this was just a normal conversation.

    "We're good. It's just Niall and me in the car, Harry and Will are in the other car. He has texted me at least ten times so far to make sure you are okay," he chuckled, and I smiled at his response.

   I thought it was so sweet that Harry was thinking about me, I just hoped it didn't interfere with his concentration so that they were able to get in and out as quickly as they had planned. I didn't want to give Will another reason to doubt Harry's ability to balance both me and his work life, and I certainly didn't want to cause the mission to take longer, and possibly endanger my family. 

    "Oh gosh, I'm sorry. Will you let me know when they leave? The phone is on speakerphone right next to me, I'll just be reading," I replied, already peering back down at the book, trying to find my place.

    "Yes, I will. And again, if you need anything, let me know. Oh, Harry says to ask if you have the knife or the gun with you?"

   It took me a second to process his question, as it was one that I never thought I would be asked. Once I recovered, I opened my mouth to reply. 

   "Yes, they are both under the bed," I replied, leaning over the side of the mattress to peer underneath it, confirming that they were in fact where I had left them. And they were, the pistol and the knife laying there, looking daunting as ever, only this time, they were left for me to use, not to be used against me, so I guess that's progress.

      "Okay, good. Talk to you in a bit, Tate," Abel called back and soon I heard him placing the phone down, beginning to type again.

   I took that as my cue to keep reading, scanning the page I was on for a bit until I eventually found where I had left off. 

  I could have gone downstairs to watch TV or something, but I honestly much preferred reading. Not only did I find it relaxing, but it also meant less noise, so that I could be extra alert. 

   Abel had impeccable taste in books, and I was glad that he had been the one to pick mine out. I had always preferred real books as opposed to reading on a screen. I would do it if I didn't have time to run to the bookstore, but there was just something about actually holding the book in your hand that made it so much better. You could actually just focus on the book, and not on whatever device you were on.