Chapter 31: Chapter 31

“Before I met you, I was seeing red everywhere. And then the goat melting. And even that poor kid in the oil barrel. They all melted or liquidated or…And you said that when you don’t do your thing, that’s what happens, right?”

“I start to bleed out, Arik, I’m not sure—”

“That’s okay. You don’t have to be sure. I am.”

Blaze didn’t know what was worse. Arik being so wrong or Blaze dying for him to be right. “Okay, benefit of the doubt, then,” Blaze said. “How do you see this going? What’s the endgame?”

Arik’s smile was sad, and he stared at the road ahead. “Don’t worry,” he said softly. “I get how these things go, and I’m not entertaining fantasies that we’ll be together forever or anything so juvenile.” Arik’s chuckle seemed a bit forced. “I guess I’ll be happy to have you for as long as it takes to get you rested up and recovered. And who knows? Maybe we’re supposed to be friends, right? I’m the guy you come to in between journeys or something. For some R and R?”