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Lee knows what happened. Of course he knows. Maren wasn't taken from him. She didn't wander off and get lost like a fucking toddler. She isn't just around the corner somewhere, waiting for him to find her.
She left. She left him, very specifically and deliberately. She left him just like everyone else he's ever cared about, but this one hurts so much worse. It feels like she stuck a knife in his chest and twisted it, like he's being ripped open by her teeth. He thinks that he would have preferred that, actually. She could have eaten him up and it would have hurt less, because at least then he'd still be a part of her.
He drives through the dusty streets of whatever no-name town he's in, calling her name out of the open window of the truck like she's a lost puppy, and eventually he has to call it. She's gone, and she doesn't want Lee to find her. She made her choice, but that's the thing-- Lee thought her choice was him.
Lee keeps one hand on the wheel of the truck and reaches up to scrub the other over his face, wiping tears from his eyes before they can fall. When he drops his hand and opens his eyes again, he flinches so hard that he nearly swerves off of the road and he has to grab the wheel with both hands, jerking the truck out of the way as a little silver car zips around him, horn blaring.
Moments ago, he'd been the only one driving down a county road under a blazing afternoon sun, and now he seems to be in the middle of a city and it's nighttime. He blinks a few times and pulls over as soon as he can, clawing at the seatbelt to release it and opening the door. He gets out, feet hitting the fresh asphalt of a busy, well taken care of city.
"What the fuck," he mutters to himself, wondering if he's finally cracked. Everything is gleaming and shiny, with sleek, unfamiliar cars passing by. It feels like he's just stepped out of one of the shitty dime store sci-fi paperbacks that he shoplifts all the time, and he stumbles backwards until his back hits the side of his truck, hands pressing back against metal still warm from the sun.
The place across the street has a neon sign with a smiling cup above it, advertising some type of drink that Lee's never heard of, and he takes in a ragged breath as his chest seizes up with panic.
"What the fuck is happening?"
She left. She left him, very specifically and deliberately. She left him just like everyone else he's ever cared about, but this one hurts so much worse. It feels like she stuck a knife in his chest and twisted it, like he's being ripped open by her teeth. He thinks that he would have preferred that, actually. She could have eaten him up and it would have hurt less, because at least then he'd still be a part of her.
He drives through the dusty streets of whatever no-name town he's in, calling her name out of the open window of the truck like she's a lost puppy, and eventually he has to call it. She's gone, and she doesn't want Lee to find her. She made her choice, but that's the thing-- Lee thought her choice was him.
Lee keeps one hand on the wheel of the truck and reaches up to scrub the other over his face, wiping tears from his eyes before they can fall. When he drops his hand and opens his eyes again, he flinches so hard that he nearly swerves off of the road and he has to grab the wheel with both hands, jerking the truck out of the way as a little silver car zips around him, horn blaring.
Moments ago, he'd been the only one driving down a county road under a blazing afternoon sun, and now he seems to be in the middle of a city and it's nighttime. He blinks a few times and pulls over as soon as he can, clawing at the seatbelt to release it and opening the door. He gets out, feet hitting the fresh asphalt of a busy, well taken care of city.
"What the fuck," he mutters to himself, wondering if he's finally cracked. Everything is gleaming and shiny, with sleek, unfamiliar cars passing by. It feels like he's just stepped out of one of the shitty dime store sci-fi paperbacks that he shoplifts all the time, and he stumbles backwards until his back hits the side of his truck, hands pressing back against metal still warm from the sun.
The place across the street has a neon sign with a smiling cup above it, advertising some type of drink that Lee's never heard of, and he takes in a ragged breath as his chest seizes up with panic.
"What the fuck is happening?"
