Chapter 106

Summer’s POV

By the time Jared and I finally stumbled upon that godforsaken gas station, I had clocked somewhere close to a million steps—and my stomach had been making accusatory growls every one of them. We’d been trekking for hours, picking our way along the cracked pavement on the edge of town, where half-dilapidated motels and neon-lit convenience stores hung on for dear life. My feet felt like they’d been run over by a steamroller—thankfully, the blisters had healed almost as fast as they appeared, but that didn’t undo the miles of dirt caked onto my skin. I’m not ashamed to admit I looked like someone had swirled a mud pie around my face as a prank.

Jared gave me a gentle push toward the automatic bathroom door, his fingertips lingering on my elbow as if he weren’t entirely sure which hand belonged to me. He flashed a small, encouraging smile. Seriously, it was almost enough to distract me from my arid throat and that ominous belly-growl that threatened to