Unravelling

Chapter 44 - Determination

I wonder if people can die from nervousness, anticipation and stress.

They probably can, and that means that I might be in imminent danger of meeting my fate if Will doesn't show up anytime soon. Finn and I have been hiding a few yards away from our meeting place for over an hour now and it is starting to get really boring.

Not to mention cold.

I am still wearing all the layers of clothing that I put on for the night. But cowering behind a few smallish rocks and a couple of fallen trees without a proper jacket in December, it doesn't do enough to keep me warm.

It feels like we are criminals, or something, having to hide like this.

The meeting point is about twenty minutes away from the cave. A safe enough distance for it not to be discovered, according to Finn.

"What time is it?" I ask, my teeth clattering.

"Two minutes later than when you last asked me. 10:48am," Finn replies.

Although I can't see him because he is slightly behind me to my right, I can practically hear him rolling his eyes at my impatient questions. We have been having that same conversation for about half an hour now. Naturally, it is making him grow a bit annoyed with me.

I am annoyed with myself, to be honest, but I can't help bringing the same question up over and over again. I need something to occupy my mind with, so asking about the time is the only thing I can think of right now to keep me distracted.

Where is Will?

"What is taking him so long?" I mutter under my breath, but apparently Finn hears me.

"Maybe that's how long it takes to round up to the cops," he remarks sarcastically.

"He wouldn't do that!" I immediately jump to my brother's defence.

I really cannot be sure that he won't, but I have to trust that Will sticks to his word. I have been going over his promise to me – I swear on the life of my brother that I will not rat you out to anyone and that I won't bring Alex or anyone else along – and no matter how I twist and turn it, I cannot detect anything in that sentence that he could use as an excuse in case he ends up betraying me.

"How do you know?"

"I trust him!"

At that, Finn actually snorts. I whirl around, almost toppling over because I am balancing on the balls of my feet while crouching down behind the rocks. My glare quickly shuts him up, which leaves me quite satisfied.

"Will won't tell anyone. He's going to show up and he will be alone and he'll take me to Chicago," I reiterate what I have been telling Finn repeatedly in the past two hours since the phone call.

It has almost become a mantra and I think I am mainly repeating it so that can make myself believe in it, too.

"Whatever you say," Finn says and shrugs.

He doesn't look convinced. Clearly, whatever interactions he has had with my brother in the past have not left him feeling very confident when it comes to Will.

In the beginning, when I told him that I needed to call Will, he flat out refused to help me, claiming that this was the worst idea to ever come out of my mouth. It took a lot of convincing to make him risk getting caught when meeting up with Kolinsky just to get a phone.

But apart from the fact that Will is the only person in my family who would even consider helping me out in a situation like the current one, his was also the one phone number I thought we could easiest get our hands on. Because I don't know any of my brothers' numbers by heart. And since I am not allowed to even turn my phone on – Finn is still convinced that Alex put some kind of fancy tracker on it that might magically reveal my location if my phone only as much as blips to life for a few seconds – I didn't just need to get my hands on an untraceable phone but also on a number to contact someone.