My eyes open, and it's daylight. We spent the whole god damn night in the tree.
We're sleeping on a fairly large tree branch high up, my back to Ray's chest with his arms around me to prevent me from falling again. His chin is lightly resting on my head.
Oh yeah, the coyote.
I don't hear any barking or growling, anymore. I want to look beneath us but I'm just so damn comfy right now.
Ugh.
I start to sit up slightly to check, and Ray immediately tightens his hold and pulls me back into his chest.
"Don't fall," he whispers, still half-asleep.
"It's already daytime and we need to make sure the coyote is gone," I whisper, afraid that it might hear me.
He groans and sits us both up, gently loosening his grip. We hold on to each other for safety and peek underneath our branch. Nothing but bare grass and some stones.
"Should we climb down?" Ray asks, more awake than before. I shrug with a concerned look on my face.
"We can't just stay up here forever," I explain with a dreadful tone. "Let's give it a shot."
...
Ray POV
...
I'm standing at the bottom of the tree, my arms ready to catch Adora in case she falls again. She's climbing down, and makes a jump about five feet from the ground.
We're about to continue walking and I hear her mutter a small 'ouch'.
"What's wrong?!" I cry out and whip myself around to see her, examining her for injuries.
"It's nothing, just a stupid splinter," she mumbles while picking at her palm. I grab it to get a closer look. "It's not that serious, I can fix it at my cabin."
"You sure?" I ask. She nods and puts on a brave face, prompting us to continue walking the rest of the way to her cabin.
...
Noah POV (Adora's brother)
...
I roll my eyes for probably the eighteenth time in the past hour. This police officer in front of me has been interrogating me, on camera, for ages.
I let out an internal chuckle. He really thinks I'm gonna rat out my twin sister like that?
The police found some of my belongings at the scene and they just. Won't. Let. Me. Go.
"I know you're somehow related to this and we'll get to the bottom of this," he threatens while staring me down,
"Do your worst, sweetheart," I half-heartedly whisper while putting at a scab on my left hand. He slams a hand down on the table and stands up abruptly, pulling a hand back to hit me.
I hold up my hand in front of him and he pauses. "Assaulting an innocent man, officer?" I ask with a snarky smile. He growls and collects his things with evident aggression.
His loud footsteps pass through the door frame right before he slams it, leaving me in the room alone.
It's just me, now. Me and my thoughts. I can't help but think about Adora. The cops refuse to tell me anything.
Did she get away? Was she injured? Is she even alive?
I can only pray that she's somewhere far away. I mean far away. Knowing how fast the police work, they've probably searched everywhere within a twenty mile radius by now if they hadn't found her that night.
If twin telepathy really is real, Adora, I love you and I hope you're somewhere safe.
...
Adora POV
...
We're certainly within a mile or two from the cabin. It'll still be broad daylight when we get there, making us more motivated than anytime before this.
My feet come to a complete stop when a warm feeling spreads in my chest. It's not painful, it's reassuring and loving. Noah.
He's never believed in that twin telepathy stuff, but I always have. This warm feeling has got to be him communicating with me.
A hand waves in front of my eyes and I step back.
"Are you alright?" Ray questions. I wipe away a tear starting to fall before he can see it and I put on a smile. A genuine smile.
"I'm great," I reply and start walking, leaving Ray behind me in a state of confusion. He runs to catch up to me and we walk side by side, just like the past few days.
When we first started the walking part of our journey, one of us usually lingered six feet behind the other. Now we walk next to each other, leaving barely a foot between us.
...
Five minutes later
...
I gasp and start running in circles, squealing. Ray nearly falls backwards from my surprise, gaining his balance and turning to follow me while I run in circles around him.
Before he can get a word out to question me, I grab his hand and start booking it. He lets out a 'woah' and we continue to run for a good ten seconds.
We come to a stop and we stare at it. The front door to my family's cabin.
We turn to face each other and he throws his arms around me. I let out a laugh and wrap my arms around his neck. My feet part from the ground and I feel him spinning me around.
We made it. We actually made it.