Everything seemed darker without Hattie by his side. He had experienced it once before when Alicia had tried to have her killed, but now that he had spent so much more time with her, it was so much worse. Her absence was like a thorn in his heel; every time he stepped forward, it drove deeper into his flesh, reminding him of exactly what he was walking away from.
The jungle seemed to disappear around him, only the path forward was the only thing that stood out. His footsteps were slow, but no matter how slow they were, they still took him away from Hattie.
He wanted to turn back; he needed to. The hunger to be close to her was compounded by the ache of separation. It almost made him sick to even think that he was willingly walking away. But it was like something drew him forward.
Closing his eyes, he remembered every time her hand brushed his, every time that she looked his way and smiled. To him, it had been everything… and yet not nearly enough.
