Chapter 5 - THE HARSH VIBRATION
They were deep in the Cascade Mountains when Emily decided to turn her phone back on.
The screen illuminated the dark cabin,
blinding her for a second.
The notifications flooded in like a levee breaking.
42 missed calls from Mom.
12 missed calls from Ryan.
83 text messages from Various relatives.
And one message from Molly Sanchez,
sent only ten minutes ago.
He’s not angry, Em. He’s 'concerned'. Which is Ryan-speak for 'I’m going to find you and fix this so my life looks perfect again'. Stay low.
Emily felt a chill that had nothing to do with the mountain air.
She scrolled through the messages from Ryan.
Emily, tell me where you are.
I know you're just overwhelmed.
We can postpone the reception.
Everything is fine, we just need to get you home.
Not once did he ask why she ran.
Not once did he say he was hurt.
He spoke to her as if she were a malfunctioning appliance that needed a technician.
"He's calling again,"
Emily said,
the phone vibrating in her palm like a trapped insect.
Jaxson didn't look over,
but his jaw tightened.
"Give it to me."
"No,
I need to—"
"Give me the phone,
Emily."
His voice was quiet,
but it carried an authority that made her hand over the device.
Jaxson glanced at the caller ID,
then slid the window down.
The rain-scented wind rushed in as he tossed the phone with a flick of his wrist.
It tumbled into the darkness,
a tiny glowing square disappearing into a deep ravine.
"What did you do?"
she gasped,
her hand reaching out to the empty air.
"I gave you silence,"
Jaxson said.
"He can't track the GPS if it’s at the bottom of a cliff."
"And you can't be his 'project' if he can't talk to you."
Emily slumped back into the seat,
feeling a strange mix of terror and relief.
The bridge was burned.
The phone was gone.
The girl who chose stability was officially missing.
"My mother is going to kill you,"
she whispered.
"Your mother already thinks I’m the devil,"
Jaxson replied.
"I’m just living up to the reputation."
They drove through a tunnel of towering pines,
the headlights cutting a path through the mist.
Emily looked at Jaxson’s profile,
the sharp line of his nose,
the steady focus in his eyes.
"Why did you leave,
Jax?"
"Back then."
The question had been sitting in her throat for a decade.
Jaxson didn't answer for a long time.
The tires hummed on the wet asphalt,
a lonely,
haunting sound.
"Because I saw what this town did to people,"
he said finally.
"I saw what it was doing to my brother."
"He started calculating his life at sixteen."
"The right grades,
the right girl,
the right car."
"I didn't want to be a variable in his equation."
"And I didn't want to watch you become one either."
"But you left me there,"
Emily said,
the hurt finally surfacing.
"I was eighteen,"
Jaxson said,
turning the wheel sharply around a bend.
"And you were already looking at him like he was your safety net."
"I couldn't fight that,
Em."
"I still can't."
Emily looked out at the dark woods.
"I didn't want a net,"
she whispered.
"I just didn't know I was allowed to fall."
Jaxson didn't reply,
May you like
but he reached out and adjusted the heat,
aiming the vents toward her shivering legs.
