Page 39 of Zero Confusion

“Whenever you want, as long as we get there by four. It’s only a thirty-minute ride, so we have time. And I don’t need to pack much. Some clothes and my laptop. I won’t be able to stay too long.”

“Shit, Zach, what about your class?”

Zach shrugged and took a bite of toast. “I can miss one day.”

Miles nodded and left to take a shower. After coming out, he paced around the kitchen, completely absorbed in his phone while Zach packed. On a whim, Zach grabbed the horseshoe and slipped it into his bag. They could both use some luck on this trip.

“Almost ready?” he asked when he was done.

Miles set his phone down on the counter and ran his hands down his face. He looked utterly drained—heavy bags under his eyes, worried lines etched into his forehead. “Yeah, I’m ready,” he said softly.

“Any news?”

Miles shook his head. “Not yet. Mom and Dad are in the room with Max, and Mara is stuck in the waiting room with Ray.”

“Who’s Ray?”

Miles leaned on the counter and tilted his head in thought. “You’ve met Ray, haven’t you? Our maintenance engineer? Tall and growly?”

Zach chuckled. He remembered now. He’d met the intimidating man in passing, not enough to get to know him, but enough to find out a few things—he never smiled, rarely talked, and his silent, piercing gaze could probably make people cry. It certainly unnerved Zach enough to walk in the opposite direction whenever he spied the tall figure wandering around the Carter farm.

“You mean Raymond? I guess he’s chilled out enough to let people call him Ray without biting their heads off.”

A melodic chime signaled the arrival of their ride, and Zach ushered them out the door.

The anxiety under Miles’s skin was palpable throughout the trip. He sank into a heavy silence that didn’t lift, staring out the window with a faraway look as soon as they boarded the plane. Zach watched his face, illuminated by the rising sun, tracing the troubled features with his eyes.

Today was supposed to be different. They should have woken up in the same bed, shared groggy smiles and warm cuddles, hashed out their feelings, maybe had a repeat. But their time was cut short. Any opportunity for more was gone. Whatever happened last night would fade away from memory until it was nothing but a distant dream.

Once they landed in Montana, Miles half-heartedly offered to drive, but his gaze kept flitting to the phone clutched tight in his hand, and Zach wordlessly slid behind the steering wheel.

The sun climbed higher in the sky as they flew down the highway. After experiencing Portland traffic, it was like being set free, and somewhere underneath his worries about Max and the anxiety of seeing his family, a small kernel of happiness glowed in his chest.

Staying away was the right choice for him, but the hills and prairies of Montana would always feel like home.

“How far away are we?” Miles asked without looking up.

Zach glanced at the GPS. “An hour.”

Miles grunted in acknowledgment.

“One hour,” Zach whispered to himself. One hour before they were back in the real world and their time came to an end.

Chapter 16

MILES

“We’re here,” Zach announced, his hand gently squeezing Miles’s shoulder. The past few hours had been a blur of Googling worst-case scenarios and waiting for updates, and he hadn’t realized they were already parked in front of a large hospital.

Anxiety swirled in his gut. Max was here, in this giant building, surrounded by doctors and equipment that couldn’t do anything.

When he met Zach’s eyes, the quiet concern sent a pang of guilt through him. “Shit, Zee, I’m sorry.” Miles scrubbed his hand down his face roughly, forcing himself to snap out of his stupor. “You shouldn’t have had to drive all the way on your own.”

Zach placed his hand on Miles’s knee, a flood of warmth bleeding through the denim. “You were in no condition to drive. Any news?”

He shook his head. “Nothing since we left Portland.”

“Let’s go,” Zach whispered and gave him a final pat before getting out of the car. Miles trailed behind as they made their way to the front desk, grateful for Zach’s initiative. Without him, Miles would have been completely lost, hyperventilating somewhere on the side of the highway.