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walked away, as if taunting me with his lack of urgency. ¡°See ya on the other side,

Wrench.¡±

Just when I thought I¡¯d gained enough momentum to jump to my feet, a sharp pain

shot through my chest down to my ribcage. Wheezing and coughing, I fell, smacking my

face in the sand.

Before making a hard left turn out of view, Slink waved at me, and vanished.

Lying in the sand, bleeding out, I tried to call for help but the hole in my chest

wouldn¡¯t let me speak.

I flipped onto my back, wincing as the ground hit my wound. Even though it hurt, I

turned my head to the desert. Once my eyes found the nearest cactus, I rested my gaze

and thought of Samantha. All I hoped for her, was that when she stared at the desert, at

this view, she would remember me.

Growing tired and weak, I closed my eyes and drifted away far from the desert with a

hole in my heart.

Chapter Twenty-Two

Samantha

I parked in the Desert Oasis Motel¡¯s parking lot and yawned. Just past six AM, it¡¯d

have to do, even though the ¡°Oasis¡± looked like it had been torn up by a few hundred dust

storms. The pastel green and white paint was chewed away in chunks by neglect and

several windows were boarded up with plywood. Too tired to venture further for a nice

one, I sighed, checking off the only thing I had to do before trying to relax.

I grabbed my phone and dialed the number. After half a ring, the other line answered.

¡°Hello? Samantha?¡±

¡°Hey, Dad¡­¡±

¡°Are you okay? Why haven¡¯t you been home? Where are you?¡±

I fought back the urge to break down crying to him and kept my voice steady. ¡°I¡¯m

fine, Dad.¡±

¡°What¡¯s going on? Please tell me?¡±

¡°Umm. I was seeing a guy for a while.¡± I swallowed the hot lump in my throat. ¡°And

umm¡­ I ended things with him. And I¡¯m totally fine. I¡¯m completely safe. I just¡­ needed

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