"Just lay down and spread out," Nate said as he held the camera. I did as he said and he aimed the camera toward me. "Now you're in 4 places at once."

I laid on top of the Four Corners monument: where Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona & Utah meet. Nate took the picture and then we switched places. He was like a little kid at this simple monument. I took several pictures of his overjoyous face and more with the mountains behind him. Afterward, he just held me from behind as we looked at those same mountains, kissing on my shoulder. I was tempted to ship our phones to a fake address and just hideout here in the quiet and wide open space, but we had loved ones to think about too.

As we were heading back to the car, Nate got a call from Foosh. I made him answer it away from me because I didn't even want to hear his voice. I sat in the car with the door open and the radio on, examining my nails. When he came back to me, it was as if all the happiness we just created was sucked out of him. He rubbed his eyes, looking tired as he got back in the car.

"I guess Arizona will have to wait," he told me.

"Why?" I rolled my eyes.

"Change of plans," he exhaled. "We're doing an exchange instead of a pickup. Gotta go to this address in Utah and pick up the money from someone named Aaron."

"Brilliant," I replied with attitude.

Nate put the address in his GPS and we were on the way.

I had fallen asleep for a bit and then woke back up. I picked up his white backpack off the floor of the truck and rummaged through it, taking out the baggie of pre-rolled blunts & joints.

"Yo, chill, what you doin'," he asked almost defensively.

"We're down to six," I informed him.

"Oh...wait, what?" He said loudly.

"Six," I repeated. "Four blunts, two J's."

"Shit," he whispered. "Okay...okay we'll figure it out. Start with the J's first. Leave the fattest blunt for last."

. . .

I ended up falling back asleep after finishing that joint and slowly woke up to see more wide open spaces.

In a quarter mile, turn right onto Lee Road.

Nate made the turn and I inhaled deeply, waking up some more.

"Morning sunshine," Nate gleefully said.

I looked over at the dashboard clock with one eye open. "Afternoon."

We pulled up to the location and immediately the place seemed sketchy. It was a small house in an open field. It was definitely a good place if you wanted to be secluded from society and loved the view of the mountains. There was an abandoned 60's-looking trailer next to the house. Nature had taken over it and the weeds rose all around it, nearly matching its height. An old corvette was parked on the other side and it was eerily silent.

"I don't know about this," I said quietly.

"It's what we gotta do." He took me by the hand and we went to knock on the front door.

We waited and waited until we finally heard footsteps. The door opened and the guy I presumed was Aaron looked like he just woke up.

"I'm not buying what you're selling," Aaron said before almost shutting the door back. But Nate stopped it.

"We're Nate and Liv...Foosh and Evan sent us," Nate stated. "We're here to pick up the money."

"How do I know you're not lying?" This kid seemed harmless.

"I don't see how I could be lying about knowing people named Foosh and Evan. Look I just wanna get this over with yo."

Aaron looked us up & down, well...he looked at me twice.

"Come in," Aaron spoke quietly, backing away from the door.

As we entered the home, it was full of clutter. But organized clutter. On one wall was a bunch of vintage cameras, in one corner there was a pile of fedoras, and by one of the windows was a box of pocket watches.

"I'm a collector," Aaron added. "Not a hoarder."

"Yep," Nate nodded with his eyebrows raised.

"Wait here."

Aaron seemed a little off. Maybe all the seclusion had him losing his mind. Maybe back in that room he just went into, he had a group of imaginary friends just hanging out and talking amongst themselves. But to each his own.

Aaron emerged out of the room holding a filled bowling ball bag. He placed it on the wooden table between us.

"It's all there, eleven hundred," Aaron said, tugging on his woven sweater.

"You owe this or something," Nate asked as he looked inside the bag, soon whistling at the plain sight of that much cash.

"Yeah." Aaron moved the hair out of his face. "The last of my debt to him. Now I can live in peace."

"You don't get lonely out here?" I asked.

"No. I have a girlfriend."

Nate seemed surprised. "Like...one you can see? Or..."

I elbowed Nate in the arm and he apologized.

"I get it," Aaron nodded. "My place looks weird, you think I'm weird, out here in the middle of nowhere. But at least I'm happy. I'm not being puppeted by some egotistical maniac across country."

I immediately looked at Nate in hopes he doesn't show any signs of opening a can of whoop-ass.

"You right," Nate chuckled. "Well thanks for your services."

Nate extends his hand and as soon as Aaron shook it, he looked in pain. Nate was gripping too tight.

"Babe," I said loudly.

"What?" Nate smiled. "I'm just shakin' the man's hand."

"You're hurting him."

Nate finally lets go and Aaron kneels down in pain, holding his injured hand. While I apologized to Aaron, Nate stormed outside with the bag of money. He spit on the dirt and tried to relax.

"Don't let words get to you," I pleaded with him.

"You have no room to talk," he laughed. "You used to let every single word get to you. One of the causes of your old problems."

"Yeah, try not bringing up the painful past." I pushed past him and got into the car. "Douchebag."

. . .

It got to the point where Nate would allow me to be upset by myself until he was on my good side again. He usually didn't challenge my silence. But right now was different.

"Are you gonna get mad at me for every little thing?" He asked with aggression.

"Little things," I snapped. "I don't get mad over little things. You think they're little things but they always have a bigger impact. So I have every right."

"So I can't bring up the past?"

"No. It's in the past, leave it there."

"I'll leave it there when you leave it there."

"I have!"

"Then why you mad?"

I didn't respond. He got me there. But I was still pissed off so he pulled over.

"I'm sorry Liv...okay? But I can't walk around bein' a softie. Gotta be tough considering our situation."

He put his hand on my thigh and I leaned toward him. He thought I was coming in for a kiss but instead, I reached for his waistline and pulled out the pistol from his jeans waistband.

"The fuck are you doing," he exclaimed.

I got out the car, still toting the gun, and walked into the field of bushes and boulders. I could hear Nate yelling after me. This anger needed to release itself somehow.

I aimed the gun at the boulder and started shooting at it. But I sucked so bad, I didn't hit it once. Luckily these were the blanks used in practice and not actual bullets. Soon I felt Nate's hands rub down my arms and he slowly took the gun away from me. He attempted to continue getting close, thinking I accepted his apology, but I moved away; turning around to get back in the car.

. . .

We found a dingy motel out here that was a little less outdated than the last one we stayed at. Nate was sitting on the bed watching some old TV show from the 50's and I stared out the window at random cars passing by and the General Store across the street. I felt like I was living in a Western. And on the low, I was missing my bed back in Pennsylvania and how plush it is.

"Yo babe," Nate called out. "Come over here."

"No," I said blankly.

"Still?"

"Still."

He sighed. "You can't be mad at me forever. Not with all this cash we got."

"We don't have cash. That belongs to that King Bach guy which he will take and we'll take whatever he's gonna give us, and this will all be over!"

"...I'm glad you're by my side though."

The sound in his voice was getting to me and I tried to keep it together. I heard him get up and walk up behind me. I felt his breath on the back of my neck right before he leaned against me.

"You should close the curtains," he said into my ear. I closed my eyes, trying to fight my urges but he was knocking those walls down with a sledgehammer.

"Nuh uh," I replied.

"You sure? What if they see?"

"See what, exactly," I scoffed.

"See us." He reached down into my jeans and rubbed me.

"Why don't you like to play fair," I whispered. "You can't just expect to touch me and all my anger vanishes."

"I know it won't vanish but I know it makes you feel good. And I want my girl to smile."

He kissed the side of my neck. I rolled my eyes and just shut the curtains anyway. He whisked me around and my lips crashed into his. One by one, shirts came off, shoes came off, and pants became unbuttoned and unzipped. He couldn't resist no matter how much I gave him the cold shoulder. If anything, it probably fueled his fire when I was mad at him.

He picked me up and gently lowered me onto the bed before climbing on top of me.

"I love you," I spoke into the kiss, slightly moaning.

"I love you too baby." He kissed my cheeks, my neck, and my chest; savoring every inch of my skin. "Please don't ever leave me."

"Why would I leave you?"

"I don't know," he shrugged. "I just see so much with you. You get me?"

"You know you got me." I kissed his nose.

"I gotchu?" He smirked, proceeding to tickle me.

"Yes," I laughed. "Oh my God, stop!"

He eventually stopped and slowly continued to kiss all over my body. From my neck down to my navel, then my inner thighs; being a complete tease. He rested his head on my stomach and I played in his hair.

"What are you thinking about," I asked.

"A lot," he responded. "Can you do me a favor?"

"What's up?"

He grunted as he stretched and reached over to grab his bag while he was still between my legs. I could hear him moving everything around in it.

"I need you to hold onto this for me," he said, taking out a small box & opening it. "I was thinkin' maybe you could wear this for a while."

Tears welled up in my eyes. "Wh-what?"

I gazed down at the simple diamond ring he presented before me with a little smile on his face. But the look in his eyes was that of sincerity. They were soft and even still a little sad with a spark of hope. This was major and sudden. This doesn't even seem like the Nate I know. Yes, he's a loving person, but I never took him for the marrying type. It was weird, it was odd...but it was sweet. And I was truly confused about everything. I never thought about if I was ready for marriage or not. Sometimes you just know. But I figured since I've been with Nate, I wouldn't have to have that conversation with myself. Boy, was I wrong.

"A while, huh?" I giggled nervously.

"Yeah, I was thinkin' like 30, 40, 50 years if we're lucky. But I'll bet on those odds."

"Nate..."