CHAPTER NINE : MADE IT OUT ALIVE

CHICKASHA, OKLAHOMA

JAVI IS A NEAR BETTER PRETENDER THAN SHE IS. He is still all smiles with him when they get dinner, running through a drive-through rather than some sit-down place with all the debris and grime covering them. He reminisces over cheeseburgers and fries, sounds off jokes that make Willow buckle over with laughter and Kate's lips twitch into a smile.

But being a great pretender means being able to see through it all. Willows notices the defeat on Javi's shoulders as he walks with them toward their motel for the night. He can assure them over and over again that it's alright, that they'll find another to chase, but she knows it hurts to have been so close.

And with Tyler's taunting and boasting, well, it hurts to lose.

Javi keeps up the pace with them, maybe just trying to savor the feeling of having his friends around again. He falls into step beside Willow and Kate, matching their strides.

"Haven't we stayed here before?" he asks, eyes narrowed thoughtfully at the motel, head tilted.

"Yeah, Javi," Kate chuckles, adjusting the bag on her shoulder. "We've stayed in every motel in Oklahoma by now."

Javi smiles, a spark of memory lighting up his face. "Remember we used to have Addy check-in? Then later, we'd all sneak into the room so we could all save ten bucks? We'd have Addy do it 'cause she was..."

"Because she looked so sweet," Kate finishes, a bittersweet smile tugging at her lips.

Javi lets out a laugh, softening the ache in their memory. "Couldn't ever let Will handle it; she'd talk their ear off about chasing." He elbows Willow, adding, "Somehow, she'd end up telling them how many of us there actually were. Ain't no subtlety in her."

"Hey, I'm plenty subtle," Willow shoots back, nudging him with her own elbow. He chuckles, giving her a gentle push in return.

Javi's expression shifts a bit as he turns to Kate, looking almost hesitant. "Hey, um, you want to hang out later?" he asks, an edge of nervousness in his voice. "I'll go, you know," he juts his thumb towards the motel, "just go into the room real quick, and, obviously shower, and we can come back out here." Other camps are set up out in the lot, groups of people in their folding chairs, setting out with beers and guitars for good times.

Kate hesitates. She purses her lips, glancing down at her feet. "Um, I'm real tired," she lets him down gently, "but, um, maybe another time?"

Javi's face falls, just a bit, though he nods with understanding. His gaze shifts to Willow, his grin picking back up. "What about you, Will? I might not have that bull for you to ride, but I could grab a six-pack, see if you can still hold your beer. And if you sweet-talk him enough, we could get Scott out here too, make it a whole thing."

Willow chuckles. "I'm not sure that boy could keep up with me." She nearly says yes, just to make that hint of disappointment disappear from his face, even though after that storm she wants to do nothing but rot in her motel bed.

She catches Kate's silent, pleading look, asking her to call it a night with her instead. With a soft sigh, Willow relents, making the decision for the latter of her choices. "It's been a long day, Javi. I think I'm just gonna settle in and get some rest," she says with a small smile. "But tomorrow? We'll go out, celebrate a little."

Javi nods, the edges of his smile bittersweet. "Yeah. All right. Good night, you two."

Willow and Kate echo the sentiment as they head toward their shared room, and Javi calls out one last time, his voice soft but warm. "It's good to have you both back."

"We're not back," Kate reminds him, her voice quiet, and his face slips into a sad smile.

"I remember," he says. "One week."

He walks towards his own room on the first floor, leaving the girls behind in the lot.

"Sorry," Kate says once Javi is out of earshot. "I just wasn't up for the party."

"Nah, I wasn't either," Willow admits, grateful that Kate pulled her away from subjecting herself to it. She lets out a sigh as they begin the trek to their own room on the second floor. "I just hate saying no to him."

"I get that," Kate replies as they reach the stairs. Willow takes the lead, focusing on her feet to avoid tripping.

"There they are," she hears, and she instantly knows who it is. Willow hadn't been wrong about fate; instead of him finding her, it dropped her right at his feet. As she rounds the staircase and stops on the small platform that shifts its direction, she leans over the edge of the balcony, spotting Tyler in the back of his truck with his crew. His flannel is rolled up to his elbows as he tinkers with some equipment damaged in the storm. "You come here often, weather girl?" he teases.

"Hi, cowboy," she greets, trying not to let a smile cross her face. Tyler beams back at her until he notices Kate standing behind her.

"The cells to the west will choke each other out, she said," he begins, glancing between the two of them. "The one to the east will put on a show."

"Well, didn't throw you off the scent," Kate shoots back with a shrug.

"Hey, that's what makes Tyler famous," the guy who had been riding with him—Boone, if she remembers correctly—chimes in.

Kate raises an eyebrow. "You mean on YouTube?"

"Uh, y-yeah," Boone stutters, waving his beer around a bit too enthusiastically. "Yeah, we're... um." He stutters again, clearly tipsy, and Willow almost chuckles at the sight. "We're on the YouTube. We've got what? About a million subscribers now, huh?"

"Yes, sir," calls out a girl with dreads, working on a large drone that seems supped up enough to fly into the twisters themselves.

It makes Willow take in the rest of Tyler's team—she didn't get the chance to when they rolled up, much too distracted by the shock of seeing him again. When she looks at Storm PAR, she expects them together, a crew of men with their polos buttoned up to their chin, flexing their degrees and their knowledge of the world. Javi used to not fit in that narrative, but somehow, he manages to now, all clean-cut and business-driven.

This crew is nothing close to the perfected line-up of StormPAR; a british reporter, an older gentleman with mutton chops, looking prepared to go fishing, drone-girl, a woman in a cut-off flannel, Boone, and her cowboy. They mismatch, but they work, clearly, with the way they easily laugh together, looking at each other with pride at their subscriber count.

(It makes her yearn for the past. For the DOROTHY crew. For her crew.

This is the kind of storm-chasing family she's used to. This is what they used to be.)

"Uh, Kate, what?" Ben jumps up to speak with her, tapping his pen against his notepad. Kate cants her head at the question. "Your surname, just in case I include it in my piece."

Kate shakes her head, careful not to give out her last name. "Um, Kate's fine."

The reporter turns his attention to Willow now. "And you? Your friend referred to you as Will?"

"Willow," she corrects him with a small, polite smile, offering no last name either. "But I'm not worth your story. I get plenty of screen time as it is.

"You're that weather girl," the woman in the cutoff flannel chimes in. She whistles in recognition. "We almost got interviewed by your station, ya know? Ain't it funny we said no and now we're meeting here?"

Willow remembers her last workday at the station, Joel attempting to use an interview with a storm-chasing team to get her to forgo her vacation. At the time, she had dismissed the idea, not caring to make the connection with someone calling themselves the Tornado Wranglers. Now, she realizes how fate plays its hand—if she hadn't agreed to join Javi, she would have ended up face-to-face with Tyler anyway, whether in the news station or out in this parking lot, tethered together by that invisible thread of fate.

Catching Tyler's gaze, she mutters, a smile creeping onto her face, "Yeah, it is." He gives her a smile back, glancing back at the equipment he tinkers with, a faint flush to his face.

"Actually, you made a good call earlier," Boone chimes in, redirecting the conversation back to the storm. He looks genuinely impressed at Kate and Willow. "The other cell looked stronger, but the cap never broke."

Ben looks up from his notepad, brow furrowed in confusion. "What's a cap?"

Willow leans in, ready to help. "It's a temperature inversion in the mid part of the lower atmosphere. It inhibits a storm from forming."

"Right," he responds, clearly still lost despite scribbling down the information in his notes. "Okay. Good."

Kate, now fully invested in the conversation, leans against the staircase railing, her elbows brushing against the cool metal. "Where did you guys all meet? Did you study meteorology at the U of A?"

"Nah," Boone dismisses with a wave of his hand. "I just flow with the wind.If you know what I'm sayin'. Never liked school or nothin'. Tyler," he points towards the man with literal hearts in his eyes as if he is made to be worshiped, "Tyler, he studied meteorology though."

Willow already knows this detail all too well; she's got the stolen university shirt sitting in her duffle to prove it.

"Really?" Kate raises an eyebrow, clearly intrigued.

"You know he's a cowboy scientist, you know..." Boone continues to drunkenly sing his praises, despite Tyler's attempts to interject and cut him off. Willow can't help but smile at the way he paints the man who she knows considers him his greatest friend, a part of his favorite memory. "He's got this natural instinct..."

Tyler finally cuts Boone off with one last call of his name, feigning annoyance at his friend, but the corner of his mouth betrays him, tugging upward into a grin. He turns to Kate to respond to her surprise. "You know, our crew isn't like your crew. We don't need PhDs and fancy gadgets to do what we do. I guarantee you these guys have seen more tornadoes than anyone in this lot combined."

Kate lets out a short huff, sharing a glance with Willow out of the corner of her eye. Willow subtly shakes her head, signaling her to hold back. "I'm sure you're right," Kate concedes instead of putting up her own competing numbers, which even seem mere compared to Willow's.

Ben glances up again, looking between them with curiosity. "You think there's a chance we'll see one tomorrow?"

"Yeah!" the drone girl hollers enthusiastically.

"Outbreak, baby," Boone answers, his excitement palpable.

"You know, if you can keep up, we'll put you in the episode," Tyler tells Kate, a mocking grin playing on his lips. He shifts his gaze to Willow beside her as he takes a sip of his beer. He must know she's watching with the way he wraps his mouth around the lip of the can. "In your case, more episodes, weather girl."

Willow frowns at the implication until she recalls very clearly having a camera shoved in her face during their roll-up.

"I didn't mean to blind you today on our live," Boone says sheepishly, scratching the back of his neck. "I'm sorry. Shoulda been more careful."

"It's alright," Willow replies, accepting his apology. She had barely even thought about it after the whirlwind of emotions that followed when she could see clearly again. "Just ain't ever seen someone need a damn ring light that bright for storm chasin'."

Boone simply shrugs. "Keeps T pretty."

Willow laughs, genuine and loud, and it's clear to everyone around the truck how Tyler captures every second of it, leaning in as if her laughter is music to his ears.

The drone girl comes closer to Kate and Willow, tilting her chin up to look at them. "Where are you chasing tomorrow?"

"Oh, no, no, no, no, no," Tyler is quick to shake his head. "Not falling for that again. Kate here is from New York; can't trust a thing she says."

Kate's mouth twists at the comment, and she fires back, "Well, you can always trust a guy who puts his face on a t-shirt."

A chorus of 'oohs' and laughter erupts as Kate turns and makes her way up the stairs, Tyler's team pushing at him playfully. Willow gives him an apologetic look before trailing after her friend.

Boone's voice catches her one last time. "You wanna tell us where y'all are chasing, pretty lady?" His grin is knowing, sly. "Bet we can trust you, being T's girl and all."

Willow narrows her eyes, catching the full implication of his words. She looks back at Tyler with a raised brow. "You been tellin' 'em I'm your girl?" she shoots back, hands on her hips, unable to help the little smirk she wears.

Before Tyler can respond, Cutoffs jumps in with a loud, teasing voice. "He ain't shut up about you since we saw you on the news. Think he's got a bit of a crush or somethin'." She shoots Tyler a smirk and Willow watches that color creep up onto his cheeks again.

"Dani," Tyler chides, rolling his eyes at her. He rubs a hand over his face, clearly exasperated when he turns back to Willow. "She's drunk," he mutters.

Willow doesn't deny being his girl, though; she ain't really sure what she is to him at this point but knows she wouldn't quite mind being if they could ever figure things out.

"Lips are sealed, Boone," she decides to only respond to the original question, a lightness to her voice. "But I do appreciate the game. Fireworks were real pretty." With that, Willow turns around, her hand trailing along the staircase rail as she makes her exit. "Goodnight, y'all."

His gaze burns into her back again as she walks away and this time, with the strength of a chase behind her, albeit not her best but proof she can, she casts one last glance over her shoulder. Tyler takes it with a grin and his eyes follow her the rest of the way up.

"Oh, I like her, T," she hears Boone start the second he thinks she's out of earshot, "you best get to winning her back."

Oh, no, that responsibility's all hers.

◆ ◆ ◆

"GUY'S OBSESSED WITH YOU," Kate declares the moment they're inside their hotel room together, the door clicking shut behind them. She tosses her bag down on one of the beds, the closest to the window, declaring it hers.

"I ain't sure about that," Willow replies, a hint of uncertainty in her voice, plopping down on the edge of the other bed, leaning back until her back hits the comforter. Kate follows her lead on her own bed.

"Well, you can't see the way he looks at you," Kate insists, teasing yet sincere. "How'd it happen?"

"We met at a conference," Willow starts, memories flooding back. "This stupid thing the station made me go to, and it was just..." She trails off, searching for the right words to capture the whirlwind of emotions that had swept her away that day. "Instant, hooked-for-life kind of thing."

"Before or after you fucked?" Kate prods, a mischievous glint in her eye.

"Before," Willow clarifies with a pointed gaze, her cheeks warming at the memory. "But lord, I don't think I want another man to ever touch me but him." The thought sends a flutter through her as she remembers their first night together and the two that followed, each better than the one before as they explored each other deeper, not just in the sense of their bodies.

"What happened?" Kate asks, referring to the end of it all.

"Got in my head," Willow admits, her voice dropping slightly. "I freaked out when he asked me to chase with him."

"But now you are chasing again," Kate says with a small shrug. "And he's here."

"Yeah," Willow breathes out, the weight of that reality settling on her shoulders. "He's here."

"You know, he really is your type," Kate stresses, her grin widening. "I remember you dating those rodeo boys in undergrad. Taking rides in their big ol' trucks and stealing their hats—now this one's a storm chaser too?"

Willow laughs softly, shaking her head. "This is the only one who probably wouldn't have driven Bill up the wall if I brought him home." The thought brings a bittersweet smile to her lips, a reminder of the life she once had.

But then Kate's expression shifts slightly, a twinge of guilt crossing her features, mirroring Javi's look at the reveal the other day. "I'm sorry," she says, her voice low, heavy with unspoken words. She turns her head towards Willow who keeps her gaze towards the ceiling. "That I wasn't here." They both know she doesn't need to specify for what, and the air thickens with the weight of unacknowledged grief. Willow sighs, trying not to think of it, to not to let the grief intrude when she should simply be joyful, reuniting with her other half.

"You were dealing," Willow reassures her, meeting her gaze finally. "I get it. If it weren't for everything then, I would've left too, followed you to New York or something."

"I would've liked that," Kate replies, a hint of wistfulness lacing her words. "I really did miss you."

"I missed you too," Willow replies, more than she would ever know. "But we ain't gotta worry about that now." She takes a deep breath, willing the past to recede so she can be fully present with Kate, right here, right now. They sit quietly for a moment, letting the comfort of each other's company sink in before Kate finally breaks the silence.

"I can't believe I messed it up today," Kate murmurs, regret coloring her voice.

Willow is quick to shake her head. "No, you didn't mess it up. Honestly, I think it went better than I expected. Javi may think we can just dive back in, but he doesn't know what it's like for us."

Kate lets out a soft sigh, her shoulders slumping. "Maybe, but he did expect it. After everything."

Willow softens, wanting to ease Kate's guilt. "He's just trying to push us forward. And I get it—he cares, even if he doesn't fully understand. But he'll learn to see it, Kate. And in the meantime, we take it one day at a time."

Kate hesitates, her doubts surfacing. "I just..." She trails off for a moment, swallowing hard. "I don't think I'm cut out for this anymore," she admits, her voice tinged with vulnerability.

Willow nods, understanding all too well. "I get that," she says gently but holds back her own fears, focusing instead on Kate. "But we took steps today—maybe more than baby steps."

"We could've done more if I hadn't pulled us out."

Willow glances over at her and sighs. "Hey, if you hadn't, I probably would've. You just beat me to it," she tries to reassure her with a small, tight-lipped smile. "We'll do better tomorrow. One step at a time."

Kate lets out a heavy sigh, her gaze centering on the ceiling as she processes Willow's words. The weight of the day hangs thick around them, both of them lost in thought for another long moment until Kate finally decides to steer them toward something simpler. She sits up, her expression softening. "You want the shower first?"

"Yeah, I'll—" Willow pauses mid-sentence, suddenly cursing as she sits up and looks around. "Damn it, I forgot to grab my bag from the other truck." She hadn't thought to ask Scott for her things when they pulled in, especially since he'd dropped off their room keys and then disappeared, presumably to his own room. She grabs her phone, scrolling up to shoot a text to Javi to get Scott's info, since she doesn't have his phone number or know where he's staying.

Javi responds a moment later with a room number. Willow sighs and stands up. "You go ahead; I'm gonna go grab these keys."

She heads down the stairs to the single rooms, stopping outside of Room 103 and giving a quick knock. After a beat, the door opens, and Scott appears, now out of his StormPar uniform and dressed in a plain dark shirt and khakis, his hat nowhere in sight.

"Ms. Thornton," he greets, cool and unruffled as ever.

"Hey," she replies a bit awkwardly, shoving her hands into her pockets. "Sorry—I left my duffle in your truck. Could you let me grab it?"

She half expects him to just hand over the keys, but he nods and steps outside, insisting on walking her out to the SUV himself. Together, they weave through clusters of chasers still gathered in the lot, their laughter and low voices filling the warm night air. Out of the corner of her eye, she notices the Wranglers still in full swing, save for the reporter and the older gentleman. She catches a glimpse of Tyler's gaze on her and quickly looks away, not wanting to get pulled in.

Scott unlocks the back seat and leans in to retrieve her duffle bag. She thinks he'll pass it over, but instead, he straightens and gestures to carry it himself. He walks them all the way back to her room without a word between them and she feels Tyler watching the entire time.

"I can take it in," she offers when they finally reach her room, trying to reclaim some semblance of independence. Scott relents this time, only at the sound of the shower running in the room, but doesn't move to leave.

He pauses in the doorway, though, as if considering something. "Javi said you didn't want to come out with the team," he says, eyeing her with mild curiosity. "I'm not usually one for it either, but it's good for team morale." He almost sounds like he's teasing at the end, like he doesn't fully buy into his own words.

Willow manages a tight smile. "I appreciate it, but I'm not really part of the team. Just here to help Javi out," she replies.

Scott considers her, his gaze shifting. She isn't sure what is going on in that head of his; she has a tough time getting a read on him when the only emotion he's ever truly expressed so far is annoyance. "You could be, though," he says. "Be part of the team. I hate to admit it, but you were right about those West cells. You can do what Javi said you can do."

Willow doesn't expect him to say that, especially with the way he rejected her opinions earlier in the lot. She looks away for a moment, unsure of what to really say. "Yeah, but I ended up throwing the chase," she eventually counters, sure Javi told him the details of what happened out there for their PARs to fail.

Scott studies her, his brow furrowing with a touch of skepticism. "Did you? Or are you just covering for your friend?" He nods towards the room, gesturing towards Kate inside. He lets the question linger, then adds in a more persuasive tone, "Think about it. StormPAR has the funding to actually make progress. It could be a chance to get back to real chasing, real data."

His pitch isn't as convincing as he seems to think. He paints StormPAR as this well-funded machine—the kind she's been warned about her whole life. Willow can't help but wonder where all this funding comes from; Javi hasn't exactly filled her in on that part, and she doubts many businesses these days are truly interested in storm-chasing science.

She opens her mouth to respond, maybe even ask for an honest answer from this all-business man when she senses someone approaching behind her. Turning, she sees Tyler walking up, his expression guarded.

"Am I interruptin' somethin' here?" Tyler's gaze sharpens on Scott, a flash of irritation in his eyes. "Didn't figure you for the recruitin' type, Scott."

Scott straightens, a bit defensive. "Just having a chat. Nothing wrong with that, right, Owens?"

Tyler shrugs, his voice a touch sarcastic. "Ain't nothin' wrong with talkin'—depends on what you're sellin'." He swings an arm around Willow's shoulders, his gaze softening as he looks down at her. "You alright, darlin'?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," she assures him, though a flicker of tension lingers in her.

That seems enough to appease him. Tyler shoots Scott a smug look, arm still snug around her. "Think I'll take my turn recruitin' her now. Pretty sure my pitch beats whatever Storm PAR's got lined up." He makes a shooing gesture at Scott, whose jaw tightens in annoyance.

Scott glances back at Willow, crossing his arms. "You want him bothering you?"

Willow waves him off with a polite smile. "It's fine, Scott. Thanks for grabbing my bag."

As Scott reluctantly turns to leave, she sighs, pulling herself out from under Tyler's arm. She gives him an exasperated look. "You can be a real pain, you know that?"

Tyler just smirks and leans up against the wall, unbothered. "Well, I'm not about to let Storm PAR swoop in when I could be the one chattin' you up." His tone softens, a trace of genuine concern slipping through his casual drawl. "You alright? Chase go okay?"

She wonders how he can tell if he's seen its impact etched into her soul from the moment he saw her in the lot tonight. "As alright as it could." She gives him a small, tired smile. "Thanks for checkin' in. Night, cowboy."

Willow turns to go back into her room, but Tyler's hand closes gently around her wrist, pulling her back.

"You ain't gotta leave just yet, weather girl." It's not a command but a plea, carrying an unspoken yearning as he meets her gaze. "Can we talk? Just for a little bit?"

There's a part of her that wants to say yes, to let the words pour out and tell him everything. But another part is wary; she's barely allowed herself to believe she might be ready to chase again, let alone unravel all the tangled threads of her past with him, the reason she left that day. "Tyler..."

He shakes his head as if reading her hesitation. "It ain't like that," he assures her. "I got questions, sure, but only when you're ready, baby."

The pet name, spoken so tenderly, makes her heart skip. She meets his eyes, almost vulnerable as she asks, "Why do you keep callin' me that? I left, Tyler. You're supposed to be mad."

"I ain't ever been mad," he says quietly, surprising her. "Maybe a little heartbroken, yeah, but all I could hope was that I'd get led right back to you." He steps closer, reaching up to brush a stray curl off her cheek, his fingers lingering for just a second. She shivers at the light, unexpected touch, warmth radiating from his hand.

"In case it ain't obvious, I'm real glad to see you," he murmurs in that deep, warm voice of his he always seems to use to bring her defenses down. He takes another step, narrowing the space between them until she can feel his breath against her lips as he leans in, his eyes never leaving hers. "Aren't you glad to see me?"

Despite the storm of emotions he stirs in her—despite the confusion, the frustration, the way he's disrupted every carefully made plan—her heart races each time he's been near today. The charm in his smile, the quiet way he listens, every teasing word and gentle gesture has woven through her thoughts and left her walls starting to crumble again.

She lets the truth slip, her voice barely above a whisper. "Yeah," she admits, her gaze softening. "I am."

But as much as her heart wants to stay, her mind nudges her back toward the doorway. "I really gotta get to bed, cowboy."

Tyler gives her another little smile. "I know, just don't wanna let you go just yet." His gaze lingers on her like he's trying to memorize every detail as if he never wants to know what it feels like not having her right there in front of him. "How 'bout you take a spin with us tomorrow? Bet it'd be a whole lot more interestin' for your story than anything StormPAR could give you."

She frowns, caught off guard a little by his suggestion. "There ain't no story," she says, shaking her head. "I'm not here for the station."

His eyebrows shoot up in surprise, and he studies her face, clearly puzzled. "Don't tell me you're leavin' the station to chase with those StormPAR clowns, then."

"I ain't chasing for StormPAR."

He scoffs, crossing his arms. "Well, you're certainly chasin' with them."

Willow straightens, feeling her patience thinning. She isn't quite sure why Tyler has such a grudge against StormPAR, but she's not about to let him project it onto her. "I'm chasing with Kate and Javi," she corrects him firmly. "I'd follow them to the ends of the world in a damn Barbie Jeep if they asked me to—hasn't got a thing to do with what's painted on the side of the truck."

Tyler raises an eyebrow. "So, you're just joyriding with your buddies?"

The words sting, especially considering how she'd hesitated to chase with him in the first place. "It ain't like that," she replies, her voice strained as she glances toward the door, hoping to drop the conversation. "It's a long story. Can we talk about it later?"

He lets out a low sigh, frustrated. "I just can't believe you're throwin' yourself into a storm with them for the hell of it. I haven't seen Javi get close enough to a tornado to make those fancy radars of his work. And your girl Kate is smart but I heard Scott say she botched that chase today."

Willow's jaw tightens at the remark. Criticizing Javi was one thing, but bringing Kate into it was too much. She scoffs, taking another step back, her face hardening. "You don't understand what happened."

"I'm not tryin' to upset you," he says, his voice dipping into something closer to worry. "But this isn't some game, Willow. You know that. If you're serious about chasin', I just want to make sure you're out there with people who know what they're doin'—people who'll keep you safe."

She stares at him, a slow realization sinking in: he has no idea. No real clue what Kate's been through, what she's been up against, and he's already dismissing her as a risk. He doesn't see the resilience she's shown, the grit Tyler himself would envy if he understood. And here he is, expecting Willow to unpack it all for him one day, her past struggles laid bare. If she ever hesitated out there, would he write her off too, mistaking her struggles for incompetence?

She crosses her arms, her glare openly challenging. "Oh, you mean like you? The guy who damn near got his crew wiped out by windmill blades?"

He scowls, defensive. "I knew what I was doin', alright—"

"Sure you did," she snaps, her voice icy. "I appreciate the concern, Tyler, but I trust the people I'm chasin' with. They'd never put my life on the line for a cheap thrill, not even for a YouTube video." She takes a step back, her eyes blazing. "You can take that offer of yours and shove it right up your ass."

Willow stands her ground for a moment longer, the tension crackling between them, but then she spins on her heel, storming back into her motel room, bag in hand, the door slamming shut behind her.

"Willow!" Tyler calls after her through the door, his voice edged with frustration and concern, but she doesn't turn back. She ignores him completely, shutting out the world and leaving him standing out on the walkway, alone with his thoughts and newly formed regrets. 

—AUTHOR'S NOTE

chapter title from that's so true by gracie abrhams

mom and dad are fighting because willow's sapphic lover is NOT one to be shit talked about.

in another life, kate and willow are sweet lesbians who storm chase together and nothing bad ever happens to them.

HOPE YOU ENJOY WAKING UP TO THIS OR READING IT IF YOU'RE NOT ASLEEP ALREADY. i stayed up to finish this bad boy because the sweet moments in this are so worth it BUT THEN DESTROYED BY TYLER PUTTING HIS FOOT IN HIS MOUTH AGAIN

he's gonna grovel, so will willow cause she feels bad about the youtube comment

FEEDBACK MAKES THE WORLD GO ROUND BABES

thanks for reading

kari.