As soon as I hear his voice, relief fills me immediately.

Looking in the direction where I heard him, I see Vaughn standing a couple of yards away with his usual rifle slung around his shoulder.

And, I'm actually somewhat stunned to see he looks pissed off.

That's great!

While Roan, who also appears surprised like me, is still staring at the other man, I quickly take advantage of his distracted state and scramble up, running to stand near Vaughn.

He won't let me get hurt. Or taken away.

At least, not right away, I hope.

I mean, sure, he wasn't my biggest fan in the beginning, but these past few months we've grown to be...friends. Right?

Right.

As I stand beside him, he looks over to me, quickly glancing over me from head to toe.

"Are you okay?" He asks.

I nod, smiling somewhat as I look up at him and his lightly furrowed eyebrows. But then Roan snarls slightly, glaring in my direction. "I have to take her in," he says.

Sighing, I try to begin my reasoning with him. "Roan, listen-"

"You do realize that I'm a bounty hunter, right?"

No way. "I-"

"It's my job to-"

"Liste-"

"Unfortunately for you-"

"I THINK MY UNCLE WAS MURDERED," I shout, growing tired of this back and forth, making him shut up, and Vaughn frowns in my direction.

Roan doesn't consider my words for very long, quickly spitting out, "Well, do you think or do you know? You should know, shouldn't you? Considering you're a murderer yourself."

What? Is he serious right now? How does that make any sense?

"Actually, Roan, am I? I mean, do you know for sure that I killed her? Or is that just what you think?"

He glares at me. "There's proof."

"Such as?"

He stays silent for a moment before he counter asks: "And do you have proof about your uncle?"

"I'm pretty sure, yeah. I just found John's SD card hidden in Henry's niece's room, so I was planning on going to look at what's on it."

There's silence for a few moments before Roan takes a step forward. Vaughn reacts immediately, slightly stepping forward in front of me.

I bite my lip to hide my smile as I try to peek over his shoulder to see Roan's reaction. I find that he's merely glaring at my friend, who simply stares calmly right back at him.

Why does this situation feel so tense, though? Like, more than it should be?

"I still need to bring her in."

I roll my eyes. Yeah, we get it.

However, I recall those times when I was talking with Vaughn about turning myself in. After all, I still feel the guilt that came with running away from the fire. I've known that I eventually have to face the music. Might as well be today.

So, I quickly chirp, "Yeah, after."

"What?" They both ask, turning to me.

"After I've looked at what's on the SD card, I'll willingly go with you."

My eyes shift to Vaughn, who has also turned to look at me, tilting his head to the side with a look in his eyes that says: are you crazy?

He shakes his head slightly, so I quickly look away back to Roan, ignoring whatever his look means.

"You won't," the bounty hunter argues.

Side-stepping Vaughn, who makes a slight attempt to stop me by reaching for my wrist, I take a few steps forward before holding my right hand out, "I give you my word."

He glares at me skeptically.

The silence continues on for some seconds, and I'm starting to get annoyed before he reaches out and shakes my hand.

I'm almost expecting some handcuffs or something to fly out of nowhere and snag my wrist as we shake hands, but it thankfully never happens.

"Okay, so," I start out, stepping back from Roan to stand more towards Vaughn. "We're closer to the village, but there's cameras we can view the SD card on at Vaughn's cabin-"

"We're going to the village," Roan says immediately.

"No," Vaughn disagrees, his voice deep but louder since it's not just me here. "The cabin."

What?

I frown, quickly walking over to him to whisper, "What are you doing? He'll know where your cabin is, then, and-"

"I don't care."

I scoff slightly at his stubbornness, "What do you mean, you don't care? You've fired arrows at people to keep them from finding your place, and you travel by tree sometimes to avoid being followed. You care."

He looks at me, attentive, green eyes trying to assess my reaction. Then: "Yes, I do care. But not about the cabin."

Then, he looks away, as if nothing happened, and I'm left to stare at the side of his not ugly face.

I'm confused.

But I'll go with it.

"Vaughn's cabin, and then I'll leave," I tell Roan, who seems set on believing this is some sort of trap.

After a few agonizing moments, he mutters a stubborn, "No."

I turn to Vaughn, unsure of what he wants to do next, and find he's still looking very intimidating, with his gaze aimed in Roan's direction.

"Don't try to pull anything. We go directly to the cabin."

Roan scoffs in reply to him, "I'm not interested in going to your shell, Westergaard."

"Shell?" I question, even more confused, now.

"Yeah, cause he's a hermit, and hermit crabs have shells."

Silence.

Vaughn and I don't say a thing; it was a bad joke, after all. But I can't help but feel like a team with him, for some reason. Like, it feels nice to do something with him like that, even if that thing is simply staying quiet for a dumb joke.

Sighing, I ask, "Do you even know where a camera is in the village that we can use?"

Roan nods, "I have one in my truck. It's just an old Sony, but it'll work."

Well, I hate to disagree with Vaughn, but it would be a lot less walking if we just went back to the village.

But it also means less time with him.

I look over and up at him, loving how a few strands of fluffy hair fall slightly above his forehead, admiring how nicely and sharply his jawline curves, and the way he always seems to know what I'm thinking.

He looks at me. "It's your call, Mikaere."

I don't know why, but I feel a slight pang in my chest as I nod slowly, turning away from him and walking in the direction of the village.

I need to see whatever is on the card. I don't have time for feelings right now.

After a few moments, Vaughn appears right by my side, though he keeps himself in between Roan and me.

We all walk in silence for a few minutes, thinking over and processing the situation, I assume. But after a little while, Vaughn mutters lowly over to me, "Are you okay?"

He always asks me that.

And frankly, I find it really...thoughtful that he cares enough to ask.

"Yeah," I mutter back. "I knew I was going to have to turn myself in some time."

"You didn't want to go to the cabin." A statement.

"I'm tired of running from this and trying to postpone the inevitable. I just want to see what's on the card and get this over with," I answer. "Besides, I thought you'd be happy I'm leaving. You like being alone."

He stays silent, then.

For the entirety of the walk, there remains nothing but the sound of breathing, coat material scraping against itself as we walk, and snow being crushed down beneath winter boots.

I really, really want to talk with Vaughn more, considering this is the last I'll probably ever see of him. But, I just don't know what to say.

And apparently, neither does he.

So we're all silent the entirety of the walk, onto the trail and off it, into the street.

And all of a sudden...I just feel sad. I'm going to miss Vaughn, to be honest. I don't know why, but I've grown...attached to him these past few months. I guess mainly spending time and talking with him for the majority of the days does that.

Sighing, I look over to him as we near Roan's truck. I'm still holding his bow, so I slowly hold it out in his direction. "Here."

He raises an eyebrow, smirking slightly at me as he takes it, making those butterflies in my stomach rise up in a tornado. "What? You're not planning on bringing it to jail with you?"

"Hilarious," I deadpan, but shortly after, grow somewhat somber. "Vaughn..."

"No," he speaks lowly to me so that Roan can't hear, shaking his head, already knowing from the tone of my voice that I was going to start on goodbye. "Just...let's focus on the SD card first, Mik."

Mik.

"Okay," I reply quietly, coming to a stop beside him in front of Roan's vehicle.

While the bounty hunter unlocks it, reaching over the driver's seat into the center console, I grab my duffle bag and throw it in the backseat.

I still have a whole other duffle bag worth of stuff back at Vaughn's cabin, but it's okay. It's mainly just clothes and books. And chess.

After I've returned to Vaughn's side, Roan's then walking towards us with a smaller, silver Sony camera.

Handing it to me, he says: "Let's get this over with."

Pulling out the card from my pocket, I slide open the bottom of the camera to where it's supposed to be inserted.

I take a deep breath, fully prepared to see what's on the card...but maybe...not yet? I mean...all of this, the letters, the running away, the past few months...it's all led up to this very moment?

My hands start to shake a bit, solely with the fear of not knowing what's going to happen next.

I bite my lip, trying to steady myself long enough to complete the incredibly simple task, but instead, I end up watching as long fingers take the card and camera from me.

I realize Vaughn must have set the bow down as he puts the card in for me, turning on the camera. I hold my breath as he clicks on the button that basically means 'view images.'

I immediately see a picture of John, Hayley, and William laughing in what looks to be a screened-in porch of some sort, the sides of their eyes crinkled as they all smile brightly.

Vaughn quickly clicks through those types of pictures, seeing as how there's nothing really suspicious at all about them.

But then he stops clicking, and when I see what's on the screen, I crinkle my nose immediately.

Henry and Luna?

That way?

I mean, in all honesty, it's nothing jaw-dropping shocking, but she really could do so much better.

After giving us all a second to register that we just saw a picture of Henry and Luna kissing quite...intensely, Vaughn clicks the next button, and it's basically what we just saw before.

But then, there's a video, and Vaughn doesn't waste any time as he presses play.

The first thing I notice about the video is the people in it, and their loud shouting.

Henry and Luna, as expected. Except, the video's clearer as the light inside her house is on. That's where I'm guessing the video is being taken from, at least.

The person holding the camera, John, was standing near a house, through a very open window like how the pictures were. I hear my uncle's faint breathing as the anticipation for what's going to happen next builds up. I can't make out any of the words being exchanged, all I know is that they both appear entirely angry.

Luna then shifts to the right, and all we see is her back. Henry remains in view entirely, though. So when he reaches for the sharp-looking deer antler lamp on the wooden bedside table, Roan, Vaughn, and I all see it.

And so does Luna.

He's quick with launching it in her direction, sending it hurtling towards her. However, she's quicker in dodging it, leaping to the side.

And that's right when a small girl comes into the frame.

Holding my breath, I watch the lamp is sent flying right into her head, knocking her down instantly, and I let out a strangled-sounding surprised noise along with Roan.

Did...

No...

Did he just...

There's no way.

Henry killed his own niece?

I watch as Henry's face immediately pales, and an absolutely shocked and stunned expression takes over him. Luna quickly disappears from view, and I'm assuming she's checking on Rachel. After a few split seconds, Henry seems to snap out of his stunned-looking state, crouching down, also. A few moments later, however, they both rise, looking absolutely shocked and somber.

Neither of them speaks.

But then, Henry raises his head, looking out the window, and his eyes meet the camera lens head-on.

And that's when the video ends.

Oh, my God...

After making sure that that's the last thing on the SD card, Vaughn hands the camera over to Roan before turning to me.

He looks slightly upset, which means he's most likely very shaken, but nonetheless scans my face for any indication as to how I'm currently feeling.

"Are you okay?' He asks me quietly.

I nod slowly, all of a sudden feeling a strong urge to just hug him and feel safe in his arms like the night Moose died.

But before I can consider further acting on my thoughts, Roan speaks up.

"I'll be handing this over to the police when I drop you off."

Moving my gaze from Vaughn over to him, I take a deep breath, my mind still buzzing with thoughts on the video we just saw.

Well, here it is.

Reluctantly, I nod, knowing Roan wants to bring me in as soon as possible.

I can't really blame him, though.

"Can you give us a second?" I ask him, motioning in between Vaughn and me, who just stares intently at me.

Roan nods once before turning around and hopping into the driver's seat.

Turning to face my friend fully, I smile tightly, hating how my heart actually kind of feels like it's hurting right now. I don't know how to explain it; it just feels like a slight pang of sorts.

Taking a deep breath, I look up at him. "Goodbye, Vaughn. And, thank you for everything you've done. Really, I mean it."

Looking slightly confused, he hesitantly nods once, and so I turn around, taking a step forward to begin walking away.

Stop, Mikaere. What are you doing?

I see Roan motion to me in a 'hurry it up' type of way through the windshield, but I'm not ready to go just yet.

After all, I'm most likely never ever going to see Vaughn again, so I might as well do something.

Turning around swiftly, I walk back to him, and before he can object, I throw my arms around his waist, burying my face in his chest.

After I pull back, maybe I could kiss his cheek? Or would that be too much? I'll probably chicken out, anyways, even though I'll never see him again. But still, I like the idea of it.

There's approximately only one second of hesitation before I feel arms wrap around my waist in return, and he effectively hugs me back.

I smile against his chest, happy we actually made it this far. I never in a million years thought I could get him to smile, let alone hug me like this.

But here we are.

And now I have to pull away.

Taking a deep breath, I pull back, looking up at him. Should I kiss his cheek or not? Why am I debating this so much? Shouldn't I just go for it? Or not?

Before I can do anything, however, he leans down slightly, and I close my eyes as I feel him press a gentle kiss to my forehead.

His lips are soft and warm against me, and my heart instantly melts. As he holds me, I feel more safe and secure than I ever have in my entire life.

'I'm in love with this,' is all that I can think before I realize that I actually have to leave now. After this? It's not fair at all.

But nevertheless, when we pull away, I squeeze his hand and smile slightly, or sadly, I don't know, before turning around and effectively walking away this time.

I don't want to. Vaughn's like a strong, extremely attractive magnet, and I just want to be near him. However, that will be basically impossible, now, seeing as the current situation involves me being dragged off to the police.

Opening up the passenger door, I hop in Roan's truck and shut the door behind me, avoiding looking up at Vaughn. All I can feel is the kiss, and it was only a forehead one! You're so pathetic, Mikaere. Get a grip.

"Who knows, maybe you'll see your boyfriend again," Roan comments without being prompted as he starts up his truck.

"He's not my boyfriend."

"It looked like it."

"Yeah, well, he's not." Though I wouldn't be opposed to it.

As he pulls away, I force myself to not look back at the man who went from being my uncle's friend to being my...friend.

Sighing, I lean my head against the side of the window as if I'm in some type of sad music video.

Time to face the music.

Goodbye, Alaska.

A.N.// Well, this is it. The final chapter. The epilogue will be up Friday. :) Thank you for reading.