Summary:

Then Scott Hunter looked at him, really looked at him with no panic or consternation or grief, just something heavy and piercing that made Ilya feel like his heart was on the outside of his ribcage. “Be safe out there, okay?”

“Okay,” Ilya said, softer than intended.

In real life, they both turned around and walked away into the night. But in Ilya’s memory, that never happens. They just stand there, eye-to-eye, until the sun comes up and it’s too bright to see anything else.