"Where did he go?" Jess, his voice barely a whisper.
Tanner hesitates, a small, almost unnoticeable sigh escaping his lungs before he answers with the same quiet tone, "I don't know. He didn't mention."
Jess doesn't say anything for a moment, eyes cast downward. Then he adds, still not looking at Tanner, "Do you think we'll see him again?"
"Yes," Tanner replies firmly, even though he isn't sure. But this cannot be their end. That's all he knows, and all he feels.
Before he realizes it, Jess collapses against him. His arms wrap tightly around Tanner, clutching him as if trying to ground himself, to find something solid amid the emotional whirlwind.
Tanner's eyes blur. His arms instinctively wrap around Jess too and tighten around him, he rests his chin gently on top of Jess's head.
A single tear escapes down his cheek, although he isn't entirely sure why he's crying.
