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She lies on her back, looking up at the tent ceiling. She doesn’t know that I’m watching her; or if she does, then she doesn’t let on. This is the first time she’s been in my tent since the handcuff incident. Looking back, that was a stupid move. But it kept her here, and now she willingly stays with us. Sort of. Still, I can’t help but wander what’s going through her head. I want to know. I need to know.
“You’ve been quiet since returning from the bathroom, which took you a while. Did a raccoon bite your ass or something?”
She lets out a surprised laugh. It’s small, but it makes me smile. “What if one did? Got any vaccines?”
“We can demolish every dreg hideout in our path until we find one.”
Her small smile disappears, and I don’t understand why. Then she changes the subject. “Max took some things pretty hard today.”
“He’s still dealing.”
“You don’t help him?”
“Leaving him on his own is helping him. William and I tried in the beginning, but nothing we did ever helped. There are some things in life that you can only do on your own.”
She’s silent for a moment, thinking it over. That silent moment seems to stretch on forever. “Is that what you do when you see someone struggling? You leave them to deal with it on their own?”
“I didn’t with you.”
“Already told you. I wasn’t giving myself up for dead.”
“I know that now. Didn’t know that then. Besides, your little stunt put us at risk.”
“Didn’t think there was anyone stupid enough to run around in the city,” she deadpans. “What were you doing there, anyway?”
“Looking for supplies. Food. Weapons. We always seem to run out of something. We also didn’t think there’d be anyone stupid enough to run around in the city, much less alone.”
“Seems we surprised us both.” She chews on her lip, drawing my attention to the movement.
Something has her nervous. Before I can ask what’s bothering her, she asks another question. She’s full of questions tonight. I like that.
“How close are the three of you?”
That’s not the question I expected. She’s awfully curious about us all of a sudden. “We were friends for years, closer than brothers. Even more annoying, too.” She smiles at that. Good. “We went through everything together, but when the dead rose two hundred and…awhile ago?—”
“Two hundred and sixty-eight days ago.”
“What?”
“Two hundred and sixty-eight days ago. You stumbled. I helped.”
I stare at her until she looks uncomfortable, and then I keep staring. “You’ve been keeping track?”
“Ever since the day I lost my family. That’s not a day I can forget.”
“Me too,” I whisper. “In two hundred and sixty-eight days, I’ve never run into anyone else who counts them like I do.”
“Maybe you’ve been so busy pushing everyone away that you haven’t given yourself a chance to find out.”
“I don’t push people away, they push me away.”
She rolls her eyes. “Fine. So finish your story that I interrupted. You went through everything together, but when the dead rose two hundred and a while ago…”
One corner of my mouth curves up and I can’t help the smile that she brings me. “But when the dead rose two hundred and sixty-eight days ago, we weren’t. We each lost everything and everyone before finally finding each other again, and have been inseparable since.”
“You each lost everything…and everyone?”
I nod. “That’s right, princess. You probably have a similar story. Not just losing your family, but whatever you went through after.” Her eyes get a faraway look in them for a moment before focusing back on me. I wonder where she went just then. “We’ve all been through horrible things. Horrific, even. We understand each other, and we’ll never leave each other. Max’s wound is harsher than ours. He’s been hurt too deep in a way that he can’t forget or forgive. It’s not my place to say, but you might have noticed that he isn’t the most forthcoming with his feelings.”
