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“Yup.”
“Even those who hold you hostage and keep you from your friends?”
“Well, when you say it like that.”
“We never wanted to keep you from them, Emily. We only wanted to help you.”
I begin the stitching. “And you have nothing better to do than to escort me through rotter lands and dreg hideouts?”
“Actually, no. We literally have nothing better. Even this is more exciting than sitting around with my friends and waiting to die.”
I glance up at him over Griffin’s chest. “You seemed to have a pretty nice setup from my point of view. A small close-knit group of friends willing to do anything for each other.”
“You’re not wrong, but all the rotters and dregs we’ve fought have become mind-numbingly dull. We’ve gone through the motions for months now, keeping each other safe and alive. We’ve survived, but it was a long time before something more exciting danced into our lives.”
My stomach flips and I continue stitching. I’m almost done now. Oh no, I stabbed him in the wrong spot. I glance at Griffin’s peaceful, sleeping face. He’ll never know.
“I can’t speak for them, but I know that’s why I didn’t want to let you go so easily.”
“Didn’t?” I repeat the word, noticing how he used it in the past tense.
“Seeing you struggling with that many rotters piled up on you all because we wouldn’t let you leave us, it made me realize that I’d rather let you go than force you into an early grave. So if you want to leave before Griffin wakes up, I won’t stop you.”
I pause and meet his gaze again. I’m only two stitches away from being finished. “What about Max?”
“He won’t stop you, either. I’ll make sure of it.”
“How?”
“Don’t worry about that.”
I finish up the final two stitches, tie it off, and cut the thread. “I don’t know how you can expect me to leave you on your own to take care of your friend when you can’t even let me patch up your arm.”
He raises his arm with a grin to show me the bandage he’d done while I was busy stitching. “This isn’t my first rodeo, Em. I’ve had more important people to take care of first.”
“You know how on airplanes they tell you to put on your own oxygen mask first before helping others? There’s a reason for that.” I clean up the mess before repacking the first aid kit to include some of the fresh supplies William brought over. It’s stuffed to the max. We’ll be taking this with us for sure.
“I’m not much of a rule follower.”
“You follow Griffin’s rules.”
“He’s earned that from me.”
I sigh and lean forward on the counter, dropping my head down to my forearms. The stool creaks when William stands and a few moments later he’s pushing on me to stand up. “What are you doing?”
“There’s a room with a couch back here. You should rest.”
“There’s no time for rest.” When I sit down on the couch, I notice a small pile of water bottles and some fresh clean rags perfectly folded in a pile.
William kneels down in front of me and wets a rag before holding it up to my face. He starts at my cheeks and slowly wipes away the dirt and dried blood that I’m covered in, but isn’t mine. “At least let me clean you up before you leave.”
I smile down at him, his dark hair a mess that falls just above his pale blue eyes that study every inch of my skin as he wipes away the grime. I’m not going to leave them right now. Not like this. Not today. “Why are you so good to me when the world has become so cruel?”
“You’re not part of the cruel world. If you were, then you would’ve left Griffin for dead and ran to save yourself. You took care of Griffin. Now let me take care of you.” He grabs a new rag, wets it, and uses one hand to hold my hair back while he uses his other hand to wipe down my neck.
“We can’t leave Griffin out there alone. I didn’t do all that stitching just to bait him for rotters.”
“Max and Buddy are out there guarding the place, and I’m right here. No one, and nothing, is getting in here. You’re as safe as can be.”
