Instead, his lips brush my forehead, a chaste touch that somehow feels more intimate than it should. “Sleep well?”
“Yeah.” I reluctantly extract myself from his arms. My sweater is twisted, and my hair is probably a disaster.
“Tonight?” he asks as I head for the door.
“Training,” I say, though we both know I barely last twenty minutes before exhaustion—real or performed—has me collapsing onto that couch.
Then he holds me until I fall asleep, and I pretend that’s all this is. Physical comfort. Nothing that requires explanation or confession.
Dew dampens my shoes as I hurry along the path back to my family’s cabin, mentally rehearsing excuses if someone spots me. Early walk? Couldn’t sleep? Checking the area?
The Wolf Zombies haven’t returned since that first night, but no one believes they’re gone for good. Ramirez and Julien take turns leading patrols, checking the fence line, and installing more can alarms. The silence makes me more nervous than howling would. Like they’re out there, watching, waiting for us to lower our guard.
I pause at the edge of the clearing, making sure no one’s around before dashing to our cabin door. Inside, the main room is empty, but I hear movement from my parents’ room. I grab my towel and clean clothes, ducking into the small bathroom just as my mother’s door creaks open. Water sputters from the pipes as I turn the handle—thanks to Cameron.
He spent three days crawling through mud and spiders to reconnect and fix the water system, refusing to quit even when my father said it was a waste of time. The look on my father’s face when that first stream of water burst from the tap was almost worth the apocalypse. It’s the biggest luxury, though we’re still heating it with fire for showers most days.
My father still hasn’t spoken to me or come near me. It helps, and this way of living together works. Otherwise, I wouldn’t know how to stop Julien or if I even would want to stop him…
I stand under the cold spray, scrubbing away the night’s sweat and the lingering scent of him.
But as I turn the shower off, guilt creeps in. It’s not like my parents could stop me, but still, I hide. It’s cowardly. I know it is. ButIcan’t seem to step over that threshold with Julien, to admit what I want.
The question is: What does he want?
I wrap the towel around me, squeeze water from my hair, and pad to the room I share with my sister.
Amelia sits up in bed, already awake. “Good morning.”
“Morning. You’re up early.”
“Shower working okay?”
“Yeah. Just cold.”
“Mm.” She takes a sip of water from her bottle. “Where were you?”
“Showering.”
“Before that.”
My fingers find my wrist, circling. “Couldn’t sleep. Went for a walk.”
“A walk.” She doesn’t make it a question, which is somehow worse. “Was it nice?”
“It was… peaceful.” I drop my towel and focus on getting dressed.
Thanks to Sienna’s scavenging skills, I got a pair of jeans that actually fit well and a thermal shirt that doesn’t smell like strangers.
Amelia reaches for her pill case, the oversized jacket slipping off one shoulder. She jerks the jacket back up, fingers fumbling with the fabric. “Cold in here.”
“Maybe Cameron can get us a heater one day.”
“That would be nice.” She rustles her pill case. “You know what Julien’s doing today?”
“Did you already take your pill?” I pull the thermal shirt over my head, smoothing down the fabric.
Amelia nods, pill case clicking shut in her hands. “While you were showering.”
