“Are you really now?”
“I realized I’ve been an asshole—is anyone surprised by that, really?” He chuckles. “So, I apologize for stealing from you and running away in the dead of night. Then all the other things too.” He waves a hand dismissively. “It wasn’t you. It was me. I freaked out.”
Why does it sound like a belated breakup talk, almost two years overdue?
“You’re only saying this to avoid trouble,” I say.
“Perri is making me, alright? He likes you, and he wants us to let bygones be bygones. He’s worried we might kill each other, and he scolded me over the radio for half an hour. So can you please accept my apology and go back to pretending like I don’t exist? I’m sorry, alright?”
I stare at him for a time, hoping to make him squirm. Of course, it doesn’t work. Jude was never cowed, by me or anyone. “Very well. For Perri and Stellan. Now run back to your monster. I’ve seen enough of you.”
He grins. “And I’ve seen enough of your cock. Put that thing away before you poke someone’s eye out.”
I hold back a laugh, barely, and dive back into the freezing water as Jude walks away.
An hour later, Stellan joins me in the truck after saying his goodbyes. He looks refreshed and relaxed, so different from how he acts around me. I hope that when we get Perri back, he’llwork as a buffer between us, and I’ll get to see more of Stellan’s personality.
“Ready?” I say, breathing him in. He smells of soap and toothpaste—gone is the aftertaste of anxiety in the air.
“Yes.” He opens a large map on his lap. “I’ll give you directions to find Interstate 5.”
Last night, we agreed to take the famous highway following the West Coast to reach the rendezvous point with theBeetle. Big roads are dangerous, as they drastically increase your chances of crossing paths with other survivors, but we don’t have days to spare journeying through the wastelands. Conveniently, the highway goes all the way up to Seattle, our final destination. Perri wants to rescue his AI friend, so of course Stellan is going with him.
Which means I’m going for both of them.
I can’t say that I care about Vex, but it seems that nothing will change their minds. And I’m not letting them out of my sight.
Half an hour later, we reach the wooden bridge built over the fallen giant tree, and I put my foot down on the pedal to facilitate the climb. Stellan hangs on the dashboard for dear life. I can feel his eyes on me.
“What?” I ask.
“Be careful with my truck.”
I chuckle. “Your truck? Last time I checked, it was mine.”
“Yes. But I’ve worked on it long enough for it to become my creation, too. Be careful.”
I shove his shoulder with my right hand playfully, and he makes a quiet gasp.
Is it the first time we touch? Probably.
As soon as we’re safely back on land, I glance at him. A frown is pulling at his blonde eyebrows, and he’s staring at the dirt road ahead, shoulders tense.
Interesting.
We drive for a while in silence. The sun filters through the giant trees, already warm enough that I miss the river’s cold. I could never really learn to love the heat in the wastelands. I might have been the only survivor who enjoyed the cold winters we experienced so rarely over the past decades. Once or twice, the pipes froze and broke on the Traveling Market. We learned to journey south at the first hint of frost.
Stellan eventually breaks the silence. “Is it true Jude apologized to you?”
I wonder how long he’s been meaning to ask me that.
I smile. “Perri made him do it.”
Stellan laughs. “Of course he did… Meddling little shit.”
To my surprise, he’s grinning. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him really smile, much less whateverthisis. His entire face lights up, and he looks five years younger. I slow the car around a bend to keep my eyes on him.
“So this is the side of you only Perri can usually see,” I say. “He’s a lucky bastard.”
