I couldn’t believe I’d just offered to comb her hair. But she did look ready to take a header any second. Make that another header. She still had a nasty lump from yesterday. Her coloring had paled, or maybe that was because I’d just offered to comb her hair. Seriously, Thad, WTF?
Charley’s eyes were glued to the comb, like she was weighing whether to say yes. Like she was wondering why the hell I’d asked.
Maybe she thinks my post-Nil plan is to become a professional hairstylist.
It took all I had not to laugh, but I didn’t want Charley to think I was laughing ather. My post-Nil plan involved boards and snow, sponsors and races, not a monotonous job that stuck me indoors doing the same dull crap, day in and day out, like crunching numbers or styling hair. But after nine months on Nil, my well-crafted plan felt more like a fading pipe dream. Blurry, and distant. And possibly already shot.
I no longer felt like laughing.
Charley looked up and smiled. God, she was beautiful. “Okay.” She handed me the comb. “Thanks.”
I moved behind her, glad she couldn’t see my face. She didn’t say another word. I had no clue what she was thinking; she was impossible to read.
This was a first for me, combing a girl’s hair. I really didn’t know why I’d offered, and as sure as the Canucks need a decent defenseman, nine months ago I never would have. But it felt… right. And after 278 days here, I didn’t have much to lose. Just a no.
But Charley had said yes.
I swept her hair away from her neck. Drying quickly, her dark hair fell in soft waves around her shoulders. I worked slowly, sucked into the moment. Her head was tilted slightly to one side, but she didn’t move. I combed until Charley’s hair was perfect, like her.
“All done,” I said.
“Thanks.” Her voice sounded thick, like she’d been thinking of home.
“Ready to head back?”Say no. Say not yet. Say anything but yes.
Because I wasn’t ready. Not ready to leave this moment. Not ready to introduce the ugliness of Nil. I wanted to hang out with Charley—just Charley. I wanted to know this cool girl who’d survived solo for twelve days, and who’d made me laugh more in twenty-four hours than I had in months. And suddenly I wanted it more than anything else I’d wanted in the last 278 days.
“Ready,” she said.Damn.
“So,” I said as we walked back, “where were you when the gate hit?”
“In the Target parking lot. I was about to return some stuff I didn’t need,” she said, pulling on her skirt. “You know how Target sells everything.” She cocked her head at me. “Or maybe you don’t. I don’t know if Target’s in Canada, but they sell everything from board games to bikinis. Half the stuff they sell is as useful as a backpocket on a shirt, my dad says, but before you know it, your cart’s full.” Charley grinned, but my thoughts were stuck on the potent image of her in a bikini.
“Anyway”—she waved her hand—“it was hotter than an Easy-Bake Oven. That’s Georgia in August for you.” She laughed, then her smile faded. “I remember seeing the ground shimmer, like a desert oasis. Then itmoved, and the next thing I knew, I was on fire. Burning, then freezing, and then I was here. Well, not here.” She swept her hand around us, her grin wry. “But you know what I mean.”
“I know what you mean.” I returned her half grin.
She looked thoughtful. “It’s one of those weird moments you’ll never forget. I mean, it’s so clear. The Target sign, the heat. Like I remember exactly where I was when I heard about the mega quake that leveled most of LA. I’ll never look at Target the same.”
“An earthquake hit LA?”
Charley nodded. “Last month. It was huge, seven point something. It was awful.”
“Wow.” I thought about the quake, another event in the real world I’d missed. “You wouldn’t happen to know how the Canucks finished last season, would you?” I joked.
“I don’t know how they finished, but I do know they beat the tar out of the Thrashers. Our team got pounded. It was bad.”
I stared at Charley.Our team, she’d said. Like she actually cared. “You follow hockey?”
“Just the Thrashers. We go to tons of games. They’re really fun.”
“Yeah.”Charley likes hockey.
“Thad.” The smile was gone from her voice, bringing my thoughts to a halt. “What do you think’s happening back home? I mean, does anyone know about Nil? Is anyone coming to find us?”
Time for some hard Nil truth. Just one piece. If you get it all at once, it’s too much to swallow, and I didn’t want Charley to choke.
“I don’t know,” I said with complete honesty. “I don’t know what they know, but here’s the thing: I wouldn’t count on any help from back home. There’re no ships, no planes, nothing ever even washes up here. There’re nothing but what’s on the island.” I paused. “There’s one way in and one way out. A gate.”
