CJ
Warmth surrounded her, and she snuggled deeper into the blankets. There was nothing quite like a sleep-in on a weekend morning. The only thing that would make it better would be a steaming hot cup of coffee and a big stack of pancakes drowned in maple syrup.
She smiled, stretching—and jerked awake as pain speared her head. Opening her eyes, CJ winced at the light, closing them again quickly.
“It’s OK. I have you.” The rumbling voice was familiar, and she relaxed with a small sigh.
“What happened?”
He shifted her to a sitting position, and she opened her eyes a crack, the light not so intense this time. A warm, but firm, presence was at her back.
Domik. I’m leaning against Domik.
She stiffened, but enormous arms came around her from behind and pulled her back against his chest.
“Just relax. You hit your head. What do you remember?” His breath ruffled her hair, and she settled back against his chest, her head tucked between two mammoth pectorals.
“There weren’t enough pods… I remember the smoke. It was awful,” she said, rubbing her eyes at the memory of the stinging smoke.
“Anything else?” His big hand brushed down her arm as if to warm her, and she realized she was shivering.
“It’s cold. Where are we?” she asked, looking around.
They were in a strange white tent.
A tent?
“What else do you remember?” he asked as he flicked open a medi-wand that looked like it had seen better days and began moving it over her head. A warm buzzing filled her head, not unpleasant, and the ache in her skull eased.
“Oh, that feels good.” She sighed, closing her eyes. “I remember you. You wouldn’t leave me behind.”
She paused. Why hadn’t he left her behind? Everyone else had left her behind. It was the story of her life. She turned to face him, realizing that she was sitting on one of his big, hard thighs, her legs spread wide over his. She felt her face heat.
It’s not like he likes you like that… does he?
She almost slipped off his leg in her frantic movements to face him, but he slid an arm around her back to steady her. Weirdly, she didn’t feel trapped, just secure and safe. It was a feeling she could get used to. She shook her head.
No. Don’t get used to it.
“Why didn’t you leave me?” she asked, desperate to know his reasons. “You could have taken the pod yourself, but you didn’t.”
His mouth fell open, his eyes wide. “I would never leave you.”
At his words, a hesitant smile tipped her lips upwards. “Really?”
He doesn’t mean it the way you think. He’d do the same for anyone.
“I couldn’t leave someone behind. And we both fit. Just.” He shrugged as if it was no big deal, and her heart sank.
See? Don’t think you’re anything special to him.
“How do you feel?” he asked, concern lining his face.
CJ rolled her shoulders before she stood, needing to put some distance between them. Her legs were shaky, and she leaned against the side of the escape pod as she took a steadying breath. “I feel a little lightheaded, but nothing out of the ordinary. I’ll be fine.” Her head hit the white fabric of what she realized wasn’t a tent. “What is this stuff?” She poked at the fabric, watching it billow up and down again.
“The pod’s parachute,” Domik replied, standing up and tapping a hand to the metal of the pod that he had been leaning against. “One of them, anyway.”
CJ turned on her heel, Domik a little too close for her comfort, her boot grinding into hard-packed, grassless dirt, and pulled at the white fabric of the parachute, needing to see where they were. Domik grabbed a handful, quickly lifting it up and away from her.
