The softness will only get in the way.
And it has scared me more than anything has in years.
So I shake my head, smiling so he won’t take it as a rejection. “I think that’s all my ankle can handle.”
My ankle has been a little sore when I turn it the wrong way but otherwise totally fine today.
It’s not my ankle.
Ben knows it too.
But he’s not upset. There’s no way for me to believe he’s even the slightest bit upset. That warm smile is still lingering on the corners of his mouth and in his eyes.
I might be a little disappointed that I ended our time together, but Ben is still happy.
And that’s what matters more to me.
7
“It’s pretty good,isn’t it?” Vella asks, craning her neck to peer down at her healing gunshot wound as I clean and rewrap it.
“Yes. It’s not infected. It won’t take long until it’s better. Good thing it was such a shallow graze.”
“That’s the truth. I’m still pissed one of those bastards managed to hit me at all.”
“Lucky shot.”
“They didn’t deserve that kind of luck.”
“They never do.” I finish wrapping up the wound and sit back so I’m not crowding her. Vella’s always liked her space.
“Where’s your other half this morning?” she asks, peering around the courtyard next to the main building of the outpost.
There’s been no further military response in the fourdays since they sent out the two combat trucks. Word has spread through the underground network that we’re occupying the outpost, and we’ve doubled the size of our original force as others have trickled in to join us.
There are no hard feelings toward the skeptical who waited until it was secure to come along. Everyone has to make the best decisions they can in these matters for the safety of themselves and their loved ones. But there are far too many of us now to camp in the building, so we’ve spilled outside into tents and makeshift shelters. Since it’s a chilly morning, a couple of the early risers made a large fire, and Vella and I are sitting near it to keep warm.
Answering her question about Ben, I say, “I sent him and Ryan to the Capitol before dawn to put some feelers out. Maybe we can get some information on what they’re planning to do about us.”
“Oh, good idea. Ryan still has some administrative connections, doesn’t he?”
“Yes. It just depends on whether they’re in the know or not. But it’s worth a try.”
“Will they be back today?”
“I hope so, but I told them to stay the night if they need tomorrow too.”
“Hopefully they can get news quick. Doesn’t seem right around here without Ben lurking in the shadows.”
He’s been gone no more than two hours, but I feel the same. I’ve always hated not having him around.
When someone sits down nearby, I glance over to seeTroy, a freckled young man who left home the day he turned twenty-one (the age of majority in the Central Cities) and traveled from one border to another until he found us last year.
“Good morning, Troy,” I say with a smile.
“Morning.” His eyes dart from me to the ground and back to me as his face flushes red.
Vella stifles a snicker, which I ignore. Everyone knows and has always known that Troy has the world’s largest crush on me. It doesn’t bother me. I like him. He’s always willing to take the worst jobs, the ones no one else wants, without a word of complaint. And once he grows up some more, a lot of women will be interested.
