“I thought we’d lost everything…” Her words died away as she stepped farther into the room, her eyes sweeping the full length of it. “So, um, how come you’re not sleeping in a bed?”
Still rubbing my neck, my gaze dropped to the floor. It felt hypocritical to admit that after years of trying to find a place just like this one, and all the creature comforts it offered, I couldn’t even enjoy something as basic as a mattress; that after all this time sleeping on the ground, I’d found that’s where I was more comfortable.
“The door’s got one of those stupid little clasp locks,” I muttered. “It’s not exactly safe, you know?”
“So you’re sleeping on the floor in front of the door?”
“Yeah.”
“Huh. Sounds like you.”
Looking up, I found her mouth quirked into almost a smile and I felt myself relax a fraction. Unbuckling my tool belt, I slung it onto the dresser and took a seat on a bottom bunk.
“I can’t believe you’re really not sleeping in a bed,” Willow continued. “I mean, when was the last time we even had clean beds to sleep in?” Pushing tentatively on the mattress, she stretched out on her back, causing her cropped shirt to pull up farther, exposing a great deal of her skin and I found myself visually roaming all the dips and valleys of her ribcage, the barely there hill of her stomach, and the mouthwatering space between the waist of her jeans and rise of her hip bones.
“It’s pretty comfy,” Willow said, turning toward me. “Not as comfy as Doc’s, but still, you should maybe try it.”
I quickly refocused on her face. “Uh, yeah. Maybe. Speaking of Doc—how’s your leg?”
Willow shifted to sitting, kicking her legs out one at a time. “Okay, I guess. It still aches. Mostly right here.” She leaned down to rub her calf, a move that caused her heavy mane of curls to fall forward. The sudden urge to run my hands through it was unmistakable.
I shot up off the bed, turning to the window. “Yeah, so, I’m guessing you’ll have to move out of Doc’s now. At least until Hank heals up?” Recalling the blood spraying from Hank’s mouth, I grimaced.If he healed up.
“I hadn’t even thought of that.”
Still staring out the window, I gave a sharp shake of my head. Of course she hadn’t. When had Willow ever put any thought into anything?
“You’ll probably have to stay here,” I practically growled, growing more agitated by the second, though I wasn’t entirely sure why. Willow had always been clueless; this wasn’t anything new. “There’s limited cabins, you know? Friends and families are paired up.”
“Oh,” she replied quietly. “I mean, yeah, that makes sense…” she trailed off and I turned around to find her gaze on the hands in her lap, her brow deeply furrowed. “Are you sure you’d be okay with that? I mean, because of our fight…”
Sighing, I dragged my hands up and down my face. “We always fight. Not sure why that fight is any different than all the others. Let’s just blame this place, okay? It’s a shock to your system—I’m still…adjusting.” I spat the word as if it tasted bad.
Willow’s entire expression shifted. Her eyes lightened and the line between her brows disappeared. Admitting I wasn’t good at something was not an easy task for me, and she knew it.
“I thought it was just me,” she breathed. “It’s so noisy here and everyone always wants to talk, you know? It’s so weird.”
I snorted. Weird was putting it mildly. “Yeah.”
“And they’re always up in your space.” Willow faked a shudder.
I nodded gravely. “Telling you about their day and shit.”
“Yes.” Willow’s eyes grew wide. “And walking right into your room and acting like you’re best friends.”
“And thinking you’re a UXO.”
“A what?”
“Nothing—never mind. You know, they actually complain about what’s for dinner?”
“Apparently they complain about their showers, too. It’s insane, right?”
“I think they forgot what it’s like to be out there. They’ve been safe behind these walls…” I let my words die off with a shake of my head.
“And they all seem so happy, too,” Willow added, scoffing. “Like nothing ever happened.”
“You always seemed happy,” I bit out before I could stop myself. “You and Luke were always running around, singing and dancing, without a care in the fucking world.”
