“Just pull them off?” Feeling uncertain, I glanced up at Cassie.
“Just pull them off,” she repeated warmly.
Plucking off the biggest potatoes, I placed them into the wheelbarrow, then pushed the nearly empty plant back into the earth. Finished, I stood, wiping off my dirty hands on my jeans.
“You’re a natural!” Cassie exclaimed, clapping her hands together. “Well done, Willow.”
I found myself smiling in the face of her praise; I couldn’t ever remember being good at anything before. Other than causing trouble. I’d never had any lofty career goals; all I’d ever wanted was to be free of my suffocatingly small hometown and see the world. Then later, living wild, I’d never felt any real sense of purpose. Forced to live day to day, most of my time had been eaten up with chores necessary for survival. But this—digging my hands in the dirt, contributing to something bigger than me—feltdamn good.
Cassie remained by my side while I continued on; each successful harvest leaving me feeling more secure in my newfound ability. Soon, she left me on my own, happily stating thatshe wasn’t needed anymore.
In time, Ella—who’d stormed off to the opposite end of the potato beds—had worked her way back to me. Digging side by side, I tossed surreptitious glances in her direction, wondering what her deal was, curiosity eventually getting the better of me.
“Hey, so, did you say you were new here?”
“No,” Ella said woodenly, keeping her eyes on her work. “I’ve been here a while—Cassie just likes to torture me.” Letting out an angry sigh, she continued. “I left, and now I’m back, and that’s all you need to know,new girl.”
“Willow,” I said sharply, feeling a surge of indignation.Yeah, Ella and I definitely wouldn’t have worked as roommates.
“Excuse me?” Ella peered over the top of her sunglasses.
“My name is Willow.” I purposefully punctuated each syllable. “Notnew girl.”
With a roll of her eyes, Ella pushed her sunglasses back up the bridge of her nose. “Okay? And what? Do you want a medal for having a name?” Scoffing, she stood, brushing the dirt from her pants.
My temper flared and I jumped to my feet. “No, I don’t want a fucking medal, but some respect would be great.Thanks.” Before she could respond, I’d grabbed hold of my wheelbarrow and jerked it away. Dropping down beside an untouched bed of potatoes, I resumed working.
I worked diligently until meeting Ella in the middle once more. Pulling her sunglasses from her face, revealing delicate ivory features and cheeks smattered with freckles, she presented me with a canteen from her hip. “Thirsty,Willow?”
I stared at her. Back in school, when someone would speak to me the way Ella was, I usually ended up with a week’s worth of detention for fighting. Only the more I stared at Ella, noting the tight lines around her eyes and mouth, I felt a sense of familiarity. Pain recognized pain.
“You’re sweating like a pig,” Ella continued, shaking the canteen at me. “I can’t have you dying of dehydration and leaving me to pick all the potatoes, can I?”
My lips curled in a silent snarl. Of course I was sweating—I’d been working my goddamn ass off. I was hot and sweaty, and covered in dirt, my back and knees aching as if I’d been curled up inside a wooden box for hours… but it felt good.Ifelt good. And I wasn’t going to let Ella ruin my first good mood in months. Snatching the canteen from her, I drank deeply, not even pausing for breath until I heard Logan’s angry voice echoing in my thoughts, demanding that Iration it. Reluctantly, I handed it back.
“Finish it,” she said, pushing it back at me. “It’s not like we don’t have more.”
Feeling instantly foolish, I muttered my thanks and drank what was left.
“Hungry, girls?” Cassie headed toward us, a burlap bag brimming with shiny red apples slung over her shoulder. Tossing two apples our way, Ella bit into hers right away, crunching loudly as she chewed, while I stared at the flawless fruit, turning it over in my hand.
It wasn’t as if it was the first time I’d seen an apple since the beginning of this nightmare, but it was the first time that eating one felt like a perfectly normal thing to do. I didn’t have to save it for later or share it; I didn’t have to figure out how to ration a single apple for the next week. All those years we’d spent searching for our next meal, living in a constant state of hunger, were really and truly behind us now.
Cassie bent down in front of me. “Everything okay, Willow?”
I swallowed. “Yeah,” I whispered, bringing the apple to my lips. Biting down, juices exploded in my mouth, trickling down my chin.
Smiling, Cassie patted me on the shoulder and stood. “Good to hear. Well, girls, I’m headed over to Doc’s—figured with everything poor Hank’s going through, he could use an apple or two himself.”
“She likes you,” Ella stated matter-of-factly, frowning at Cassie’s rapidly retreating form. “You won’t be picking potatoes very long.”
A burst of laughter landed me with a piece of apple caught in my throat. As I choked through my next several breaths, Ella snapped,“What the hell is so funny?”
“Nothing really…” I continued to cough until I’d cleared my throat. “I mean, it’s just funny because no one ever used to like me… except for Luke,” I quickly amended. “My um… my… ” my words trailed off. I didn’t know what to call Lucas anymore. I couldn’t keep calling him my boyfriend, could I? Andmy dead boyfrienddidn’t exactly have the nicest ring to it.
“I get it,” Ella said with a bitter sigh. Looking out across camp, she chucked her apple core away. “I have one of those, too.”
“Oh, I, um, didn’t realize,” I stammered.
