I try not to be offended. "Yeah, it's crazy what a difference fifteen years makes."
His chuckle is a strange sound. It causes my chest to tighten but, at the same time, lightens the mood. I haven’t heard a semblance of a laugh in years. "True. Have you seen anyone else from Bishop's Landing?"
I shake my head. "No, not since I left around two years ago."
"Yeah." He reaches behind his head and scratches his neck. "I haven't been back in a while myself. Not since that gang of bikers took over most of the town. That wasn't for me, and I knew that everyone wanted me to try and get law and order back. I wasn't prepared to die because they didn't care."
He's right. It had been a rough time. No one wanted to step up after the first man who did, got killed for his trouble. "You were smart to do that. It was one of the scariest times since Eruption."
"Why did you stay after Eruption?” he asks, clearing his throat. This is probably one of the longest times he's spoken in the last few years.
"My parents were still there," I admit. Although they hadn't been the best parents, I wasn't prepared to let them go at what we all thought was the end of the world. Not to mention, I hadn't wanted to be by myself. When both of them had passed away, I'd had to make a decision on whether to stay or go. "You may remember that I was a nurse before Eruption. I took care of them for as long as I could. When they died, I left."
He nods, making a noise in the back of his throat. "That was probably the best idea for you."
We stare at one another, and there's a string of silence that stretches between us. Reaching up, I rub the lobe of my ear, at the earrings I wear. The ones I haven’t removed for longer than a cleaning since I was sixteen. I’m not sure what to say, and I get the idea he feels the same. I can't stand the silence any longer, so I speak. Reaching down, I pick up the backpack I carry with me everywhere. "Well, it was good to see you."
"Where are you going?" His abrupt question makes my head jerk up.
"South," I tell him, shrugging. "I've heard there's a community near where Nashville was. My thought was to head down there and see what's happening..." My voice trails off. I wish I could tell what he was thinking, but he keeps his emotions closed behind the passive mask on his face.
"I've heard that too. I've been thinking about going down there myself."
There's a part of me that wants to ask him if he wants to travel together. I've hated being alone. Hell, it’s been three months since I’ve talked to another person. Back before Eruption, I'd thought I'd known what loneliness was. Little did I know that I'd figure it out very quickly once I was thelast remaining member of my family. "Well, be careful," I say awkwardly because I don't want to be the person who keeps us just standing here staring at one another. With anyone else, I'd be hesitant to give them my back, but for some reason, I trust Knox.
As I'm walking away, I feel that same despair that's been eating at me for the last few months. I've wanted someone to travel with, someone to discuss my decisions with, but Knox is the first person I've run into in the last three months. It's weird, but tears spring to my eyes. That little piece of normalcy immediately makes me miss the way it used to be and dread what my next few months will look like. Looking down at the ground so that I don't make a misstep, I concentrate on one foot in front of the other. Until I hear it...
"Elizabeth! Beth!" he yells after me.
Turning around, I glance back at Knox. "Yeah?"
"I have a proposition for you."
CHAPTER 2
KNOX
Living on my own for the last four years hasn’t bothered me. As a matter of fact, I’m lucky. I haven’t had to deal with others trying to steal what I’ve been able to gather, haven’t had to ask anyone for permission to do what I thought was best, and I haven’t had to look over my shoulder at whoever is following close behind. These days, either the person you’re with dies, or they stab you in the back.
It’s just the way of the world.
Alone is what I prefer.
I had almost forgotten what my voice sounded like until I opened my mouth, and spoke to her. When I unexpectedly yelled her name, the look of surprise on Beth’s face prompted me to say something I never thought I would again.
"A proposition?" Her voice is full of suspicion, and her eyes narrow.
I get it. She doesn’t trust me, and truth be told, she shouldn’t. There are a lot of people, not just men, who have used this situation to excuse very bad behavior. There aren’t many people you can trust.
Transactional relationships are the way the world works now. There's no telling what she thinks I'm about to say to her.To be honest, I'm not entirely sure what I'm going to say to her until the sentence pours out of my mouth. Whether it be born out of loneliness, the ingrained need I have to take care of other people, or whatever. I say these next words without meaning to, but I mean them with everything I have. “If we're going to the same place, we should go together. It'd be safer, and I don't know about you, but I could use some company."
I can literally see her rolling the idea over in her mind. Her fingers are twisting, and her feet are shuffling back and forth as she looks at me. "How do I know I can trust you?" The question comes out with a hoarse honesty.
Shrugging, I give her that same honesty back. “You don't, but I don't know I can trust you either, so we're both risking something here."
She gives a nod.
I forge on, and tell her exactly what I’m thinking. “If at any time you feel like we need to separate, I'm good with doing that." It's important for me to give her options. Options aren't something that many people have any longer. Options and hope are commodities in this world. I'm not the type of man to take those two things away from a woman. I wasn't before Eruption happened, and I won't do it now, either. My heart pounds as I wait to hear what she'll say. She reaches up and rubs at her earlobe.
