After dinner, we go directly to bed. Aiden insists I take the bedroom while he takes the couch since I slept in a chair the two nights before. Looking at the bed, there’s plenty of room for two.Sigh.
I lie there, staring at the log cabin ceiling, counting the knots in the wood, unable to sleep. My head is still spinning from tonight. The way Aiden reacted when he saw me was exciting but also startling. I underestimated how dramatic my transformation must have been to him. Like I said, personal appearance has been near the bottom of my priorities lately.
Plus, he never made it clear that he was into guys until tonight. I had my suspicions, of course, with his friendly comments and occasional flirting.
So he’s clearly attracted to me. But he also made it clear he hasn’t gotten over Marcus’s death yet.
And what exactly do I want, anyway? Even though I split up with him, Felix was my first love. We can’t ever love each other as we did before. And that’s probably my fault. But I still have to find out what happened to him. I have to see it through. Maybe it is better to keep personal connections to a minimum. I just have to keep Aiden around long enough to get me to Seattle.
Crap. What are the odds that two guys find each other after the Great Collapse, both attracted to each other but too hung up on their personal demons to make things work? It makes me want to punch the wall. Except punching the wall of a log cabin would probably hurt a lot.Geez, I’m even overanalyzing my emotional outbursts.
I fret over that until exhaustion finally forces me into a restless sleep.
Loud shouts wake me in the middle of the night, startling me until I realize it’s Aiden again, haunted by his past. Maybe comfort is all he needs? Love and support to help him through this.
I slink out of bed. At night, every single sound is so much louder. The squeak of the mattress springs. The creaks of the floorboards as I make my way to the bedroom door.
Aiden is tossing around on the couch, shouting nonsense again, every tenth word making sense. Marcus’s name is mixed in the yelling. Knowing who that name represents makes the whole thing more intense.
I’m nearing the couch to rouse Aiden from his nightmare when a new name floats out of the clamor. Perhaps it would have been indistinguishable if Aiden hadn’t mentioned it earlier. Connor. Hearing it gives me a chill. The man who’s hunting us.
Maybe shaking the hornet’s nest isn’t the best idea. There’s no telling how Aiden will react. So I tiptoe back to my room. No sooner do I close the door than the yelling stops, replaced by the soft sound of crying.
Chapter Twelve
Uncle Max
ZACH
We wake up early the next day, pack up, and get going. Leaving the cabin makes me a little sad. A place like that is a rare find. I’d enjoy spending more time there, but we need to keep moving.
In the light of day, it’s more obvious how I steered us wrong last night. We would have found my original campsite if we had hiked another ten minutes on the main trail. But I’m glad that it worked out how it did.
When we first start out, Aiden seems to be in a bit of a daze. But as the day goes on, he’s more like his usual, confident self. I even catch him stealing glances over at me from time to time. I guess I’ll need to get used to him doing that. Honestly, getting the attention makes me smile each time. Even when I found out he liked guys, there was no assurance he’d find me attractive. I guess that’s one thing I don’t have to worry about.
I want to learn more about his life now. Obviously, I’ll stay away from topics like Marcus and Connor. But what about the group he comes from? Maybe I could join them. Help them out in my own way.
“Hey, Aiden.”
Being deep in thought seems to be Aiden’s typical mental state. His eyes focus, and he looks over at me. “Um—what’s up?”
“Tell me more about the couriers. How did you become one?”
“Oh. I guess I was just in the right place at the wrong time?” He cracks a slight smile, which is encouraging. I’m glad he’s willing to share some things.
He continues. “After the Great Collapse, Marcus and I were wandering around, trying to survive.”
“So you and Marcus knew each other before, huh?”
“Yeah. We’d been going out for nearly a year. I was scratched a few times by the Infected but never got sick. Marcus was just lucky. After about a month, one of the Collective’s couriers found us and took us in.”
“Is that when you got the blood test for the immunity?”
“Yeah. Sometimes I wonder if it’s the only reason they saved us, honestly. They needed people who could travel and not die from the Infection. So I was a valuable commodity. I think they only took in Marcus because of me.”
“And the group you joined? Are they still doing research on the Infection?”
“Yeah.”
