Page 16 of Dance Practice, Marooned: Part 2

Ace returns less than five minutes later with a cloth soaked in water. Kneeling beside me, he places it against my forehead. The relief is immediate, and I sigh. His hand, warm and calloused, brushes against my skin, feeling the temperature and then he sits beside me, without question or invitation.

I don’t have it in me to fight him.

“Tell me what you’re feelin’,” he murmurs, keeping the cloth against my forehead.

“Mostly my head pounding, all my muscles aching and just tired. So fucking tired.”

He goes quiet again.

“I’m movin’ our camp back here. We can’t keep goin’ on like this.”

I open my mouth to argue, but he cuts me off.

“You can fuckin’ hate me all you want, Grace, but the fact is that we are in this together and I’m not leavin’ any of you unguarded again. Not after what we just had show up.”

I don’t bother arguing, because honestly, what is there to argue about?

We’re all stuck here, and that isn’t changing anytime soon.

He doesn’t say anything else, just keeps that cool cloth pressed to my head like he can will me back to health if he tries hard enough. It’s awkward, this closeness after weeks of keeping a safe, angry distance, but I’m too exhausted to move or protest. Instead, I close my eyes for a second, letting my body rest against the flat rock beneath me.

The fabric against my forehead is heaven. I feel myself starting to float, not fully asleep but not quite present either, and it hits me how simple this moment is compared to everything that came before. Just Ace, just me, just the ache in my bones and the warm weight of his hand. He clears his throat, a low rumble, like he’s about to say something important and my eyes flutter open. “Tell me there will come a time you’ll forgive me.”

He says it low, so low I wonder if I’m just imagining it.

I swallow, my throat burning.

“For whatever it’s worth, and I’m sure that is fuckin’ nothin’,” he goes on, “but I wouldn’t have done it. When I signed up, I was desperate to help my family, the only family I knew. Then I met you, and...I wouldn’t have done it. I would have found a way to get you all safe.”

I squeeze my eyes closed, my feelings stirring deep inside me. “I...I can’t do this tonight.” My voice cracks at the end and I decide that’s it—I’m done fighting, at least for tonight.

The exhaustion is too much.

The hand with the rag pulls away a second, then returns softer than before. “That’s fine, but I’m not leaving. Not while you’re like this.” The words dangle there, and I don’t trust myself to answer, because if I open my mouth I know it’ll just be more pointless words or worse, something that sounds like hope.

Instead, I let go. I let the exhaustion pull me under. I don’t know if I’m asleep or dreaming, but as I drift, I swear I hear his voice again, quieter than the rain outside and almost gentle. “I’m right here, Gracie. I won’t hurt you again.”

And in that weightless moment, I let myself believe him.

4

“SHE’S BURNING UP. THIS isn’t good, Ace.”

The soft hum of Tatiana’s voice fills my ears, as if we’re on a cloud floating into nowhere, in a blissful dream. My body feels heavy, though, like I simply couldn’t lift it if I tried.

“I fuckin’ know that, Tati. What I need to know is what the hell is going on with her.”

“I got everything you asked for,” Aggie’s voice appears. “What exactly is the plan here?”

“You’ll see. Just gather everything I packed, we can’t stay here. It’s too fuckin’ cold.”

A warm hand gently slaps at my face, rousing me.

My eyes flutter open, and my head spins as I focus on the three people leaning over me. I have been like this for days, coming in and out of this fever-induced daze. When I’m in it, it feels like the world can’t touch me, but when I come out, it’s like my body is on fire. I groan, the sky too bright even though it is cloudy and raining.

“Hey,” Ace says, fingers curled around my chin as he takes me in. “We’re goin’ to move you.”

Move me?