Page 16 of Damiana | AllFreeNovel

He glanced over his shoulder at Callie, then, as he turned his head back to watch the road, his gaze found me, drifting over my skin like warm weather. I watched him do it, and it left that space between us even more taut, as if something was now unanswered there.

I opened my backpack, searching before I knew what I needed.

Damian grabbed a bottle of water from the door pocket, twisted the cap half off, and handed it to me. His fingers brushed mine, and all I could think about now was how he’d tucked my hair behind my ear. How I hadn’t wanted him to walk away, and how, now, I felt the absence of his touch when his hand returned to the wheel.

The water was cold, and I needed it to be. I was far too warm, despite the cool air blowing into the passenger seat.

Damian broke the silence first. “The road’s rougher coming out than going in. It’s easier from here on out.”

I didn’t know if the double meaning was deliberate, but I heard it. “Good. My spine’s not made for this.”

The sun, which had been obscured for most of the drive by enormous cumulus clouds, blazed gold.

I glanced over my shoulder at Callie. She was still asleep.

“She was crying about a goat she knew for one day,” I said. I didn’t mean to judge her. I meant to judge the weight of what a day can do.

“A day is long enough. A lot can happen in a day,” he said, his thumb lifting, for just a second, from the wheel again. “Are you okay, Marlowe?”

Apparently, Damian had learned to say a lot without saying a damn thing, and every time he did, the silence shifted. I was too aware of myself, of where I ended and he began in that jeep, and I fought the urge to fidget. He was more guarded today, and I couldn’t work out if it was because Callie was in the back or because I was sober.

“Yeah, I’m okay,” I said. “I think.” I glanced at him. “Did you get any sleep?”

“Yeah, I went to bed after you did,” he said.

“You guys sleep at the camp?”

“They have cabins for staff.”

“Fancy.”

“Extremely basic, actually.”

My phone lit again. I grabbed it.

Priya: how are you doing up there

good. fine. Callie’s asleep, I wrote.