“You’re good at that.”
I managed a wan smile. “When you’re as clumsy as I am you learn a few tricks.”
He chuckled softly, a soft sound I found I liked immeasurably as my grin widened and I sat back on my heels to admire his rare and fleeting smile. “I thought perhaps you were considering becoming a doctor.”
“No, that was Aiden.”
My amusement faded with the stark reminder of everything we had lost. Cade’s smile slipped away, a muscle in his cheek jumped slightly. “I see. And what did you want to do?”
I frowned, my gaze drifted toward the forest line as I thought over his question. I’d never really known what I’d wanted to do, what I would become. I’d assumed I’d go to college, I’d even considered going away, but I’d never truly thought about what I would study there, what I would want to do for the rest of my life. I would never have the opportunity to find out either.
“I don’t know,” I admitted.
He was silent for a long moment as I wiped the excess cream and remaining blood from his arm. “Whatever it was I’m sure you would have been good at it.”
I glanced at him from under lowered lashes trying to discern if he was kidding with me or not. He did not appear to be. He seemed to honestly believe that I would find something that I was actually good at. I wasn’t so sure. “And what about you? Were you going to go to college?”
He shrugged absently as I tied the torn piece of shirt around his arm. I had to force myself not to linger over his soft skin, and hard muscles. Hard to force myself not to notice the flush the feel of his skin brought to my face and body. “Eventually.”
“Where would you have gone and for what?”
Those dark eyes flickered briefly over my face. “I hadn’t decided yet.” I sat back on my heels, studying him for a long moment. I had the feeling he wasn’t telling me something, that there was something he wasn’t revealing. I didn’t have a chance to question him further though as Jenna and Abby appeared.
“Are you ok?” Jenna blurted.
Cade pulled the sleeve of his shirt down, it only covered half of the rag wrapped wound. “Fine,” he muttered.
Abby’s eyes were wide, her mouth open as she gasped at the dead creature just feet away. I couldn’t bring myself to look at the ruined remains. “How did you know about that hiding place?”
Cade’s hand clasped briefly around mine before he rose slowly to his feet. “I spent a lot of time up here.” I was stunned by the revelation. I didn’t exactly pin Cade as a paintball kinda guy, but then there were a lot of things I had never pictured him as but I was beginning to realize he was. “I know the course extremely well.”
“Thankfully.”
“Why?” I inquired.
He shrugged, rolling his shoulders as he stretched his back. “Target practice.” He flashed a smile, but it did not reach his eyes and his gaze drifted away from all of us to search the woods. “We should get moving.”
I wasn’t going to argue with that. I wrapped my arms around Abby’s shoulders and forcefully turned her away from the sight of the creature she was still gaping at. “It’s awful.”
“It is,” I agreed.
CHAPTER 13
“This is as good a spot as any,” Cade declared.
I sighed as I dropped the small bag on the ground and slid down. I was acutely aware of the fact that our main food source had gone with Aiden, and I wasn’t even sure he still had it. However, my stomach rumbled eagerly as I recalled the meager food supplies that had been placed into Cade’s duffel bag of guns before we had left the tree house. It had seemed smarter to have the food and water spread out between us, and I was extremely relieved that it had been. I was starving, but I was fairly certain that I was going to pass out before I got the chance to eat. I wanted to take my sneakers off, but decided against it. I didn’t want to see the mess that I knew my feet had to be, and I didn’t want to be caught unawares in bare feet.
Cade was digging through the bag when I lay down on the ground, propped my head on my hands and passed out cold.
***
It was mid afternoon when I woke again. Cade was the only other one awake, I was beginning to suspect that he didn’t sleep at all, and it was more than a little daunting. Did he have any weaknesses? I yawned, stretching as I lifted myself slowly up. Cade’s eyes were dark and hooded as he watched me, he may not sleep, but it was more than apparent that he neededsome rest. There were dark circles under his eyes, bags were beginning to form, and they had become slightly bloodshot. His light olive complexion was paler than normal, and there was a pinched look around his mouth that made it seem as if he were in pain. Worry filled me as I watched him, the lack of sleep or hunger was starting to get to him. Or perhaps his wound was started to become infected with some strange alien parasite.
“You should rest.” I tried to keep my tone light, but the worried tension in it was obvious.
“Not tired.”
“Liar.”
His full mouth curved into a small smile, he shifted slightly, draping his arm over his knee as he watched me. “You need to eat.”
I nodded. “I do, and you need to sleep.”
He shrugged absently, his fingers played idly with a stick. “I got an hour or so.”
I would have to be happy with that fact, it was more than I’d thought he’d received, and I knew it was all he’d give into for now. I reached for the bag, pulling out a thing of peanut butter crackers. I should probably eat more, but I didn’t know how long it would take us to rejoin the others, and I had to make sure that Abby had enough food. I could go hungry; I didn’t want her to though. My belly rumbled as I nibbled on the crackers, eating them slowly as I tried to trick my stomach into thinking it was receiving more than it was.
I watched Abby as she slept; she looked so peaceful and content. It was hard to believe that every waking moment of her life had become such a constant battle. And from here on out it would continue to be. I was so entrenched in my thoughts that I didn’t realize I was on my last cracker, until it was gone. I wiped my hands on my legs, trying hard to ignore the gnawing hunger in my stomach. I sat back, pulling my knees up against my chest as I wrapped my arms tightly around them.
“We have to get moving soon.”
I nodded my agreement, my fingers clenched as I fought the urge to retrieve more food from the bag. I was eager to move again, eager to get to the gas station, eager to be doing something once more. Now that I was awake again, I felt vulnerable out in the open, and exposed here. A soft rustling drew my attention back to Cade. He was digging amongst the bag. I closed my eyes, turning my attention away from him.
“Bethany.” Cade was kneeling before me when I opened my eyes. He was holding a granola bar, an apple, and a bottle of water out to me. I shook my head, my gaze darting to Abby’s slumbering form. “We all ate earlier, you need to eat more.”
“I’m fine.”
“There’s enough to last a couple of days if we’re careful. Hopefully, by then, we’ll have found some more food, or rejoined the others.”
“And if we don’t?”
“Then we will cross that bridge when we get to it.” I shot him an angry look, nowhere near as amused by his words as he was. He grinned at me, his eyes slightly brighter with the merriment that filled them. “You can’t keep her safe if you don’t have the energy to do so.”