“Still, I can’t impose on you like this. It’s not right. I need to do something to ease the burden on you.”
“No, you don’t.” Her immune system is just barely beginning to tolerate the surface. What does she think she’s capable of doing to help?
She purses her lips, and a determined look comes into her eyes. “You have to lock me into my room at night. Starting tonight. At least I won’t walk into the ocean.”
I almost want to laugh, but then I realize how serious she is. “No, Evie, that’s crazy. I’m not going to lock you up like a criminal.”
Her gaze is hard like a diamond. “You will. I refuse to endanger you and cost you any more fish.”
I can’t help the laughter that bubbles up in my throat. She’s serious. Dead serious, but the way she said fish was just so ridiculous. I have to press my lips together to keep from laughing out loud.
“Gavin, please…” The hard edge is gone from her voice. Now she sounds desperate. It tears at me. But so does the thought of locking her up.
“What if you have to go to the bathroom?”
“I’ll hold it. I’m not a child. Now promise me, or I’m not going another step with you.” She crosses her arms.
Maybe it would be for the best, I tell myself. It’s to protect her, not me, after all. I sigh. “All right. We’ll try it.”
She blinks, then sighs and hugs me tightly. “Thank you.”
“Anything for you.” I kiss the top of her head and hold her for a few minutes, enjoying the feeling that she’s all mine.
After a long time, she pushes away. “What was Doc talking about? About having to go to a city. And something about a trigger?”
Damn it. She heard. I clear my throat to give me time to come up with something. I can’t take her to the city. They’ll chew her up and spit her out. I can’t let her go through that. Not after everything she’s already been through. “He thinks you should go into the village. Meet some more people so you’re not always cooped up here and wallowing.” I grin at her even as my stomach turns from the lie. “Who knows? Maybe something there will trigger some of your memories.”
The way she watches me, I know she doesn’t believe me. She’s going to call me out on it. I know she is … but then she nods. “Well, I do feel a little shut in.” She smiles and slides her hand into mine. “I’d love to see your village and meet some of these people you’ve talked about.”
She looks so happy with the idea, guilt weighs on me like an anchor. For a minute I want to tell her the truth, but then she pulls me in the direction Doc took.
“It’s this way, right?” Her voice is light and bubbly. I don’t think I’ve heard that sound from her. Ever.
I let her pull me down the path.
Evie
Nerves threaten to strangle me, but I’m excited. My heart is beating so fast I’m out of breath after only a few steps. I’ve heard and seen it from a distance, but I’ve never been to the town proper. I should have. Maybe I don’t feel like I belong because I’ve never tried to be a part of life here.
I lick my lips. The town’s buildings loom in front of me, and even though my nerves make me queasy, my curiosity is overwhelming. I try to imagine what these people will be like. Gavin has shared some stories about them. And I met a few of the women when they came to visit me in the medical center. I hope the others will be like them.
I take a few hesitant steps toward the town, passing the hospital—a run-down building that looks a lot like Gavin’s house, inside and out—and take it all in. One pristine white building towers above all the rest, with a tall spire that juts up into the sky, and it has a large clock on the side of it.
Gavin follows my gaze. “That’s the mayor’s house. They built it right after I was born, when the city sent the mayor to … uh … help us.”
I glance over at him only to see him scowling at the ground, but then he points to another building slightly closer to us. “And that’s where Ann Marie and Josh are going to move. It’s the newest building. My mom and Ann Marie say it’s beautiful inside. And they say the building is strong enough to withstand the hurricanes even though it’s so tall.”
I frown. “Hurricane?”
Gavin’s younger brother, Tristan, jumps in front of me, startling me. I almost scream before gaining control of myself. I had no idea he was even following us.
“Oh, it’s a really bad storm and it’s so cool!” he says. “The winds are so strong they can rip trees right from the ground and toss them miles away. Once, a few years ago, one totally tore our neighbor’s house apart while they were in it! And another time…”
“Tristan! That’s enough,” Gavin says, giving him a look.
“Sorry,” he mutters, looking anything but. If I wasn’t horrified about the hurricane, I’d laugh at his expression.
I turn back to Gavin, my heart in my throat. “What’s a storm?”
He glares at Tristan. “It’s just something where there’s a lot of wind and rain. No big deal, usually.”
That sounds terrible. “When is the next … hurricane?”
“Don’t worry about it. They only come during the summer and it’s been years. We’ll be fine.” He shoots Tristan another look.
I nod, but swallow, my stomach feeling hollow.
Gavin clears his throat. “Er … as I was saying, the mayor’s house is the largest, and they’ve been adding new buildings around it since then with the help from the city. We should go so you can meet some more people.” He sees my expression and adds, “Everyone is really friendly. Don’t worry. They’re going to love you.”
Tristan grabs my hand and starts pulling me farther into town. It doesn’t escape my notice how Gavin doesn’t so much as protest Tristan tagging along. He must do it a lot. It makes my heart flutter a little knowing how much Gavin cares for his family. How close they are. How close they want to be. It’s odd how the village changes the farther inland we go. The buildings closest to the shoreline—the two or three of them that aren’t completely fallen down—are small, squat, wood structures that have seen their fair share of wind, rain, and sunshine. They were probably pretty once, but now they sit in various stages of disrepair. The windows are coated in thick scales of salt water, and the wood is grayed and cracked in places.
The buildings on the other side of those are sort of strange. Gavin tells me people live in them, so they must be housing of some sort, but they don’t look anything like Gavin’s three-story house with its red bricks, faded black shutters, and wraparound porch. They’re barely taller than me. All four walls and the roof are made with ridged metal sheets that are stained red with rust. There are so many holes in the metal, the walls are practically none existent. A strong wind could probably blow them all right over. As we pass, I glance in the open doorway of one and see a chair and table that look like they’ve seen better days. From my position, it’s hard to see if there’s anything else in there, but as I’m looking, a woman steps out, wiping her hands on her jeans.
When she sees Gavin, she lifts a hand in an absent wave. Her gaze moves to me and although she looks curious now, she extends the wave in my direction. I flutter my fingers back and she smiles in return before walking around the side of the house. I follow her movements with my eyes and watch as she climbs into a knee-high fenced-in area. I recognize a group of chickens. Gavin has some behind his house and every morning Tristan goes out and gathers eggs for breakfast. I wrinkle my nose when I think about how dirty and gross-looking they are before he washes them. I don’t even want to think about where Gavin told me they come from. I shudder and Gavin glances over.