The sleep is familiar and relaxing. I haven’t had many of them. The ones I did have were with Will. I open my eyes to Meg and Anna sleeping next to each other and Leo on the floor. Anna's hand is draped off the bed, touching his fur. He opens one yellow eye, watching me. I smile at him.
Anna wakes up and looks at me. She whispers, "You okay?"
I shake my head, "I will be. You?"
She shakes her head too, "No."
"What did they do to you for the week?"
Her eyes twitch, "Tests. Tons of tests."
"Did they hurt you?"
She shakes her head, "Bernie wouldn’t let them hurt me."
I swallow, "Did they want to?"
She nods once slowly, "The head guy did. He wanted to do experiments. He wanted to try things that Bernie kept saying no to. Bernie lied and said I was his girlfriend. The head guy thought I was too young for him, but Bernie lied and said I was twenty-three."
"That’s good."
She nods, "You and Will—all the way, huh?" She changes the subject. I don’t blame her. I'm pretty sure that head guy was my real dad.
I smile, "All the way."
She shrugs, "I always was rooting for Jake."
"Me too."
She looks into my eyes, like she is trying to tell me something important, "You don’t know where you'll find love, but it's almost always going to be, the last place you think it'll be."
I cock an eyebrow, "Did you read that somewhere?"
She beams, "I read it in one of your Granny's romance novels that were on the shelf you told me to start with."
I laugh quietly and whisper, "I meant the survival books."
She wrinkles her nose, "Those were boring."
I laugh again, I love you."
She rolls her eyes, "Even though my family ruins your life?"
I nod, "Even though."
She leans forward and whispers even quieter, "Weird about Star and Jake, huh?"
"Very weird. They suit each other though."
She gives me a funny look, "She said you guys are sisters."
I nod, "That is the weirdest part for me."
She winks, "I hope you guys fight for real. Two badass sisters with foul tempers and hardcore strength. No sissy slaps like back at Bernie's."
I laugh, "No way."
Anna climbs out of the bed, making Meg stir and moan. I climb out of the bed too. My feet are a bit sore from breaking in the new boots.
I follow her into the living room. Allan looks at me from in the front window, "Some cabin."
I watch his eyes follow Anna as she stretches, "Belonged to my Granny and Gramps and dad. They bought it when I was a kid. Dad was always planning on coming here when the meltdown happened."
He looks out the window, "Seems like a smart idea. He must have known then?"
I nod, "I think he might have. He had a friend who worked for my other dad." I don't even want to attempt explaining them all. I don’t honestly feel like I've ever had a proper explanation. I tug on my boots and head to the front door. I look back at Anna, "Make a huge pot of oats."
She nods.
Allan stands, "I can help her."
I shake my head, "No. You can come with me."
He looks confused but follows me out. I whistle for Leo.
He comes trotting out.
We walk into the front yard. As the door closes, I pick up my bow and quiver and tuck my knife into my boot.
"You really are the vigilante, aren’t you?"
I look back, "Why do you keep saying that?" he gives me the creeps. I have given him the benefit of a doubt for Will's sake, but I don’t like him.
His dark-brown eyes watch me, "No reason. Just amazing there is a vigilante who is a little girl like you."
I frown, "I'm not so little, trust me."
He follows me into the woods. Leo senses my shitty mood and stays close.
"How did you come across such a magnificent animal?"
I shrug and walk into the forest, "I don’t know, luck I guess."
Leo lifts a lip. I snort, "He hates you."
He chuckles.
I turn around and face him, "Animals are a good judge of character."
His bushy dark eyebrows lower, "What is that supposed to mean?"
I step towards him, "I see the way you eye up Anna."
He shrugs, "She's a beautiful girl."
My hand twitches with the want to choke the life out of him, "She's seventeen, so she's an actual girl."
He scowls, "Oh. I thought she was twenty-something."
Disgust creeps across my face "How old are you?"
"Thirty-eight."
He looks forty-five. His dark hair is greasy and thinning. His thin face is sweaty and wrinkled, like he was fat before and his skin hangs a bit from the weight loss.
I make sure we are eye to eye when I speak to him, "This is your warning. I kill perverts. I kill them every day of the week. Ones bigger than you and stronger than you and meaner than you. If I even suspect you're a pervert, I won't give you another warning. This is the one you get." I point back towards the cabin and use Will's words from the camp, "This isn’t a democracy. I know it looks like one, but that’s my cabin. I will kill you in a heartbeat."
He flinches and backs up, "Hey…"
"No. You don’t talk. You just hear me." Leo steps towards him and growls.
He swallows and nods, "Okay." I see it in his dark eyes, he wants me dead. He wants my cabin and the people who are there. The people I call family.
Ron comes walking up, "Hey, Em." He smiles and waves.
I smile back, "Hey, Ron. Allan was just going to collect firewood. Why don’t you escort him and show him the ropes?"
His smile grows, "Welcome, Allan. It's just this way." He points and starts walking.
I turn to see Leo nuzzled against Will, who is leaned against a tree.
He looks angry.
I point, "He…"
"I trust you. I trust your instincts. If you say he eyeballed Anna, I trust that."
I walk to him and let him wrap his arms around me "I just don’t want to act like a crazy psycho. I feel like my feelings are all wrong. I thought that about Bernie, but he was kinda grossed out when I told him how old Anna was. He assumed she was closer to my age."
Will pulls me back, grinning like a fool, "You admit you were wrong about him?"
I sneer, "He's a whiny little bitch most of the time," I sigh, "But yeah, I was wrong. He isn’t a pervert. Not all guys are perverts I guess."
Will nods towards Allan, "Allan's a lot older than Bernie is. He's old enough to be Anna's dad. Not cool." His eyes narrow.
I smirk, "You made me bring him up this damned hill. He knows the way to the cabin."
Will speaks over my head, "I don’t think we have to worry about him going down the mountain, Em. He looks at my sister again and I'll snap his neck myself." I see the dangerous glint in his eyes and nod.
I look back at Allan and Ron rounding the corner to the woodpile. Ron and Bernie both have turned out to be nice guys. I look back at Will and smile.
Will looks down on me, "You let me handle it though, okay?"
I agree, "Okay."
His smile turns mocking, "Look at my girl getting all civilized."
I pull back and walk away, "Ass."
His tone reflects the smile on his face, "Whatever you kill, make sure it's big. I am starved."
I pull an arrow and head to the sweet spot.
Meg finds me alone, sitting on the hillside listening. I barely hear her sneaking up on me, "You're so quiet, Meg. You need to teach Jake to do that."
She rolls her eyes, chewing on a piece of grass and plops down where I'm sitting. "He ain't never gonna learn how to be quiet."
I snort, "Yeah, I guess not."
She nudges me, "You all right then?"
I shake my head, "I hardly know." I look at her dirty face and frown, "How are you dirty already, it's morning?"
She sticks her tongue out, "I was chopping firewood. I gotta do something with all my extra energy. Ron is gonna be the death of me. I think I'm almost a virgin again."
I growl, "Stop talking like that."
She grins, testing me, "Why? It shouldn’t bother you that you're a virgin and I ain't."
My cheeks flare instantly and I lower my gaze.
I see her jaw drop, "Oh, no way. You did it? Which one of them hunky brothers got the golden goose outta ya?"
My nose wrinkles, "Stop being disgusting about it."
She laughs and lies back, "I bet it was Will. That’s who I would want. He's a real man. He'll take care of ya. I think Jake might only ever take care of one thing. Not that it's a problem but a girl's gotta eat too, ya know."
She laughs and lies back, "I bet it was Will. That’s who I would want. He's a real man. He'll take care of ya. I think Jake might only ever take care of one thing. Not that it's a problem, but a girl's gotta eat too, ya know?"
I cover my face with my hands and moan. I want to choke her but I don’t. I breathe deeply, "You know, I can go through a lot of shit and still it doesn’t feel as disturbing as a conversation with you."
She snickers and chews the grass. I listen to the woods and glance at her after a minute, "You okay to stay if we leave again?"
She nods, "I don’t trust Mary with Sarah."
I nod, "Me either."
Meg taps her foot, "You hear that?"
I strain my ears and shake my head.
"That’s Jake and that bitch, Star, fighting."
I nudge her, "She's my sister."
She scowls, "No way."
I nod once.
She grimaces, "Sorry."
I shake my head, "I don’t know her. I know she's different. I wanna feel bad for her for what she's been through, but I feel like she brings it on. Being all flakey and shit. She makes men think things, ya know?"