“You did a fine job, Ash,” my mom said, her voice soft. I peeked around the corner, seeing the mug in front of her, clutched between her small hands. The smell of freshly brewed tea reached my nose. I inhaled, feeling a wave of nostalgia. No one drank as much tea as my mom did. “You’ve been protecting my daughter. You brought her home. I can ask for no more.”
“I’m worried about her though,” he admitted, his fingers tracing the grooves in the old wood table. “She hasn’t cried. Since Frank, since New York…she hasn’t cried. She’s shed a few tears, but she hasn’t cried.”
“Shock?” my mom suggested, sighing. “Zoey has always been a tough one, refusing to back down. She’s a fighter, always has been. She’s never been an overly emotional or affectionate person. It got worse after her father and I got divorced.”
I felt my face flush, and I knew I should move forward, but I was too fascinated by the conversation.
“But it’s her dad. She needs to cry. She needs a good cry.”
“Crying would be seen as a sign of weakness. And crying would mean accepting that he is gone, saying goodbye once and for all. I’m not sure she can handle that.”
I couldn’t take it anymore. I walked into the kitchen, making no indication that I had heard what they were talking about. “Good morning,” I said.
“Afternoon,” Ash corrected me, a lazy grin on his face. “You slept through the entire morning.”
“I think I deserved it,” I said, sliding into one of the rickety chairs next to him. “And the shower too.”
“Did you leave any hot water for me?” he joked.
“It was admittedly kind of warm,” I said. “But I wouldn’t count on any of it for your shower.”
He laughed, but I could see the worry in his eyes. He bit his lip, his eyes darting to my mom, but she didn’t flinch. Whether or not she knew I had heard them didn’t seem to bother her in the slightest.
“Are you hungry?” she asked, standing up and crossing to the stove. She lifted the teakettle and poured steaming hot water into a mug, dunking a tea bag into it. She placed in front of me. I wanted to pick up the cup and throw it, smash it on the wall, send the pieces flying across the floor but it smelled too good. It wasn’t a cup of coffee-oh god, coffee-but it was the next best thing. “I could make you something.”
“Yes, thank you,” I said, stiffly.
She nodded, pulling her hair back into a messy ponytail before opening the refrigerator and rummaging through it. I leaned forward and was surprised to find that it was quite full.
“Where have you been getting the food?” I asked curiously, as she pulled out the makings for a sandwich.
“I was just telling Ash, things in Constance…they’re quite different than what you’ve been experiencing. There were no bombs in Nebraska, not even in Omaha or Lincoln. People here…they just left. I don’t know where, but they left. It’s a ghost town, so the stores, everything, is just abandoned. So I went into town and stocked up.”
“So…there are no Awakened here?” I asked confused, as she slid a ham and cheese sandwich in front of me. I swallowed hard as I saw it was cut into four tiny triangles, the way I liked it when I was a kid.
She shook her head, taking her seat across from me again. “Nope. Well, at least none that have been spotted here. You guys say you were attacked by Awakened near the border, but none have made it to Constance. It’s safe here. You’re safe here.”
“I’m grateful for you letting me stay, Ms. Flynn,” Ash said. I flinched a little at the sound of his voice. It had felt like ages since I had heard his “charm” voice, the dip that he put into his voice that made it lower, sexier, and more apt to get people to fall madly in love with him.
My mom preened a little, and I felt a stab of jealously. Was I really getting jealous of my mom right now? My memory flashed to the feel of Ash’s lips on my collarbone and I felt myself get hot. This was getting ridiculous. “Jennifer, please. And it’s not a problem. I couldn’t turn you out, not when you will be so safe here. And I could never do something like that to someone that Zoey cares about.”
There was a long silence at the words. I turned away from them, a small smile creeping up on my lips. My eyes met Ash’s, and he looked taken aback, and a little hurt at my reaction.
“Am I missing something?” my mom asked, looking confused. “Ash is your boyfriend, am I right?”
I coughed loudly, my face heating up. “Um, no. No, no, no. He’s not my boyfriend. No way. Not in this world. No.”
The corner of Ash’s mouth turned upward a bit. “I’m not her boyfriend,” he told my mom.
She looked back and forth between us. “Pity,” she said, sighing, throwing me an exasperated look.
I rolled my eyes and stood up, already done with the conversation. “We need to get some things straight. We’re safe…for now. But we spotted Awakened not even five hours away from here.”
Ash and my mom exchanged looks but didn’t say anything.
“I don’t want to rain on your parade,” I said, firmly. “I think we’re safe here too. But I don’t want to take that chance. We’ll continue with practicing our shooting, Ash.” I looked at my mom. “And you’re going to learn.”