Page 12 of Last Light

My stomach twists as I stare down at the small beds, still neatly made with Batman comforters and matching sheets.

A family made a life here. Not very long ago.

“This’ll do good,” Travis says, letting the pack of supplies he’s carrying slip to the floor. He’s watching me. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.”

“You sick again?”

“No. I’m fine.” I clear the poignancy from my head, my throat. Then I go over to open the dusty curtains to let in what little light remains from outside. “It’s kind of stuffy in here. Do you think we can crack a window?”

Travis walks over to frown down into the backyard that leads into what was once pastureland. It’s all gray rolling hills now, marked only by pieces of broken fence. “Guess so.” He pushes up the window partway. There’s even still a screen.

I sit down on the bed and take off my shoes and belt. Breathe in the thick evening air.

“You need to eat somethin’.” He rummages through his pack and offers me a protein bar and a bottle of water.

“I’m okay for now.”

“You’re not either. Eat.”

I stare at him blankly.

He thrusts his hand in my face. “Now.”

I accept the water and protein bar, although I grumble softly about his bossiness. I force down the food and sit for a minute to make sure none of it comes back up.

It doesn’t. Idly I read the label on the bar and see it’s almost a year past its expiration date. It tastes fine. Expiration dates are irrelevant. If food looks okay, you eat it.

I watch Travis as he pushes a dresser over in front of the bedroom door to barricade it in case of an intruder. Then he sits down on a child-size chair and cleans his shotgun as he eats a protein bar.

I’m perched on the edge of one of the beds, finishing the last of my water, when he stands up, stretches, toes off his shoes, and unbuckles his belt.

My stomach churns but not from the food.

If Travis is going to turn into a creep, this is when it will happen. I’m trapped with the man now. At night. In a second-floor room. With a door blocked by a heavy dresser.

If he thinks he deserves payment for the help he’s been giving me, this is when he’ll demand it.

He stands and looks down at me silently for a long time. Finally mutters, “Get some sleep, girl.”

I let out my breath as he stretches out on the other bed, and I finally take off my overshirt, pull back the sheet and comforter, and lie down too.

He’s got a few candles and a lantern with one of those batteries that’re supposed to last forever, but there’s no sense in wasting the light tonight.

We’re not going to be doing anything in the dark.

I’m glad my instincts weren’t wrong about him.

I’m glad what he told me wasn’t merely a line to get me to comply.

Travis really is a decent guy.

I can smell him from where I’m lying, the scent of his body mingling with the sootiness of the air coming in through the window. The strong fragrance of him is oddly reassuring. It means I’m not alone.

I’m in a place as safe as I can hope for with a man who’s capable of protecting me. The door is blocked. No one can get through the window without a ladder. And we’re in the middle of nowhere.

I feel my body relaxing in a way it hasn’t for weeks.

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