Page 91 of Last Light

I somehow know that Travis never would have left his daughter even if he hadn’t had a chance to survive.

That’s the kind of man he is.

“Really hope she’s okay,” he adds.

I try to ignore how much it bothered me to hear him say he still loves her.

Things might be different between them when he finds her again. If they still love each other, they might want to give it another go.

He’s so worried about her. He wants to reach her again.

It’s perfectly natural, and there’s nothing about it that I should begrudge.

“Hopefully you’ll be able to find her,” I say, my voice wobbling only slightly.

“Yeah. And hopefully you’ll be able to find all the people you care about too.”

“Yes. Before the drove gets there.”

Travis is watching me closely. I can feel his eyes on my face. “Think we better stay here at least one more day. My ankle’s still pretty bad.”

“I know. There’s no sense in leaving if you’re not mobile. We’d just get killed.”

“But hopefully we can leave soon and get to Fort Knox in time. I’ll get you there if I possibly can.”

The dread of it—the knowledge that certain doom was coming for the remnant of our town and all the refugees gathered at Fort Knox—sits like a weight in my gut. If it’s as fortified as everyone thinks it is, they’d be able to withstand smaller attacks. But the force of an entire drove?

I don’t see how it would be possible. Their only hope is to flee.

It feels like Travis is waiting for me to say something, but I have no idea what to say.

Whatever is happening between us feels more real than it’s ever felt before, but I still don’t know what it is.

And the truth is I’m scared.

Scared of getting this close to Travis. Scared of needing him too much—emotionally, not just to survive.

What if he gets taken away, just like everyone else in my life?

What if he doesn’t need me the way I need him?

What if he doesn’t feel like I do?

Maybe these are normal fears and questions at the beginning of a relationship, but nothing has been normal since the asteroid slammed into Europe.

And love might be the biggest risk of all at the end of the world.

I give Travis a wobbly smile and lie down beside him again.

I don’t say anything at all.

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