Page 147 of Bones
“You ever think about what it must’ve been like in the Before?”
Trey leaned over the tub, one hand in the running water. I admired the way the warm light from the candles we’d found played across his lean body. His summer tan had faded, but I could still see the faint tan lines around his neck and waist.
“Oh of course,” Trey answered. “I love lookin’ at any books from Before that I can find. Seems impossible this is the same place.”
"I saw one of those airplanes once. It crashed in the desert. It was in pieces and gutted, but it was so fuckin' big. I dunno how they built somethin' that big."
“I dunno how they got those things up in the air,” Trey said.
“Me either,” I agreed, thinking about how huge and heavy even the smallest piece of the plane had been.
“So what’s the story you were told?” Trey asked. When I stared back in confusion, he clarified, “Why the world ended.”
I made a face. “Punishment from the gods.”
Trey made a face too. “Sounds like some pretty shitty gods to me.”
“What about you?”
"Oh, we heard all sorts of stories. I remember my dad telling me there was a war and everybody just killed each other. There was a real old lady in the Vault when I was a kid named Bugs. She seemedancientso we were pretty sure she must’ve been there. Mac and I both asked her at different times and got two wildly different stories. She told me that monsters as big as mountains came from the sea and destroyed everythin’, but she told Mac everyone got sick with a disease that made themeateach other.”
I wrinkled my nose. “The Reapers had stories more like those. One of ’em was that everybodymeltedexcept for all the people who hid underground. That one scared the shit out of me.”
“Gross.” Trey chuckled.
When I climbed into the tub, I moaned. The hot water soothed my sore back and muscles. Trey climbed in behind me, the tub large enough for both of us, especially once Trey sat with his back against one end of the tub and I settled in between his legs, leaning back against his chest.
“Well this is nice,” he said, and I could hear the smile in his voice.
“This is amazing,” I corrected him.
“Does it feel ok on your back?”
"Yeah, it's helping."
“Here, lean forward a minute,” he said, and I did, feeling a tiny flash of insecurity at baring my scarred back to him. He gently ran his hands across the healing scars. “Does it hurt everywhere?”
"You see the really thick scars?" I asked, and when he made a sound of agreement, I continued, "Those seem to hurt the most. But after walking so much, pretty much everythin' hurts."
He pressed into my back with his thumbs, avoiding the thickest scars. “Does that feel good or bad?”
“Mostly good.”
“Tell me if it hurts.”
He rubbed my sore muscles, and so long as he avoided the thick scars, it ached pleasantly.
“Tomorrow I’ll ask Zeke if he has any dried herbs or flowers,” I mumbled.
“I’m sure Zeke will have somethin’ you can use.” His hands left my back to wrap around me again. “Did that help at all?”
I smiled, leaning back into him. My back still ached, but it seemed looser. “I think it did. Thank you.”
Between the comfort of his body and the warmth of the water, my eyelids grew heavy. His fingertips brushed across my bare skin.
“Will you tell me about this?” Trey asked, his fingers landing on the brand on my chest. I stiffened, and he added, “You don’t have to, darlin’.”
I didn’t want to, but I doubted I’d everwantto talk about that day. I tried to steady myself, taking a few deep breaths. In the silence, we could hear the wind gusting against the house.
