Page 41 of The Last Man on Earth
I’m not, but I nod anyway.
He helps me up, steadying me with strong hands. I grab my things and glance up at the sky, hope still lingering.
“Any planes or boats come by while I was asleep?”
“Yeah,” he teases. “Two of ‘em. I told ‘em to come back. I didn’t wanna wake you.”
I laugh, rolling my eyes as he stares at me.
“All that fuckin’ hair you got, why the hell were you wearingthat?” he asks, pointing to the tracks in the sand.
I frown at his confusion. “Is your baby mama white or something?”
“Hell, nah.”
“So how do you not know that weave is a protective style?”
“I ain’t never had cause to ask,” he says. “Matter of fact, I wouldn’t have known it was fake if you didn’t make me take it out.”
“I didn’tmakeyou,” I say, laughing. “You offered.”
“Cuz you was beatin’ on your head like it stole sumn.”
“I can’t with you,” I say as we head back toward the trees.
About halfway into our trek, Villain stops dead in his tracks. “Don’t move.”
My heart skips a beat. “What is it?”
“A snake. It’s huge.”
“Oh my God.” The word snake rips through me. My legs shake. A whimper slips out before I can stop it.
“Ari,” he says, his eyes locked on me. “It’s cool, we’ll just go around it.”
But my legs are cement. Fear has me rooted in place, barely able to breathe.
He turns fully, gripping my face with both hands, forcing my eyes to his. His voice is firm and steady. “You gon’ have to trust me. Aight? I won’t let anything happen to you. Follow me, and don’t make any noise.”
Tears sting the corners of my eyes. I’m still frozen, choking on the lump in my throat.
“On three,” he says. “One. Two. Three.”
His hand closes around mine, guiding me carefully. I squeeze my eyes shut and swallow my fear, letting him lead me. It’s not easy for me to trust, and it’s especially hard to trusthim. Plenty of men in my past have complained about that particular trait of mine, but my logic was always that you have to earn the right to be trusted.
When we finally stop, Villain exhales sharply. “We’re here.”
I open my eyes.
It’s our place. Our house. Relief slams through me so hard, my knees nearly buckle. My body falls weakly against his, trembling, my arms clinging to him like he’s the only solid thing in the world.
Which, right now at least, is very true.
Chapter 20
Villain
The fire crackles lowin front of me, smoke drifting upward into the night. I toss an empty wrapper into the flames and watch them eat away at the material. The smell is sharp and familiar now. Part of the nightly routine. Behind me, Ari moves around quietly, checking through the suitcase, counting what we have left.
