Page 50 of Haze of Obedience

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Zoe sits on the ground and is building a teepee structure.

"You've done this before?" I ask.

She slaps a bug on her arm and mutters, "Sorry, is my attempt too divaish for you?"

Guess I deserved that one.

Why did I have to say that to her?

I pull a blanket out of my bag. "Let me spray you then put this around you before the bugs bite worse."

She rises and holds her arms out.

I spray her then put the blanket around her. "Sorry, I didn't get different clothes for you when I went to the store."

She holds her throat and clears it. "You didn't know."

"Are you getting sick?"

"No. My throat's been sore for a while."

I put my hand on her forehead.

She steps back. "What are you doing?"

"Seeing if you have a fever."

"I'm not sick. I've strained my vocal cords, that's all."

"From singing too much?"

"It's fine," she quietly says.

"Don't do that, Zoe."

"Do what?"

"Act like it isn't a big deal what they did to you."

Her face hardens. "And what did they do to me, Dirk?"

"Why don't you fill me in?"

Her eyes turn to slits. "And what have you told me about yourself? Hmmm?"

"Why are you getting mad at me?"

Her eyes glisten, and her voice creaks. "I'm not."

"What do you want to know about me?"

A tear drips down her cheek, and she wipes it away. "Nothing."

We just had sex, and there's nothing she wants to know?

I cup her cheeks. "Zoe, why are you crying."

"I'm not." A tear rolls onto my hand.

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