Love Among The Ruins-Chapter 35

NADINE’S P.O.V

The next few days involved hot sex in the employee room and the occasional sneaking around to make sure that everything was clear.

We could have found another house but none of them felt safe enough to stay in. We would go in to get cleaned but never stayed the night. Part of it was the security, but part of it was because in the little room, we could pretend that we weren’t on the run from monsters, we could pretend that our lives weren’t in danger.

A part of me didn’t want my cuts to heal because I didn’t want to leave. It was easy to be here with him, it was easy to exist in this bubble, but we were on a time sensitive schedule and we had to find somewhere safer than this.

I woke up to fingers running down my spine and a hand brushing hair out of my face. The movement was so feather light and soft, a sharp contrast to the rough hands that did the job.

"We have to go," Rowan whispered, his voice soft and barely audible.

I forced myself into a sitting position with a small groan. "What time is it?"

"The sun is just starting to rise. We need to get a head start before the sun comes up."

He had told me this last night when he demanded we get cleaned and dressed before going to bed. I was already in my clothes, all I had to do was put on my shoes. I made to rise when Rowan stopped me with a single hand on my shoulder.

I watched as he retrieved my shoes, bent down in front of me and helped me into it.

"Caine-"

"Let me do this, please."

He rarely said please. It was part of his charm after all. He was a rude bastard most of the time so the plea floored me. I would never have expected that from him, not now or in a million lifetimes.

"I don’t know when next we will get to do this," he told me without even glancing up.

"Do what? Put on my shoes? You’ve never done that before."

The corner of his lips tipped up as he knotted my laces. "Smart ass."

He pulled me to my feet and his eyes ran over my body carefully.

It had only been a few days and yet it felt like everything had changed. Perhaps it was just the proximity that made things change, maybe it was something else, whatever it was, I didn’t care.

"We’re good, right?"

He leaned down to press his lips to my forehead. "We are, that doesn’t mean I won’t rip you a new one if you put us in danger again. I plan to get to a bunker in one piece."

I laughed.

That was the Caine I knew.

He carried the larger of the bags. He wanted to carry both but there was no way I was going to do that to him. I had no idea how long we would be walking, the last thing I wanted to do was to make things more difficult by giving him two bags when I was more than capable of taking the one.

We walked down the tarred road under the warm sun. The only thing protecting me from the heat was a large floppy hat I found in one of the houses. Caine didn’t seem to mind the sun, if anything, he embraced it.

"Why don’t we just go back into the woods?" I asked when we stopped under a large oak tree for a break.

I wasn’t sure how long we had been walking but it felt like hours.

"It’s harder to navigate my way in the woods. I knew the way into this town but I can’t get us to another bunker through the woods."

I debated his words, mulling them over before asking my next question. "Do you know where the next bunker is?"

"No."

His words settled over me like lead and I swallowed deeply. I was glad that he didn’t lie but I had to admit that the truth was daunting. I already knew deep down but hearing the answer out loud terrified me.

"Then how do we know there is another?"

"Because we were told," he explained. "There are only a few places a bunker can be placed so that there is access to food and water. We were taught how to find them."

"Why didn’t they just tell you where they were?"

"Because they wanted to protect themselves. They wanted to be able to run."

"So we could very well die without finding a bunker."

He hesitated but nodded slowly. "I’m not going to let you die."

I admired his commitment and determination, it was enough to have my lower belly fluttering as I stood on shaky legs. "Unfortunately, even you don’t control death and life. We should keep going. How long do you think it’ll take before we get to another bunker?"

"At least a month, maybe more. They don’t keep two bunkers in the same city and chances are that we get to one and it has been evacuated or it is too full to take more people."

I swallowed deeply.

The fear and anxiety had returned, this time with a vengeance. My stomach churned and si felt bile crawl up my throat as my little snack threatened to make a reappearance. I somehow managed to force it down and plaster a smile on my face.

"We better get going."

I felt Caine’s watchful eyes on me the entire time we walked.

He didn’t say much but I could see that he was trying to gauge my expression and responses. His words from earlier had stuck with me. There was a chance that all of this would be for nothing, that we would never find a bunker and be forever cursed to spend our lives moving from city to city until one day we got too weak to move and the monsters finished us off.

It was a pessimistic view but it was beginning to look more like reality and some part of me felt it was better than living the rest of my life in a bunker.

Each step felt like torture but I kept moving. If I was going to die, I would die knowing I tried at least.

"It’s late," Caine said finally. "We should stop somewhere to rest."

I didn’t even protest, I just nodded. "Okay."

His brows furrowed but once again, he said nothing, merely led me over to a house that had the front door unlocked. Thankfully, there were no dead bodies inside this time. It looked like it had been evacuated in a rush. It was a simple bungalow but it was beautiful. Pictures of the family that lived here hung on the walls.

A father, a mother and their little girl stood on the front lawn, a small puppy in front of them.

They looked happy.

It was a shame that the most probable reality was that they were dead.

"You can use the bathroom first if you want," Caine’s hand settled on my hip as he stepped up behind me but I didn’t move.

I leaned back in his hold, allowing myself a second to just breathe.

"We’re not going to die out here."

"We’ll just die in a bunker instead."

"The monsters will be long dead before then."

"And if they’re not?" I turned to Caine. "What happens then?"

"One problem at a time, Nadine. We can’t fix it all."

"But-"

"Shower first, then dinner and bed and tomorrow we keep moving. Take it one day at a time, princess, or you’ll drive yourself insane."