Love Among The Ruins-Chapter 39

NADINE’S P.O.V

I initially thought that Jennifer’s hatred for me couldn’t be that bad.

I figured she had done her worst and there was nothing else she could do but she managed to shock me during our day-time journey. Everything I did seemed to piss her off. I was either breathing too loud or walking too fast or I was getting the sun in her eye.

It didn’t matter what I did- she found something to be pissed about.

I could tell it bothered Rowan, probably more than it bothered me but I couldn’t tell why. I assumed it had something to do with the fact that we now had company. He had been scowling since the moment we started walking which was before sunrise.

He hadn’t said a single word.

Dan still wasn’t healed up so we had to move slower and take more stops than usual. Rowan and I walked ahead while Dan and Jennifer stayed at the rear. They didn’t know much about where we were going either, but Jennifer swore that she heard another guard say there was a bunker a few towns away. It would take at least a month to get there but it was better than just sitting around and waiting for nothing.

"I still say we try to use her as a bargaining chip for accommodation," Jennifer mumbled to Dan.

She whispered the words but it was clear she wasn’t trying to stop me from hearing them. If anything, she wanted me aware of what was happening.

"She is one of them. They would take her in a heartbeat and we wouldn’t have to do this aimless journey," she continued. "We have the perfect solution here and instead-"

"Enough!"

The scariest part about Rowan was the fact that he didn’t yell, he didn’t have to raise his voice for anyone to know when he was at his wits end. The sheer command and force in his voice alone had everyone going quiet- even me, and I wasn’t even talking in the first place.

My spine straightened and the hair on the back of my neck stood on edge.

I risked a glance at Jennifer but she wasn’t looking in my direction anymore. Her hands were crossed over her chest but her eyes were cast to the ground.

"Aren’t you tired?" Rowan continued. "She has done nothing to you."

"I am not asking that we kill her," Jennifer defended herself. "I am just saying that we make an exchange for our own safety. Her life for ours. We would all be safe within the confines of the bunker."

"She is not a bargaining chip, she is not our hostage. We do not make exchanges like that."

"It would be logical."

"And it’ll happen over my dead fucking body," he hissed, rising to his feet. "Drop the idea or leave. I won’t have this conversation again."

They had a mini-staring contest.

Jennifer’s jaw locked with anger and her cheeks turned a bright shade of red. It was clear there was more she wanted to say but at the last minute, she decided against it and stormed off. I glanced between her and Rowan, not sure what to say or if I should say anything at all.

I was causing more problems than I thought.

"Hey," I turned as Dan nudged my side lightly. "Are you okay?"

I thought about it for a moment before shrugging. "I don’t know. I just- I know that she probably will never like me but-"

"Don’t worry about Jen, she’ll come around."

I shot him a bland look. "Unfortunately, I don’t know if that is possible. We’re going to be stuck together for a month."

"You’d be surprised."

He gave me a small smile before looking up and over my shoulder. I didn’t need to glance back to know that Rowan stood there.

Dan gave me one last curt nod before rising to his feet and heading up the road to catch up with Jennifer. I watched him go before finally turning to Rowan. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

I had barely turned to him when his hands cupped my cheeks and he was kissing me.

He backed me up into a tree, the rough bark hard against my back as his warm body pressed into mine.

His fingers tangled in my air, his tongue slipping into my mouth as he kissed every thought out of my mind.

By the time he pulled back, I was panting for breath and my head was swirling.

"I’ve wanted to do that all morning," he whispered before kissing me again, albeit slower this time.

For a moment, I was stunned and unable to speak.

I glanced to the left where Dan and Jennifer had gone ahead. I wasn’t sure if they were ignoring us or just didn’t see us. I wanted to kiss him again, wanted to feel and experience him again but I couldn’t, so I forced myself to pull back.

"I’m sorry that had to happen," I whispered softly. "I would never want to be the reason you get into it with someone."

His brows furrowed in confusion before he finally understood and he waved me off.

"I got into it with her because she was being unreasonable and unfair."

It was a more logical explanation but I couldn’t explain why my stomach dropped in disappointment. It would have been nice to know that he did it for me.

I started walking and he moved in step with me.

"Where are we going now?"

"The train station."

My brows rose. "It’s easier to navigate the roads that way."

"But we would be exposed. There is nowhere to sleep on the tracks."

"True, but there’s four of us now. We can take turns watching and making sure everywhere is safe."

I swallowed deeply.

That was an insane amount of trust to put in two people who I didn’t know and one of whom didn’t like me. But I trusted Rowan sand I trusted that he would make the right choice.

"She won’t do anything," he assured me, clearly knowing what direction my mind went in. "She might be difficult sometimes but she is a good guard."

"Do you trust her?"

"I don’t trust anyone."

"Not even me?"

I knew it was a stupid thing to ask and I braced myself for the possible sting of rejection.

As soon as the words came out of my mouth, I knew I should never have said them. I wanted to take them back but it was too late and a part of me wanted to know the answer.

He was silent for a full minute, not even glancing my way.

He just kept walking, his eyes trained forward as the wheels in his brain turned. I opened my mouth, presumably to tell him not to bother explaining anymore but I couldn’t bring myself to say it. I couldn’t bring myself to utter the words because the truth was, I was pathetic and I needed to know the truth.

"You’ve seen me in more vulnerable positions than anyone I know," he said after a moment of silence. "If you wanted to kill me, you would have done it a long time ago."

Translation: Yes.