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She exhaled, a weight releasing its hold on her as she finished.
Maddie was quiet for a long time before Saff finally looked over at her, taking in her expression. She searched it for something—anything—but it was completely unreadable.
And finally, after what felt like an eternity, Saff realized that maybe Maddie had nothing left to say. That maybe hearing the truth—the full truth—was all she needed.
Maybe it was closure.
Saff slowly stood from the bed, pausing for a second, giving Maddie one last chance to do something—to say anything at all.
And when she didn't, Saff finally turned and walked out of the bedroom, closing the door behind her.
***
“It doesn’t make sense to go that way,” Josh said with a frustrated exhale. “It’ll take way longer, and we can’t afford that.”
“It’s the safer route,” James replied, staring intently down at the map on the table between them all.
Saff watched from where she sat on the couch. They’d been going back and forth for the last twenty minutes, trying to decide which route to take when they left the next morning.
Her eyes drifted to Maddie, who sat on the other end of the couch with her feet up and her head leaned back against the armrest.
“And if it takes longer, then we’ll need more supplies than what we have. We don’t have enough of anything to last that long,” Josh continued, frustration evident in his voice.
James frowned, gazing down at the map. “Well then, maybe we need to stay here a few more days until we do.”
Saff whipped her head around. “What?”
All three of them looked up at her.
“You can’t really be considering that,” she said, standing from the couch.
Maddie moved then, sitting up, fully alert.
James let out a long sigh, glancing to the side before looking back down at the map. “If that’s what we need to do, then we will.”
Saff stared at him incredulously, then looked at Josh, waiting for him to agree with her—to convince him of what a horrible idea that was.
But he didn’t.
He crossed his arms over his chest. “It wouldn’t be the worst idea to wait until we’re fully prepared.”
Saff scoffed, losing her last bit of patience. “If you wait, you’ll be here when they come again. And next time, they won’t just be here as a test. They’ll be here to take, and steal, and hurt anyone in their way.”
Josh’s eyes flicked up, glaring at her. “Then we’ll be prepared.”
She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “No one here is prepared,” she rebutted. “Was that not obvious enough when they came the last time?”
Josh took a step toward her, his arms dropping into clenched fists at his sides. “I know exactly what happened last time,” he growled. “And I will protect them.”
Saff matched his step, anger flaring deep in her bones. “The same way you protected Maddie that night?”
Hurt, or maybe guilt, flashed across his face. Then, in an instant, it was gone.
“Why are you even here?” he spat, his voice slicing through the air between them. “Carter told me about the medicine you wanted.” His voice cracked slightly as he said his friend’s name. “And you got it, right? So why are you still here?”
By the way he said it, she knew it was more of a challenge than an actual question. He knew the reason.
“Enough,” James cut in, straightening up from where he’d stood crouched over the table. He looked between them, a hard, scolding look in his eyes. “We’ll assess all our options and decide tonight.”
