“Sorry,” she murmurs.
Doesn’t ease up even slightly.
Of course she doesn’t.
I watch her while she works.
Loose strands of hair whip across her face in the wind. Dirt streaks one cheek. Her fingers move quickly and efficiently against my side.
Then they tremble.
Just once.
Small enough most people would miss it.
I don’t.
“You should’ve said something,” she mutters.
“And distract you?”
Her jaw tightens.
“I don’t panic.”
A humorless huff leaves me. “Could’ve fooled me earlier.”
Her hands still.
Only for a second.
Then they start moving again.
“That was different.”
“How?”
She keeps her eyes on the bandage. “They needed me.”
The words come out quietly.
Honestly.
Like she didn’t mean to say them aloud.
Yeah.
I already figured that out.
“You almost got yourself killed protecting them,” I say.
She doesn’t answer.
The silence says enough.
I look down at her hands again.
Still shaking.
