Page 115 of Lethal Weakness

She’s looking down at me from the entrance to the cellar, and Avery is beside her, crying. I look down at my empty arms where I just held her.

“Run! Get out of here!” My plea doesn’t carry; it’s drowned out by an explosion.

An explosion that levels the entire house.

The wooden door above me falls closed in slow motion, taking their faces from me.

Taking them from me.

“No!”

I launch up out of a dead sleep, heaving for air. Sweat coats my skin as I desperately blink my confusion away.

“Are you okay?” Linden’s whisper breaks through the noise in my head. She’s leaning on her elbow, looking at me from my childhood bed.

I offered to sleep in here so they could have the big bed in the other room, but I’m too big for the twin bed, so I ended up on the floor.

When I still can’t catch my breath, she crawls off the bed, joining me on the floor. Her hands search my face in the dark, soothing my tension.

“It was a bad dream,” I utter, focusing on her touch.

“I can tell.”

“Why are you in here?” My words come out more clipped than I intend them to because I still don’t quite have my bearings. I reach out to her, tugging her leg onto my lap so she knows I want her to stay.

“Avery wanted to sleep in the sailboat bed. When I saw you were on the floor, I figured that you wouldn’t mind.”

“I don’t mind.”

“I know.” She smiles, and I can barely make it out in the dark room. Her hand pushes at my chest until I fall back onto my makeshift floor bed, and she follows, resting her head on my chest.

My arms tighten around her until it finally feels like I can breathe steadily again.

“I like having you like this,” I murmur into the darkness.

Her fingers trace my neck, and she kisses my chest. “Whatever happens next, wherever we go. I hope we get more time together like this.”

“Where do you want to go?”

“I don’t know. I’ve never given it much thought because I’ve always been too busy surviving.”

“Forget the logistics. What do you want for you and for Avery?”

She contemplates silently for a few moments. “I want a home that we can live in forever. With a school district that Avery will thrive in. I’ve always wanted to live somewhere where I could walk to the park, and she could play. Somewhere with families, where I’m not constantly checking over my shoulder.”

“You should have had that a long time ago. I’m sorry that you’ve been let down so many times.”

“You’d think I’d be numb to it by now.”

“I’m glad you’re not numb. You feel everything, and I love that about you. You’ve made me feel things that I haven’t felt in years. Or, ever.”

“It’s a privilege having that effect on you,” she whispers. “I like seeing behind the mask.” The tip of her finger traces my face softly.

“You’re the only one who has ever gotten close enough to see me.” I tip her chin up, so I can capture her lips. “It’s saved my life.”

“Your entire team was KIA. You’re the only survivor.”

“No.”