Page 85 of The Pilot

He refused, saying if she wanted to sit out in the cold, she’d have to go alone. Kash knew she’d been kidding herself, thinking her ex would come back . . . at least anytime soon.

He still thought Donny would return eventually. He had to. He couldn’t actually mean to leave them out here all winter. He reminded himself over and over that Donny was an asshole, not a killer . . .

Kash hoped.

In the meantime, he was making the most of a horrible situation. After practically dragging her away from the dock, they headed to the closest cabin. But as soon as he approached, Kash knew it wasn’t ideal. Yes, it was closest to the dock, but the door was standing wide open. He supposed it had blown open in one of the winter storms. There was still snow inside the one-room cabin, and there were clear signs that animals had taken the opportunity to make themselves comfortable inside. The couch was ripped to shreds, and there were animal feces all over the floor.

Kash felt bad for the owners. They wouldn’t be happy when they came back after the weather warmed and saw what had happened to their cabin over the winter. He’d closed the door as best he could and continued on to the next place.

That one had looked much more promising, except he couldn’t get inside. The windows were all covered in boards that were nailed on, and without tools, he couldn’t figure out how to get in.

The next two cabins were the same—but the fifth cabin they approached was the one. There weren’t any boards over the windows, and while the door was securely latched, he was able to bust out one of the smaller windows and crawl inside. He couldn’t help but smile at the fact that one of the only reasons he was able to get in so easily was because of his skinny frame.

He’d unlocked the front door for Ginger and left her huddled on the small couch, still crying, while he explored.

He’d found the blankets and the food, then tried to reassure Ginger, but she was still lost in her own misery.

The night had been long and cold. Even with the blankets, the house was freezing. Figured that Donny would choose to strand them on this island on the coldest weekend they’d had in several weeks. At one point during the night, Kash had lain down next to Ginger on the couch, under several blankets, and held her as she cried in his arms. He had no problem sharing body heat, and it felt good that he’d been able to comfort her a little—at least, he hoped he had.

He felt no attraction toward the girl. He couldn’t forget all the awful things she’d said and done to him. But he also wasn’t a monster.

He didn’t understand why Donny couldn’t simply move on. If a girl said she didn’t want to be with him anymore, Kash wouldn’t waste his time trying to win her back. Why would he want to date someone who didn’t want to date him? It made no sense.

Now it was morning, and Kash needed to pee. But he dreaded getting out from underneath the covers. It was going to be downright icy, but the longer he lay there, the more he had to go.

“Ginger? Are you awake?”

She mumbled something that Kash didn’t catch.

“What?”

“We’re going to die out here.”

Kash rolled his eyes—again. The drama was starting first thing. It was more than obvious that this girl had never had to struggle a day in her life. Which, good for her, but it made being stuck in this situation with her very annoying.

“I need to pee,” he said bluntly. “You want to come with me?”

“To pee?” she said, almost hysterically. “No!”

“I didn’t mean to watch or anything. But you probably need to go too.”

“I’m holding it. There’s no way I’m peeing outside.”

“Suit yourself,” Kash said, thinking she was being ridiculous. It wasn’t as if they had running water in this cabin. He’d already checked.

He scooted out from under the blankets and shivered as the cold morning air hit him. It would be even chillier outside, but he couldn’t wait another second to pee.

Walking outside made Kash catch his breath. It was definitely colder out here, but as he looked around, he found it surprisingly peaceful. He could see the water between the trees and was drawn in that direction. He wanted to see if he could spot something . . . anything. Maybe land, or a boat, or some kind of civilization.

He stopped to piss against a tree on his way toward the water, and felt much better now that his bladder was empty. Kash wasn’t sure where they were going to find fresh water to drink, but he’d worry about that later.

Just as he cleared the trees near the house they’d commandeered, the sun peeked out over the horizon.

Kash knew a lot of details about the sun. It was a yellow dwarf star, it traveled at an average speed of seven hundred and twenty thousand kilometers an hour around the Milky Way, and it was absolutely huge—about one point three million Earths could fit inside it.

But staring at it rising, as if coming out of the ocean, had him forgetting all the facts he’d learned and simply appreciating its existence.

It was silly, but he could’ve sworn he felt warmer when the first ray of sunshine hit his face. He closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. The cold air almost burned his lungs, but he felt alive. There was absolutely no sound out here. There was nothing but Kash and nature all around him. He didn’t think he’d ever be the kind of person who enjoyed hunting or spending a lot of time doing outdoor stuff, but in this moment in time, he could understand why people climbed mountains, hiked across the country, or otherwise chose to spend large amounts of time camping.