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He grabs my wrist, and for a second, I think of pushing him away and running off, but I ignore the feeling and stay. He brings my hand back to his face and greedily pours more water into his mouth until he’s almost choking on it.
“Whoa, not so fast,” I say, pulling it away before he drowns himself.
I screw on the lid and say, “We’ll get more …”
“Jules …” he mutters, grasping my wrist again. “Jules …”
I nod, tears welling up again.
In the dark, I can still see the shimmer in his eyes. “Jules … you … ran.” His voice is painful. Too painful.
I thought he’d be mad because he had to risk his life to save me. Instead, he’s mad because I broke my promise. Because I ran away from him.
This man never ceases to surprise me.
Still, I feel guilty as hell for having put him through this.
“I know,” I say, looking away. “Look, I can’t…”
He cups my chin and makes me look at him. I’m acutely aware of every single inch of his skin touching mine. “You’re safe,” he mumbles.
My lips part, but I don’t know what to say.
Is that all he cares about?
Not that I ran?
Not that I tried to get away from him and broke my promise?
Why?
But before I can ask him, he’s already closed his eyes again.
“So … tired.”
For a moment, I contemplate leaving because he’s okay now. He’s alive. He’ll be all right, won’t he?
Still, I can’t bring myself to actually move.
I lie down on the grass beside him and stare up at the bright stars and moon in the sky. I sigh and turn my head to look at him.
From this angle, and without the mud, he doesn’t look dangerous at all.
He looks … human.
Accompanying Song: “The Rocket Builder” by Johann Johannson
Lock
After a few minutes of rest, I’m much better. Saving her from falling was no easy feat, but I managed. Although I do feel like I pulled a muscle here and there, especially after lifting the metal.
I can’t believe I actually went to that damn cursed bird.
What I wouldn’t do for someone to talk to, huh?
Guess I’ve really lost it this time.
This girl … the moment I discovered she escaped, I ran right after her. Didn’t even bother securing the stuff at the hut so the animals wouldn’t take it. I just grabbed my spear and torch and hunted down her tracks.
It wasn’t hard … but when I found her, she was already crawling out of that metal monster again. Why did she go there in the first place?
She’s been running away from me ever since she got here. The jungle is no place for a woman like her.
I grumble as I rise to sit in the grass and look at what’s left of the metal bird.
Not much, other than a couple of loose, broken plates.
“Why did you come here?” I ask, gazing at her as she sits up too.
“I was looking for a phone. Something to contact the outside world with.”
I nod. Figured. She wants to get off this island so badly … while I’m doing everything I can to stay on it. Alone.
Guess that ship’s already sailed.
I shrug and get up off the ground, groaning when my muscles protest. I can’t be weak now. I have to get back to the hut first before I can rest.
Besides, I have someone else to look out for too now.
Someone who doesn’t even want to be here.
Sighing, I grasp the torch and the spear. Luckily, it didn’t burn down the whole jungle, just a small charred spot. After inspecting the area and making sure it’s safe, I turn around and start walking back. Or rather, stumbling. But I don’t care. I’ll get back to the hut anyway.
Her? I don’t know.
“Hey!” she says. “You … you’re going to leave?”
I don’t answer. It’s what she wanted, right?
To be alone?
Like me?
“Wait!” she says, her pretty footsteps audible behind me in the dirt.
For some reason, they make my heart squeeze.
Fuck.
I told myself I wouldn’t ever do this.
People.
Never again.
Yet here she is, tagging along behind me, following me back into the thick lushes of the jungle.
It’s quiet the entire way there except for our footsteps. I don’t speak. She doesn’t speak.
Exactly what I’m used to.
But when before it used to keep me calm, now it’s just getting on my nerves.
She’s never been this quiet before. She always threw questions at me whenever she had the chance, and now they’re all gone. I kinda miss them.
Maybe she’s finally learned I don’t have the answers she seeks.
But when I glance at her over my shoulder, I realize that’s not the case. Her brows drawn together, she keeps looking down at the ground as if she’s trying to be invisible.
I don’t understand why.
I don’t understand a whole lot about people. That’s why I wanted to get away from them in the first place.
