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Chapter Eight
Drones
Therewassilencebetween us after I revealed that part of my past to Sam. He didn’t ask questions, just sat still beside me, taking it in. We were strangers, but I knew the information upset him. A few long sighs left his chest in somber thought. The air felt heavy between us, and I waited for him to speak.
I thought he had fallen asleep until his hand touched my cheek, turning me to face him.
“He has a key, Row,” he said.
“Huh?” I replied.
“Dean has a key to this room. It’s how he got in yesterday. I saw him use it. He must have taken one when he took me, or maybe he had it all along.”
“Oh.” I rubbed my temples with my hand and thought for a moment. “I know, and I’m not surprised. It’s good to keep that in mind, but there isn’t much we can do about it.”
Sam sat up and scanned the room. We could hear BeLew playing on their side. He reached out and gave the edge of the table a gentle tug, and it moved away from the wall. “We can wedge this between the edge of the bed and the door. It will fit and keep the door jammed shut.” He pushed the table back to the wall and lay back down.
I considered what he said, but it confused me. “Why does it matter so much? Dean won’t hurt us. I-I mean, I know he took some sick pleasure in your suffering the other day. But he fixed you up, and trust me, he didn’t have to.”
Sam’s eyes darkened. “You said I can’t touch you around Dean. How will we sleep at night, knowing he can barge in whenever he wants? I have to hold you or someone falls off the bed.”
“I guess you won’t,” I stammered. I felt my cheeks flush. “The bed is small, but I can sleep with my back to you.” I turned away from him and pushed my hips flush to the wall. Our entire bodies still touched, but if Dean walked in, he wouldn’t think much of our embrace.
Sam cleared his throat and said nothing. I scaled the wall a bit to lift myself. It was awkward and ridiculous. I wanted Sam to hold me at night, and I didn’t know why. I wanted him to hold me right now, but it was time to leave soon and meet Lori.
God, I need a watch and to get my head on straight.
“I’m heading to meet with a woman named Lori. She runs the mess hall, and she has two boys. We are letting the kids play.”
“That’s good.” Sam’s tone was short. He didn’t offer to move as I tried to shift my body over him to exit the bed. When my right foot hit the floor, he gripped my hips as they hovered over him and pulled me down. If Dean came in and saw me straddling Sam, there would be nothing but toilets in Sam’s future.
“Sam,” I whispered. “We have been through a traumatic event. That can, um, alter your view on things.”
“Do you want me to touch you, Rowen? Do you want me to hold you?”
I remained silent.
I wanted that more than anything.
A rush of heat filled my body. It made my skin prickle and my nipples harden. I closed my eyes and for a moment, imagined what it would be like to give myself to Sam, to start over with this new family. It was a fantasy and a damn good one.
I knew so little about Sam, but I felt the chemistry between us. Mysterious and attractive, everything about him drew me in. Both of us had a past we were happy to forget. Both of us felt protective of each other. Both of us had to sleep in this very tiny bed and pretend to be married.
“I have to go,” I argued, pushing his hands off my body. His face hardened, and he turned away from me, covering himself with the sheet. No one liked rejection.
“BeLew, it’s time to go.” I opened the divider and grabbed a key. “I’ll bring you back some food.” We left the room as he muttered, “Thank you,” and I shut the door behind us.
That was how I showed I cared for him. Keeping him at a distance kept him safe. Explaining what Dean had done in the past, what he could do to our future, would only entice Sam. Even though I knew very little about him, I recognized his type. He was an alpha, someone who didn’t back down from a fight. The kind of man that ran toward a fire or someone’s cry for help. I needed to extinguish the flames, not fan them.
BeLew knew the route to the mess hall, but I had studied the map of the ship during my sleepless night without Sam. I wanted to try another route and get a better layout of where we were, and we had time. I ushered the boys to follow me and they trotted along, happy for an adventure.
I sprinted to the first window I had seen in days. It was a small porthole, but the sun shone through, and I lifted the boys to look outside. We were high inside the ship, the water far beneath us splashed on the sides, causing white sprays of mist stories below. We moved quickly from what I could see, yet I felt nothing as a passenger.
Almost everything on the floors appeared to be closed metal doors and corridors to more of the same. There were numbers and names on each one. A few restrooms and a maintenance room were the only change in scenery. We all made it to the mess hall on time without getting too turned around.
Lori rushed out of the kitchen when she saw me and untied her apron. “You have impeccable timing,” she beamed. “I just set out some sandwiches for everyone. The boys are washing up.”
We ate together while the boys discussed the start of school. I let Lori talk, taking in the information as if I knew it already. The school was in the Classis rooms. We would walk by them on our way to the top deck. They started the week with assessments and then divided classrooms by skill level rather than age. Someone would be available in all Classis rooms at 0500 hours until 1900 hours.
