AllFreeNovel
Share Us
The little I had seen of their life on the ranch had been absolutely horrifying and dehumanizing, and sometimes when I looked at Harlow, I almost suffocated under the guilt of it.
I should’ve found her sooner. I never should’ve let her out of my sight. I should’ve looked and looked until it killed me.
Even with the length of the journey, neither Harlow nor Kimber said much, but Nova and I didn’t press them. They ate all the provisions we’d brought – some venison jerky and dried apples – and gulped down as much water as Nova permitted. They were clearly exhausted, but they hardly slept when we stopped to camp out.
Kimber attempted to make friends with the wolfdogs, but Frost and Sable were still wary around strangers. Harlow didn’t seem that interested in anything outside of food and water, but I hoped that would change for the better with time and rest.
When we finally arrived at Nova’s farmhouse, Kimber complimented the farm and asked about meeting the other animals, but Harlow said nothing until we were alone in the kitchen.
I had been a little afraid that Nova would want to chain them up downstairs, the way she had with me, but Harlow and Kimber made the journey from the ranch without any obvious signs, so it seemed like a safe bet that they were uninfected. For me, the risk was worth it, since locking them in the basement would traumatize them even more.
Fortunately, Nova seemed to agree, because she led them right into the house and started talking about their accommodations. They would apparently be taking her room on the second floor, since it had a large queen-sized bed, and she went upstairs with Kimber to show her the full washroom where she could shower and get a change of clean clothes.
Harlow lingered by the front door, as if afraid to step too far into the house, and she pulled at the ratty long sleeves of her shirt.
“Is it safe here?” she asked, and she spoke so quietly, I leaned in to hear her better.
“Yeah,” I assured her, but then quickly corrected myself because I didn’t want to make guarantees that weren’t true. “I mean, I don’t know Nova that well, but she’s been good to me since I’ve been here. She helped me find you without expecting anything in return.”
“Good,” she said, but she didn’t seem any more relaxed.
After Kimber came downstairs, singing the praises of a hot shower, it was Harlow’s turn in the bathroom. Nova went out to tend to the animals and see how they’d fared with our extended absence, while I stayed in the kitchen doing my best to throw together a feast for the girls.
When she came down from the shower, with Nova’s sweater baggy on her, Harlow seemed much closer to her normal self. The color had returned to her cheeks, and she looked at my quick potato dumplings and wild turkey with hunger – which was really the first emotion I’d seen in her eyes other than abject horror.
Once again, Harlow and Kimber devoured their food in haste. They’d gone back for seconds and licked their plates clean before Nova and I had even finished our firsts.
“If it’s okay with you, I think I would like to head up and get some rest,” Harlow said after a barely suppressed yawn.
“Yeah, we could both use the rest,” Kimber agreed, and to her point, she looked like she was about to fall asleep sitting up at the kitchen table.
“That’s fine,” I said, because I wasn’t about to deny them that. Harlow got up, and I followed suit, asking her, “Can we talk for a second first?”
“Sure,” she replied but she sounded uneasy.
“Just come to my room for a minute.” I motioned for her to follow me to the back of the house.
“I’ll help Nova clear the table,” Kimber offered, and I momentarily left them to deal with the dishes.
I flicked on the light in my bedroom, and Harlow gave the groovy neon wallpaper a curious glance.
“What did you need from me?” she asked.
“I wanted to give you your stuff back. I didn’t know exactly when would be the right time, but I thought you’d like to have it again.”
I opened the nightstand drawer and pulled out her sketchbook along with her battered copies of her dictionary and Little Women. Harlow rushed over and practically snatched the sketchbook from my hands.
“You saved this?” she asked in a trembling voice, and she ran her hand over the cover without opening it.
“Of course I did. And I kept this too.” I took off her golden cross necklace that I’d been wearing tucked under my shirt, and when she looked up at me, I carefully draped it over her head.
She touched it gingerly with her fingers, saying nothing for a moment, and then she suddenly began to weep. Tears poured down her face, and what came out of her mouth was something like a wail and a scream.
Her legs went out from underneath her, and I caught her, holding her in my arms as I lowered us both to the floor. She clung to me as she sobbed into my shoulder, with the raw agony pouring out of her, and all I could do was hold her.
“I’m so sorry,” I whispered into her hair, my own voice thick with tears. “I will never let anyone hurt you like that again, Harlow. I promise. I am so, so sorry. I love you so much.”
“What’s going on?” Kimber asked, suddenly in my room and looking down at us with concern.
