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Of course, Saff would know. She was—one of them. She’d probably done exactly that to countless other communities.
A sick feeling coursed through her stomach.
For all she knew, Saff could’ve somehow helped them get past the wall.
No.
Even after what Saff had said, Maddie knew she would never betray them like that—never betrayherlike that.
And that made her even angrier. The fact that, even after hearing the truth, she still somehow—trusted her.
She’d still been willing to risk her life to find her.
“If you had to bet, is that what your guess would be?” her father asked.
They all went quiet, waiting for her response. And maybe she was imagining it, but she could’ve sworn the entire room quieted, waiting for the answer.
It wasn’t so much a sigh that Saff released before answering, but more a forced release of air.
“I think it was a test,” she said quietly. “I think they broke through to see how you’d respond to an attack. Where you’d get weapons, how long it’d take, how many people would fight back or run.”
Saff cleared her throat. “I think they’ll be back. Soon.”
Chapter thirty-five
Saff’s eyes burned with exhaustion as she gazed out the front window of the medical building, watching as the dark night sky slowly lightened into a morning blue hue.
Time seemed to have warped since the night Sarah’s water broke. She couldn’t keep track of the hours. It was as if they were wildly oscillating between moving in slow motion, like it wasn’t even real, and skipping by like she wasn’t there at all.
“Mom? Dad?”
Saff jumped slightly. She hadn’t noticed Maddie wake up, even though she’d chosen to rest in the chair closest to her bed.
She cleared her throat and stood, walking to the edge of the bed.
“Your mom’s asleep,” she whispered, although it came out in more of a mumbled rasp than actual coherent words. “Your dad went to find Josh.”
Maddie pushed herself up on the bed, the sleep on her face quickly overshadowed by concern.
“How long was I asleep?”
Saff glanced out the window again at the blueish gray streaks painted through the sky. “Most of the night. It’s almost morning.”
Now the concern on Maddie’s features slipped into fear. “Josh didn’t come back all night?”
“No.”
Maddie’s head lowered, her brows knitting together. Saff watched as she carefully tucked her injured arm into her lap.
“Did you sleep at all?” Maddie muttered.
Saff glanced back out the window for a second before looking back at Maddie. “No.”
Maddie shook her head, letting out a snort that held no amusement. “That’s stupid.”
Anger flared up in her chest.
Maddie was the one that was stupid, risking her life so blatantly for—her. She wanted to yell at her—to hurl every raging word at her and tell her how wrong she was for having done that.
