Page 10 (2/2)

He shoves aHe plucks bandages, ointet those?’

‘Alcatraz Thought they ht be useful’

‘What else did you find there?’

‘An abandonedbroken,’ he says

‘Did you know that could happen? That hellions could coel sword?’

‘I’ve heard stories but always thought they were ht into such things Beliel ured he could try to lure soentle as he wipes antibacterial lotion on the cuts ‘You need to be careful The hellions are going to be everywhere you are from now on’

‘What do you care? You’ll be out of s back You’ve made that pretty clear’

He takes a deep breath He presses a gauze pad on ently strokesup the gauze ‘But it’s not I have my own people I have responsibilities I can’t just--’

‘Stop’ I shake ht You have your life I have mine I don’t need to be with soh of those people inus with an out-of-service phone nu address, and whose irl An I-didn’t-even-know-soirl And you deserve so in his life because you are Sos just for you’

‘You’re s ‘Or whatever it is that decent h he should be able to protect you Don’t settle for a man who can’t protect you’ He rips a piece of tape fro a far poke to protectyou should pick a man who knows that he’s not worthy of you and ill dedicate his life to provide for you and protect you’ He presses another piece of gauze next to the first one I wince again ‘And make sure he’s kind to you and treats you with respect in every way Otherwise, he can expect a visit from me’ His voice is hard and unmerciful

I shake my head as he rips off another piece of tape I don’t knohether to be mad at hi that hs He reaches out and runs his fingers gently along the last piece of tape that he put on e

I wait for hi about what’s happening between us makes any difference at all Maybe what I really need is a little space to figure things out I grab the sword and a can of tuna and head out the back door

10

Outside, I stand in the sun and let the warmth soak into my bones I take a deep breath full of the scent of roseic in the warht He used to tell us that if we close our eyes, take a big breath, and let the sun soak in, we’ll see that everything is going to be okay He usually said that right after Mo things around the condo

Hell, if Dad’s technique can work for one of Mom’s marathon fury sessions, then it should work for the apocalypse Guys, though, that’s another matter I’m pretty sure that Dad wouldn’t have a technique that could handle what’s going on with Raffe

There are tiny yelloers dotting the hillside of the island, reo to without of place is the sroup of irl with bruises all over her body