Sitting between Momma and Dad in the living room, watching baseball on the holovision, Dad’s shoulder brushing his, Momma’s hand in his hair. Kissing Delia in front of her locker after school and holding her hand as he walked her home. Even just play-wrestling with Braden when he’d spend the night.
What were Braden and Delia doing now? Probably kissing each other. Peter almost hoped they were. They probably thought he was dead, and he couldn’t blame them. Bet they’d been popular when he disappeared, had kids flocking to them, wanting to hear about their tragic friend. Someone should get something good out of it.
Peter rolled his head on his neck and groaned. His back was so stiff. His legs had felt like he’d ridden a bike from one side of the dome and back over and over by the time they’d gotten to this pooptank of a town. His knees weren’t wobbly anymore, but geez, his muscles ached. He straightened his legs, pointed his toes, and stretched as hard as he could.
Flix hummed and threw an arm and leg over Peter. The arm wrapped around Peter’s shins, and the leg snaked from his hips to his chin. Flix made a smacking noise with his lips, like he was chewing in his sleep, and settled down.
Now this was too much. Peter didn’t want to raise a fuss, but he was well aware of where his back and Flix’s front lined up, and he didn’t want to give Flix any icky ideas, even if he was asleep. He picked up Flix’s foot by the toes and started to peel his way out.
“Let him rest.”
Peter gasped and jumped and whacked Flix in the face with his heel. All Flix did in return was grip Peter’s legs tighter and maybe wipe his nose on Peter’s ankle.
Peter looked toward the noise and could just make out the grown-up lady’s bright red hair. Lil — was that her name? “You startled me.”
Her smile was bright in the dark room. “I’m sorry. That wasn’t my intention.”
It bothered Peter that all these brown people had big words, but this lady was too nice to get mad about. “It’s okay.”
She sat on the floor so her face was in front of his, not too close, just enough so Peter could have touched her if he’d wanted to. He looked down her body but couldn’t see anything in the dark, which was good, because peeking at a mom-type woman’s breasts was not a nice thing to do.
“Will you be able to sleep? Navi has some things that can help, if you need them.” She brushed her hand through his hair.
He must’ve seemed weak at dinner, crying and snotting. “I’ll be all right.”
She nodded. “Your traveling companions, the twins, Joe says they worked with him for the last couple of years, after I left. Devin, too, though not so long. The journey’s been hard on them. I haven’t seen Joe so thin since he was very young.”
That was more information than any of them had given Peter. Marcus had told him a bit, but it was mainly about where they worked, not about them personally. “I only came a day or so before we ran away.”
“What was your life like, before you came down here?”
Peter told her. He talked about school and how sometimes he and Braden would sneak into the movies or the pool. He told her about Mrs. Dogbreath and Principal Duncan and how excited he’d been to not be a freshman anymore. She settled in and rested her elbows on the sofa in front of him and listened.
Her eyes got big when he told her about the trip he took from Columbus to San Francisco to volunteer after the Great Flood. “I didn’t know there had been a flood. I was born near the San Francisco Bay, in San Jose.”
“Why in the world did you come down here?” Peter said it too loud, and Flix and Marcus both fidgeted. At least it made Flix turn over and get his arms and legs off Peter.
She smiled big. “I didn’t choose it. My mom died when Sadie was born, and my dad brought us down here so his mother, my abuela, could help him raise us. I cried the whole first year. I missed my mom and San Jose.” She stretched her arms over her head and yawned. “Is it gone now? We’d always been afraid something bad was coming. Kids said there’d be an earthquake so big it’d shove the whole bay right into our laps.”
There’d been no earthquake, just terrible rains. Momma and Dad had kept him from seeing the worst of it. He’d helped fill care packages in a big warehouse a couple hours away while his dad had tried to help with rescues. But he’d heard the stories. “I guess it’s probably a good thing you weren’t there.” He hesitated. “Lil? Is that... Can I call you...”
“Lil’s fine, sweetie.”
“Lil, what happened to you that made you become a...” Now that the words were out, Peter couldn’t say the last one, the ugly one. It seemed so at odds with this nice woman.
“Men killed my father when I was fifteen, too, Peter. I had nightmares for a long time. But I had two little sisters, and I had to take care of them, you know? However I could. No one does those things for fun.” She petted him the way he used to pet Delia’s puppy, hand over his hair and down his back. “Let’s get some rest.”
He watched her until she disappeared into the dark. Then he turned over and wrapped his arms around Flix’s legs and pulled him close.
EIGHT
Joe stretched and groaned, his overworked muscles both protesting and thrilling to the movement. He settled back against the mattress and Devin’s solid warmth. Dim
