Page 41 of Shattered Love

It was the first time one of us had admitted out loud what we faced each day. No guards had come knocking on our door in the past two weeks, but it was an entirely different story when we showed up at theirs.

“We don’t all need to go. You can stay behind,” I tried to reassure her.

She lifted her head off my shoulder, pleading eyes meeting mine. “And what if you die?”

I didn’t need to ask her to elaborate. The fear that someone around me would die was sometimes debilitating. But wasn’t that how everyone felt? How could we stand aside when we had the chance to change that?

I explained as much to Mina and I pinpointed the moment when my words began changing her mind.

“You’re going to go either way, aren’t you?” She asked, and I couldn’t hide my grimace.

She may have been the only one to figure that out. Even if the majority voted against it, I’d be going back to the camp. And I knew I wouldn’t be alone, Warner following my lead.

Slumping back against the headboard, she finally gave in. “I vote yes. But,” she held up a finger, “only if we all go. We’re in this together.”

I wrapped my arms around her, pulling her in for a hug. “We’re in this together. That’s what families do.”

Mina voiced her vote to everyone at dinner that night. Rainer and Aiden were in an uproar, but they were the minority and eventually they settled on frowning into their food, knowing they were outvoted.

The rest of the evening was quiet as we all headed to bed, no one wanting to discuss the plan yet. We still had five days, which meant for now, we were all going to live in a fantasy where we weren’t putting our lives on the line once again.

Sasha and Mina, as well as Murphy and Rainer, had gone to bed about an hour ago. Aiden had also slipped upstairs a little bit ago. I was supposed to be up there with him while Warner kept watch, but I also wanted to speak with him.

There were so few moments where I could speak to any of them alone. And I desperately needed to know more about this man. The one person who was willing to follow my madness, no questions asked.

“You should be sleeping,” Warner said as I crept into the living room.

He faced away from me, but I wasn’t surprised he knew it was me. He seemed to always know the score, one step ahead of the people around him.

I settled onto the couch beside him, curling my legs up in front of me. “I wasn’t tired.”

He finally turned toward me, tracking my features, before leaning in. “Liar.”

Giving up the game, knowing he could read me like a book, I rolled my eyes. “You’re right. I’m exhausted.”

“So why aren’t you sleeping?” He asked, gripping one of my ankles and tugging my body closer to his.

I hesitated, suddenly unsure of my intentions. Sure, I wanted to know more about him. I mean, we had spent months together and really all I knew was his name. But in the dark of night, with everyone else in the house sleeping, the questions on the tip of my tongue seemed too intimate.

Especially when he rubbed circles on my ankle, his gaze penetrating through my skin.

“Alessia, tell me why you’re down here,” he demanded.

The question spilled out of my mouth, his words hypnotizing me into following his instructions.

“Why do you want to send out the broadcast? I can’t figure out why. Either you have someone out there or you have a death sentence.”

He didn’t answer for several moments, his tongue pressing against his cheek as he tilted his head to study me. Finally, he said, “I don’t have somewhere out there.”

His words were said with such finality, I raised my brows. “No parents? Siblings? No one?”

I found that slightly hard to believe. He had to have someone, maybe even a close friend.

But he shook his head. “No one. Or at least, not anyone that I know of. I’m sure somewhere out there I have a mother and father.”

I pieced together his words, asking, “You didn’t grow up with your parents?”

“I grew up in a foster care in Colorado. Made my way out to Montana when I turned eighteen. I’ve been here ever since.”

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