Page 70 of Harbor (The Wanderers 3)

Chapter 27

It seemed like hours but had probably only been minutes before Maya spoke. “Sorry about that,” she finally said. “I snapped.”

“It’s okay. I should have brought you outside a few times in the past week. I knew you didn’t like to be cooped up like that. You told us a dozen times, but I wasn’t thinking.”

She dropped her forehead onto her knees and rocked back and forth. Deep breaths. Fresh air. Open space.

“I’m not strong enough to walk back to the compound,” she admitted.

“No. Not yet.”

“Can we just sit here for a while? Do you think it’s safe?”

“Yes. Totally safe. We’re fine. We can sit here as long as you’d like.”

“Keanu and Advic are going to be worried.”

“They understand. I bet they’ll even bring us something to eat soon. You must be hungry.”

She hadn’t thought about that, but he was right.

She glanced at him. “How do you do it? How do you stay underground so long like that?”

He shrugged. “I don’t know. People are all wired differently.”

She nodded slowly and then shook her head. “No. It’s not how I’m wired. It’s because I was trapped underground once for a week,” she told him, surprising herself.

His eyes widened. “When you were attacked? Five years ago?”

She shook her head. “No. When I was twelve.”

“Sweetheart, I’m so sorry. Can you tell me about it?”

She shrugged. “I guess so. You know everything else about me.”

He chuckled. “I like knowing everything about you. You’re important to me. I want to understand. The more I know, the more I can accommodate your needs. We all can. Advic and Keanu too.”

Maya stared at the ground for a long time again. Did she really want to tell him her story? It wasn’t like it was a secret, but would it do more harm than good? Would talking about it bring it to the surface and cause her to have nightmares again? Or would it perhaps help purge it and chase the nightmares away?

Shadows loomed over her before she realized Advic and Keanu had joined them. They both dropped down on the ground in front of her, facing her.

She lifted her face, took a deep breath, and smiled. “Sorry about the panic attack. Things just kind of closed in on me, and I couldn’t stop the momentum once it started.”

“It’s okay, hon,” Keanu reassured her, holding out a towel wrapped around a sandwich. “Hungry?”

“Starving.” She took it from him and unballed herself a bit, stretching out her legs, wincing again when she unfolded her bum leg. “I’m like a five-year-old who decided to run away from home and made it to the treehouse in the backyard before giving up.”

Advic snickered. “Did you have a treehouse growing up? I’ll be jealous if you did.”

“God no. I wouldn’t be this fucked in the head if I’d lived in a house with a yard and space to breathe.” She took a bite of the sandwich, grateful for these men who always came through for her.

After chewing and swallowing, she took a sip of the water Advic offered her and then chuckled. “You guys are too good to me. Haven’t I freaked you out yet? Wouldn’t you like to drop me off at the nearest bus stop with a one-way ticket to anywhere?”

Dario was the one to laugh this time. “All this talk of bus stops and treehouses makes me think you once had a normal life.”

“Nope. I’ve never been on a bus either.”

“Where did you grow up, hon?” Keanu asked.

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