The Ruins Of Tomorrow

16. Secrets

There was something bothering Dean. We had just come back a minute ago and a heavy weight hung in the air between the three of us. He swallowed hard, and he looked at me as if he had seen a ghost in the daylight. His biceps flexed as he crossed his board arms over his chest and lifted his palm right in my face before I was able to say something first.

"You went over the walls without my permission," he said in a serious tone.

I gulped hard, but tried to not show my emotions to him. "Lia needed assistance," I said. "She couldn't go alone."

The guards above the walls didn't seem to question me about it or were bothered at all. As a matter of fact, they almost seemed relieved to know somebody else was willing to do the dirty work instead of them.

Lia stepped forward beside me. She grabbed Dean's attention by waving her hand at his face. He turned to look at her with a dissatisfied glare. "Before you make a big deal out of this, let me just inform you that the two of us took down the couple of roamers that were wandering nearby. Tell your little crew of men that they don't have to worry about more coming soon. You should thank us for doing their job."

Dean lifted his chin. "It's only their job if I tell them to take care of it. I don't think I gave you that privilege yet, Lia."

Her fist formed into a ball, and she sighed. "Stop acting like we're fucking clueless about what's outside these walls, Dean. I always go prepared and carry my radio in case I need it. I don't see the problem here."

He looked straight at me after that, but then there was a gloss of guilt over his face. "We weren't gone for long," I finally said.

Dean looked down at the clock on his wrist. There was a tick before he lifted his head. "The servers are currently giving out food. Make sure to grab some before it's gone."

Lia glanced at me, and I looked ahead. My gaze was drawn to the tables situated outside, where I could observe people socializing and dining together. My eyes quickly caught sight of Ashley hunched over with Melissa next to her. A line of people were waiting for their food trays and my stomach growled at the scent of mashed potatoes and lemon cooked chicken.

Dean went ahead, scratching the back of his head and stopped when he reached where Ashley was. He looked concerned and so did she. There was a soft exchange of words before Dean gripped the side of his hair in frustration.

"I'll be back," Lia said. "I have to go look for my brother."

I simply nodded as she walked back to the apartment complex with her head down.

I walked close enough to the table before Ashley scoffed at me. My fingers tugged at my sleeves and I wanted to make a quick apology before I bothered to even eat.

"I can't believe you're still here," she said, standing up. "Want to know whose fault it is that Noah got hurt?"

"Drop it Ashley," Dean spoke up. "We're not here to cause any trouble just yet."

"Well shit backfired on us ever since we let her in," she said. "Now look at us. Noah barely survives, and she's still here."

That made Melissa finally look up from her plate. Her dark brows wrinkled by Ashley's statement and the muscles in her throat appeared strained like she was holding back. She put her attention on Dean, who was already casting a glare at everyone.

"What happened?" Melissa asked.

"Nothing," he coldly replied.

Ashley shrugged her shoulders and turned to look at her with such astonishment. "Oh, our sweet innocent Melissa. I can't believe Dean hasn't told you. Then again, it really doesn't surprise me because he doesn't tell you shit anymore. Like a little daddy's girl."