Grim Echoes

Chapter 35 - Will

Will tipped his flask back, disappointed it was empty. Fuck! Gonna to have to take care of that once they were on the road. He poked his head into Mason's fridge to see if she had any beer, which thankfully, there were three. Satisfied after downing two, he continued to the room and stretched his neck and arms out, still stiff from driving all night.

He opened the door to announce they needed to get on the road and found them asleep on the couch holding each other, like they had at the motel. Heat spread in his limbs. What the fuck was that? Ander knew better. He was on watch, it'd only been one day. Will moved to the couch and kicked Ander in the back of the leg before he stepped back.

In a blur of movement, Ander rolled off the couch and twisted his body so his feet landed on the ground and pulled his knife before his eyes opened. Just as he was about to strike, he recognized Will and slumped to the floor. Maeve stirred on the couch. She had no idea what'd happened, except that Ander was on the floor.

"Will?" she mumbled.

Damn, she was pretty, even when she woke up. Her tousled hair begged him to run his hands through it. He shook his head and reminded himself he was pissed. "You were on watch," he spat at Ander and ignored her question.

She frowned and moved to sit, and scooted closer to Ander. Will gritted his teeth.

"Yes." Ander flicked his eyes to the floor.

"And?" Will paced near the table.

Ander shrugged. "This is the only place where it is safe to sleep,"

Maeve put her hand on his shoulder. What the fuck was that? Moral support? Will grumbled and flexed his arms.

"You know better. I said keep to the code while we were gone."

Mason ambled in and sat in her recliner. She'd showered. He needed a shower. 

"Will stop throwing a tantrum. You were asleep yesterday," she reminded him.

He stopped pacing and glared at Maeve. She recoiled from his gaze. Had to be her. Maybe that was her latent ability. Make people tired? Seemed kinda pointless unless she was gonna do something to them while they slept. She needed to get her hands off Ander.

"Now what we do need to discuss, is the use of my bathroom," Mason said, her voice somewhere between irritation and amusement.

Will delighted as Ander's body stiffened. He'd told Ander not to let Maeve in Mason's bathroom, but he'd insisted, and now there was gonna be hell to pay. Besides, their bathroom wasn't that bad. He sauntered to the door.

"I'm taking a shower,"

Just as he grabbed the knob, he sensed someone behind him. He spun and knew it wasn't a monster, but unable to control his instinctual reaction. Maeve's dark eyes widened, and she put her hands up.

"I just... I'm glad you're ok and everything turned out, you know, good."

Will stood, unsure of how to react. To his surprise, she reached for him and hugged him. For a second he hesitated, but then hugged her back and enjoyed her softness against him. His irritation melted away. When she pulled back, he almost didn't let go.

"Sorry, I just, well, I was worried about you." she smiled shyly at him.

Lightheaded, he didn't trust himself to speak, so instead he nodded and left the room. Last thing he saw out of the corner of his eye was Ander glaring at him.