The Key to My Hart

Chapter 24

My eyes squinted at the brightness of the sun streaming in through the window. Lacy had raised one of the blinds to peer outside. Her brother was no longer asleep on the couch. It seemed as if I was the last one to rise.

My body and mind felt fresh and ready for the new day. I stretched my arms over my head and heard cracking and popping of my joints settling into place. There was a can of unopened peaches beside me on the side table.

"Is this for me?" I held up the can and shook it towards Lacy. She finally turned away from the window.

"Obviously." She rolled her eyes. "Josh is in the backyard looking through the garden." I could hear her heartbeat elevate slightly.

"What?" I jumped to my feet, the forgotten can falling to the floor with a solid thud. "We don't even know who or what is in the area. Foolish boy is going to expose us."

I started to stomp towards the back door, but Lacy called out after me. "There's a privacy fence around the backyard. No one will see him. And we did survive without you."

I paused and looked back at her. The filtered sunlight caused a halo effect around her small frame. "Okay. I shouldn't jump to conclusions. I just feel like the two of you are now my responsibility. I don't want either of you getting hurt... or worse."

She shrugged and moved away from the window. "It's not your fault." Lacy skipped towards the couch and picked up her book.

I glanced towards the kitchen where the back door was. These kids weren't mine. Who was I to boss them around? There was no internal warning bells blaring at me. Josh would be okay. I picked the can of peaches back up and found the bottle of iron pills.

I shook the bottle gently. I could hear a few rattling around. Definitely less than I thought I had. Must have taken more last night than I remembered. It wouldn't last me long, so a trip to a pharmacy would be necessary. It will be too dangerous to take the children with me. After the iron pills last night and the deep sleep, I felt as if I could breathe fully again. The world seemed so... alive. Or maybe it was me that was alive.

Lacy walked across the carpeted floor, kicking dust in the air. I crinkled my nose at the smell and waited until she had walked past to crack open the can of peaches. The sugary fruit swam in thick syrup. My mouth watered. At least I was still able to crave and eat food other than meat. I squashed a piece between my fingers and plopped it into my mouth.

I sighed contentedly and buried down into the cushions of the chair. The back door creaked open. I sat up a bit but relaxed at spotting Josh in the kitchen with his sister. They were talking in low voices as Josh set several different raw vegetables onto the table. I went back to eating my peaches.

The sound of running water had me back in my feet and standing in the doorway of the kitchen in less than a minute. My jaw hung open watching Josh rinse the vegetables off.

"How does this place have running water?" The sound of the water splashing in the sink was like music to my ears, but also made me cringe at how much was going down the drain.

"Dad said this neighborhood was part of a program that decided to go green. Every house on this street has solar panels mounted on the roof." Josh shrugged.

Lacy eyed me from where she sat at the old wooden table. "You could probably go take a shower." Her nose crinkled up.

It was Josh's turn to study me. He grimaced. "Since we haven't used much of the energy stored in the battery, there should be plenty of power for all of us to have showers tonight as well as cook us some food."

"Do you know how to cook?" I asked skeptically.

"Duh." Josh busied himself with the food again.

I gnawed on my lower lip and looked up at the ceiling as I considered what to do. The only showers were up stairs, and it would be too late for me to react if something came through the doors and l went after the kids. But I knew I needed a bath. I may be able to heal, but that didn't protect me from the grime and layers of dirt I had accumulated while wondering around half dead.