Feeding Frenzy

Chapter 30

Evey read from the same children's book as she had done every night for over a week. Josie and Joey did not complain. They enjoyed the small sense of normalcy. Josie kept Chester in her arms as she fell asleep.

The house was dark when Evey left the twins' room. She dragged her fingertips along the wall as she went down the hall. She had checked on Harrington before putting the kids to bed, so she knew he was asleep. She was slow as she came down the stairs because she was afraid to fall.

A single candle was burning in the living room. Evey lit it before the house got dark. The smell of Ocean Breeze was fighting with the smell of decaying bodies. She made her way over to the couch.

The front door opened, and Ford walked in. He set the gun down by the door. He walked over to Evey and flopped down on the couch. He sighed before running his fingers through his hair.

"Kids in bed?" he asked.

"They are," Evey said. "I'll check on them in a little bit."

"Harrington?"

"Still breathing."

"Good."

Ford shifted his weight on the couch to get closer to Evey. He put his arm on the back of the couch. It was a simple gesture that she was used to seeing boys do when she was younger. She did expect such an innocent gesture from Ford. She turned on the couch to face him. Her chest tightened, and her heart pounded when he touched her shoulder.

"You okay?" he asked.

She raised a brow. "What do you mean?"

"What happened out there must have been pretty traumatic."

Evey shuddered, remembering the feeling of Harrington's bone cracking under her knife. Thankfully, Fiona and Roger had shielded the twins from the horrendous scene. Anjo could not make eye contact with Evey after the whole ordeal.

"It's okay," she said.

"Is it?" Ford asked.

Evey let out a deep breath.

"I'm glad Josie and Joey did not see it," she said.

He brushed a piece of Evey's curly hair off her shoulder. She struggled to breathe when he leaned forward. Why did he have such an effect on her? She could not understand it.

"You're too sweet," he said.

He cupped the side of her face. His hand was rough against her skin. Evey's breath caught in her throat when his scent engulfed her. Why could she not think straight?

"I thought about last night," he said.

The corner of Evey's lips tugged into a smile. She had been thinking about their kiss a lot. She was glad Ford had been thinking about it too.

"Yeah?" Evey asked.

"Yes." Ford nodded. "I liked it."

Evey instinctively leaned forward and closed the gap between them. Her heart fluttered as his lips were soft against hers. It was tender until Ford bit down on Evey's bottom lip. She gasped, and he took the opportunity to caress his tongue along hers. Evey moaned, and Ford grabbed her hips. Their lips broke for a moment as Ford pulled Evey onto his lap. Ford kept her close as they kissed.

Gomez's comments replayed in her mind. She had only kissed Ford, but did the group assume they had done more? Did the group believe Gomez's accusations?

Evey pulled away from Ford. His eyes were closed. He curled his fingers deeper into her hips as he tried to pull her closer. She put her hand on his chest. His eyes opened, and his brows furrowed.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"Gomez," she said.

Ford rolled his eyes.

"Don't bring up his name right now," he said. "Don't worry about him."

"He saw us last night, didn't he?" she asked.

Ford hesitated and bit down on his lip, answering Evey's question.

"Oh my God." She covered her mouth with her hands. "Why did you lie to me?"

Ford sighed and pulled her hands off her face.

"I didn't want you to worry," he said. "It's alright. No one believes him. They think that he is an ass."

"You're sure?" she asked.

"Positive."

Evey leaned down and kissed Ford. She barely heard the stairs creak. She did not pull away until she heard a soft voice.

"Evey?"

She scrambled to get off Ford's lap. She stumbled as she took a step forward. She squinted to see Josie standing at the top of the stairs. Chester was clutched in her arm, and she had her thumb in her mouth. Evey rushed toward her.

"What's wrong?" Evey asked.

"I heard a noise," Josie said.

They were both silent for a moment. A groan was coming from down the hall. Harrington was awake.

"It's okay," Evey said. She reached down and grabbed Josie's hand. "Let's get you back to bed."

They navigated their way through the dark house and back to the bedroom. Joey was asleep as Josie crawled back into bed. Evey tucked Josie in and ran her finger through Josie's blonde hair before leaving.

The groaning continued from Harrington's room. Evey knocked and then nudged the door open to see Harrington unable to settle on the bed. A candle flickered on the nightstand providing a faint glow in the room. He was holding onto his stump of an arm. Sweat was breaking out across his forehead. He opened his eyes when he heard the door creak open.

"How are you doing?" Evey asked.

She knew that it was a stupid question. He was obviously in horrible pain.

"Hanging in there," Harrington said.

"Hate me yet?" she asked.

He let out a chuckle and shook his head. The sound did not match the situation. Evey took a step into the room. She checked her watch before grabbing the bag of medical supplies.

"Hate you?" Harrington asked. "You're taking care of me."

Evey smiled as she pulled out a bottle of pain medication. She poured two into her hand before grabbing a water bottle.

"Can you sit up a bit?" Evey asked. "Your antibiotics aren't due yet, but I can give you something for the pain."

"Yes, please," he said.

Harrington winced as he pushed himself up higher with his good arm. Evey passed him the pills and then the water. He swallowed the medication.

"Thank you," he said before laying back down.

"I'll check on you in a bit," she said.

Harrington let out a deep breath before closing his eyes. Evey left, and she kept the door open a crack. She dragged her feet to the remaining free bedroom. She kicked her shoes off before crawling onto the bed.

She covered her head with the pillow before squeezing her eyes shut. The horrors from the past week were heavy on her mind. A mixture of Lila and Harrington's screams rang in her ears. Would she ever be able to live without these haunting memories?

She did not move the pillow when she heard a light tapping on the door. The bed dipped, and she knew that it was Ford. He rubbed her calf, but she did not move.

"I have to sleep on the couch?" he asked.

Evey pulled the pillow off her face. The moonlight cast shadows across his face. Evey shook her head but was unsure if he could see.

"No," she said. "I just want to go to sleep."

"Got it," he said.

He kicked off his boots before lying next to Evey. He put his arm around her waist and pulled her to his chest. She tried to focus on Ford's breathing as she tried to forget reality.