Book 1: At the Edge of Misery
Cristine Daya Gerrard, a young residency doctor in the apocalypse must mend the pieces with her broken and estranged family, while fighting for her place in a community that doesn't accept her. One man in particular doe...
Note: "...." = Foreign language spoken (Spanish unless specified otherwise)
TankGal, Defyingravity9 and chezashinobi this is for y'all. You've been with me since the beginning of this story and it means so much to see you comments and support for my story ♥️🥰
Troy tilted his head to the side, browsing her mien for any hints of an answer before voicing his another question.
"Why were you separated from your family?"
"..."
He scratched the tip of his nose, as if prying into people's personal business was something normal. "Hailey ignored me and Dolores just sounded spiteful. I talked to them, but coming directly to the source is more efficient."
"None of your business."
"It'll help me understand why the evil stepmom is so angry and wants to make your life a living hell here. It'll make sense why you still stay despite knowing that this isn't the place for you, not really." Troy waited for her features to contort into fury or irritation or something else... nothing.
Troy briefly looked at his hands, while picking at his nails and finally puffed out a breath that deflated his chest. "It'll explain why you'd risk crossing the state for a father that couldn't even bother taking his child with him to one of the safest places that's still standing."
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
The harsh words said came from a stranger, but their severity still managed to elicit a reaction. Cristine looked away and twisted her raw wrists into the sharp outlines of the zip ties. She rather hurt physically than listen to some half baked analysis from a socially unfit man-child who was homeschooled in becoming a racist.
Troy watched the side of her face, jaw taut and muscles rigid. Looking closely at other subtle responses to his words darkened his face. The rapid flutter of her long lashes and the way her throat moved from a quick swallow was all the confirmation he needed. It was brief and almost insignificant, but he'd managed to detect a sliver of whatever it was she hid.
Frustration.
Still, Troy was impressed by the tenacity of his passenger. Regulating her emotions in such a way that it left people stumped. "Sucks doesn't it? When you're not wanted. The idea of it is nice though, the fantasy that they still do despite it all. Still, family is all you got and you never hurt them back, not even when they hurt you."
Cristine lowered her eyes to the dashboard and slightly sucked in her cheeks as the words penetrated her mind. "No." She felt her loose, shoulder length curls brush against her nape and cheeks from shaking her head.
"You get your shit together when you realize it's all just pretend. They pretend that you're defect and need to be fixed and disciplined so they don't have to feel guilty about the things they do." Her voice was prickly, the volume low and there was the faintest sense of her disassociating with the thoughts rumbling through her head.
