Who am I kidding? She will never care for me the way I’ve cared for her all these years. I’ve known this and have tried to fight it. But after the last thirty minutes, it’s clear I haven’t made any headway.
I don’t blame her for hating me. Everything she said is true. I’ve been a pain in her side. I ruined school and work for her. If I really cared about her, I would accept that the only way to truly make her happy is to leave her alone.
***
I jerk. My head hits a shelf, and my back groans in pain.
I blink against the unfamiliar light. Shoot. We are still in the closet.
Maddie is no longer sleeping beside me but sitting against the opposite wall, her wide eyes aimed at me.
I rub my chin. Did I drool or something? I may still be at risk. She’s wearing my shirt, and my brain is refusing to function the way it should. The white material hits her mid-thigh, completely covering her biker shorts, and I’m assaulted with fantasies I shouldn’t indulge in our desperate conditions.
“Um…” Maddie swallows then tucks something behind her back, a guilty expression on her face.
I’m the one who should feel guilty for holding her while she slept, but I don’t.
“I’m sorry—”
“I’m sorry—”
A blush colors her cheeks, and I look away.
“You first.” She swallows.
I scrub a hand over my beard. “This has been kind of a weird situation, and I’m not sure we should hold each other accountable for the things we might have said or…done.” Like while the other was sleeping.
“I agree.”
What now? Sheagreeswith me? The end may be near.Is that light up there getting brighter?
I take a deep breath. “I need to apologize for that rumor. For everything.”
She holds up a hand to stop me. “I can’t. Not right now.”
My brows furrow. “But Maddie—”
She shakes her head again. “It’s easier to hate you, and if I’m going to die here, I’d like to say I held out until the end.”
A smile finds me despite the somber setting. I relax into the shelves; that talk can wait, for now. We have time. “Out of curiosity, who dies first?”
“You, of course. You have a terrible diet, and sugar will only last so long in your system.”
“How do you know I eat junk food?” Did she pay some attention to me in the last five years?
“Besides the fact that you hoard Snickers in your pocket, all…”—she motions to my exposed torso—“that, obviously. You’re practically skin and bones.”
“Oh?” I sit up straighter and examine my arms, flexing one at a time. Her eyes bounce between them. “You’re right. If I make it out of this, I’m going to take this issue up with my trainer.”
She shrugs and plays with the cuff of the shirt sleeve around her palm. “I’m not sure you can be helped. Some people lack the ability to gain muscle.”
I bite the inside of my cheek. This is similar to our fights, but there’s something else here. Could she possibly be flirting with me?
“You clearly don’t.” I let my eyes trail over her long legs, the only part of her that’s visible.
She shrugs. “Yeah well, I’m exceptional.”
Yeah, you are.I lean my head against the shelves and spin my useless phone on the cement floor. “Hey, Maddie?”
