Sunlight

by Gwen Cole

  I crouched down next to him. “West?”

  He woke slowly, as if coming from a deep dream he never wanted to wake from. “Reese?” He glanced around, like he expected someone else to be here. “Is it morning already?”

  “No, not for a few hours.”

  West’s eyes softened and his shoulders relaxed. He thought the US soldiers had come to take him away. “Then what are you doing here?” he asked.

  I had a take a moment to find my words. “I’ve come to get you out of here.”

  He immediately shook his head. “I can’t ask that of you. Not again.”

  “You don’t have to.”

  “Reese—”

  “Stop.” His blue eyes were almost too strong to stare into, but I continued. “I’m doing this and you’re going to let me. Because if I don’t, I know I’ll regret it. Just let me do this and you can thank me later. All right?”

  “I’ll do something more than thank you,” he said, being serious with a small smile creeping out.

  Without letting a blush creep onto my cheeks, I said, “We’re short on time.” I took out the keys again and ducked behind his chair, trying to find the right one for his cuffs. Every time my skin brushed against his, my heart kicked harder against my chest. When the cuffs finally clicked opened, I went straight for the door and cracked it open, making sure there was nobody there.

  West had a hard time getting up from the chair, his muscles still sore from the beating he took and the amount of time he’d been sitting there.

  “Are you all right?” I asked.

  “I will be.”

  “Well we don’t have to go far,” I said, opening the door wider. “So follow me.”

  He gave me an odd look but didn’t argue.

  I silently recited Cruz’s directions and walked to the end of the hall and hung a right. And just as he said, an unmarked door was on my left. It creaked open and revealed a steep set of stairs—something I wasn’t sure I wanted to go down.

  With my small flashlight being the only source of light, we slowly made our way down into the basement, where the air was dry and cool. Cruz said there was another small room exactly fifty feet in front of me. I shined my flashlight over it and started forward.

  “Is there a backdoor down here that I don’t know about?” West asked behind me.

  I pushed open the door. “Actually no. This is where you’ll be staying tonight.”

  He stared at me in the dim light, and without telling him, he already came up with the conclusion. “So, instead of trying to run tonight and risk getting caught again, I’m not going anywhere.”

  “You need to stay here until I come get you in morning when everyone else heads south. They won’t think to look for you in the same building they kept you in.”

  He smiled and glanced around the room. “I actually think it might work. And they won’t expect you helped me, either.”

  “I’m not worried about that. But this seems to be the best option.” I pulled some water and food from my bag and handed it over. “Are you all right with this?”

  “I’m all right with anything that gets me out of here.” I turned to leave. “Reese—”

  When I glanced back at him, he just nodded once, and then I went back upstairs before the guard decided to come back.

  ✢✢✢

  When morning came—not long after I fell asleep—I woke to shouting. Captain Steer was walking towards us, his face red with fury. Cruz stood up and blocked his way before he could get any closer.

  “He’s gone,” Captain Steer growled. “The boy that was with her. He escaped during the night.”

  Cruz glanced back at me, his face voided of all emotion. “I’m sorry, Captain, but Reese has been with me all night. You can’t blame something like that on her. Maybe you should ask the guards on duty last night if they ever left their posts.”

  The captain glanced behind him, motioning for a man to come forward. “Yates, did you leave your post at all last night?” The captain stared at me, waiting for the answer he thought would come. Something to prove me guilty. But when the soldier paused, he looked over his shoulder.

  “Well . . . yes, sir,” Yates said. “Davis was late for his shift and I had to go search for him.”

  I really felt bad for him, getting the brunt of Steer’s yelling. But during that time, Cruz glanced at me and gave me a look that said all was going as planned.

  “Yates, why don’t you do me a favor and get the prisoners ready for transport.” He leaned in closer. “Do you think you can handle that?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Good, we’re leaving at oh-seven-hundred.”

  He gave Cruz one more look before walking away.

  “They didn’t find him,” I said, backing up to sit down on the log.

  “Are you doubting my planning abilities, smalls?” He shouldered his assault rifle and spit on the ground off to the side. The prisoners were being escorted of the building and into the waiting trucks. Even though I knew I wouldn’t see West, I still looked for him.

  “Thank you,” I said.

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” He flashed me a smile before moving off with the rest of the army. If it weren’t for him, I don’t know if I ever would have freed West.

  Cruz had left some supplies for me, so as I waited for the army to move out—trying not to act like I was stalling—I repacked my bag. And as the last of the soldiers moved south, leaving me alone with my backpack around my shoulders and West’s at my feet, I gained enough courage to move towards the building.

  The door creaked open and I stepped inside, my feet crunching over the same leaves as yesterday. The morning sunlight streamed through the hole in the ceiling, and everything was so much quieter with everyone gone. I followed the hallway, past the room they kept West in. I didn’t know what I expected, but the door leading to the basement was still shut. I followed the steps down and hesitated before opening the door the small room.

  West sat in the corner, his arms hanging relaxed over his knees.

  “They’re gone,” I told him.

  I leaned against the doorway and watched him get up, his movements still careful.

  “Where did they go?” he asked.

  “The army is heading south,” I said. “I think they’re going to try and retake the South City.”

  West nodded like he’d been expecting that. “So, where are you headed then?”

  I tried not to notice when he said ‘you’ and not ‘we’.

  Did I want West to come with me?

  “Everyone is being told to go to the North City. If my family is alive, that’s where they’ll be.” My hands shook at the thought of them, and I stuffed them away into the pockets of my jeans. I still couldn’t imagine my life without them. “Look . . .” I pushed away from the door and handed him his backpack. “I wouldn’t mind if—I mean it’s okay if you want to—”

  I finally looked up to see him smiling at me, knowing exactly what I was trying to say.

  “Reese, are you trying to say that you wouldn’t mind me coming with you?”

  “Well . . . yes. That is, if you want to.”

  I waited for his answer with a dry mouth, my heart beating too fast.

  “You don’t even know anything about me,” he said.

  “It’s a long way to the North City.” I allowed a small smile to appear. I couldn’t help myself.

  When West smiled back, I couldn’t ask for more.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  I trailed behind as West walked along his invisible path for about two hours. Trees passed by us in a blur of more trees. Our footsteps made dull thuds on the ground, alarming small animals of our presence, causing them to scatter up trees and in between shrubs. The woods thinned out incredulously soon and we were suddenly staring down a street lined with houses.

  West looked at me thoughtfully and then back to the houses. Finally, he said, “What do you think?”

  “Are you serious?” I asked. “
Are we really going to break into a house? What if United soldiers come?”

  Then I thought of the showers inside and wondered how hard it would be.

  He turned and faced me, his stormy eyes serious. “I wouldn’t have brought it up if it wasn’t safe. Look . . .” He pointed down towards one of the houses. “See the front door? That mark on it means the army has already been through here, and is probably not coming back.”

  I glanced at the houses to find that he was right. Each door was marked with red spray paint. But I couldn’t stop the slight shiver that trailed down my spine.

  “Where did they take them?” I asked.

  He thought for a moment. “Probably a refugee camp. There was one set up outside the South City.”

  “So, you really weren’t joking when you said you wanted a shower, huh?”

  “Nope.” He smiled and started down the street, and I followed him shaking my head, not believing what we were about to do. I couldn’t say anything to stop him because I wanted a shower, too.

  We walked down the paved streets while glancing at the passing houses. They were all the same, and only way you could tell them apart was from the lawn decorations or the color of the shutters.

  He stopped in front of one—the only with lawn gnomes—and stared at it for a moment. He then gave me a side glance and crossed his arms.

  “Well, I know our realtor showed us a lot of houses,” he said and I looked at him questioningly. “But . . . I just really think we’ll be happy with this one. Now, don’t get me wrong.” He held up a hand. “I really liked the one with the pool, but this one has certain qualities that just spark.”

  I had to force myself not to laugh; clenching jaw and trying not to smile. I played along by sticking my nose a little higher and surveyed the house with pursed lips.

  “Well, I do like the white fence I suppose, and the shutters are gorgeous.” I angled towards him. “Are you sure this is the one?”

  West thought some more and brought his hand up to his chin, eyeing the house. He shifted his gaze back to me like he was making a difficult decision.

  “Let’s go for it,” he said suddenly. “And the dog will love the back yard.”

  Dog? I had to hold in another laugh, but a smile broke out across my face in its place. He saw it and seemed satisfied with himself like that was his goal the whole time.

  I followed him up to the door, which was strangely unlocked, and followed him in. It was clean inside with hardwood floors and smelled like lilacs. I took a deep breathe and sighed, but I noticed he had his nose wrinkled.

  “You don’t like it?” I asked.

  “It smells funny,” he said, stating the fact.

  Boys are so weird. I just shook my head.

  With a quick glance over at me, he made for the stairs, taking two at a time. I realized he was heading for the shower too late to stop him. I heard a door shut and the shower turn on, proving my theory.

  I sighed and went back into the living room to wait my turn. I sat down at the large couch that faced a large television. Even though we’d been joking outside, those short minutes of forgetting was actually refreshing. In a bad, guilty feeling kind of way. I had no clue where my family was—or if they were still alive—but here I was, making jokes about the house we broke into to take a shower.

  Nothing about the world right now seemed right, and yet I didn’t want to be anywhere else.

  Five minutes later, the shower turned off and I heard footsteps coming down the stairs. West came around the couch, rubbing his hand through his wet hair, flicking water drops everywhere as he did. He also had changed into a clean pair of jeans and a crisp white T-shirt shirt. It was remarkable how much he had changed his appearance within the last few minutes.

  He noticed me staring and asked, “Did the shower make me look that much better? Personally, I thought it would have done better than this but . . . that’s just me.” His tone came as a joke again and he grinned.

  It made my heart jump.

  There was no way I had enough guts to tell him how stunningly gorgeous he was. He still had bruises along his jaw, added with a few healing cuts, but after having the blood and dirt washed away, it made me blush a little when I gazed up at him. I could see the outline of his chest through the thin cotton of his shirt, the line of his collarbone, and the sleeves tightened a bit around his biceps. He wasn’t big like a body builder, he was . . . well, perfect.

  His short dark hair looked as if he had just gotten out of bed. Different chunks were pointing in different directions, like waves crashing against a cliff. But it matched his unique eyes perfectly. Like two storms colliding together.

  I quickly stood up from the couch so he wouldn’t notice my reddening cheeks, and turned for the stairs, making sure he couldn’t see my face. “I’m gonna—shower,” I said hurriedly.

  I dashed up the stairs before he could say anything, and shut the door of the bathroom. Pull it together! But I couldn’t, not when I was around West. He made me smile at every little thing, and laugh at unexpected moments, even when my life was crashing in around me. And that was only within the first day we had spent together.

  I wanted to slap myself out of it.

  But I was able to push him from my mind when I caught sight of the shower.

  ✢✢✢

  The shower was . . . amazing to say the least. I let the water run over my head and down my back, absorbing every moment of it. I wanted to stay in there forever. The steam warmed the air, and I breathed in the moisture, letting it calm me and my sore muscles.

  When the water started to turn cold, I stepped out and quickly dried myself off with a towel I had found in the small closet. As I dug through my bag, I vaguely wondered if these people had a washer and dryer for my dirty clothes; I wasn’t sure if I would get the chance again after this.

  I spent more time in the bathroom than I normally would; I was stalling.

  My mind seemed to be wrapped around the strange blue-eyed boy downstairs, and it wouldn’t pull away from him no matter how hard I tried. I thought about him while I was walking up the stairs, I thought about him as I washed the dirt out of my hair. Even now, as I stared out of this little bathroom window, looking out towards the forest in which we had come from, I was thinking of him.

  I abruptly stepped away from the window and sat down on the toilet, putting my head in my hands with my wet hair draping over my face. I breathed deeply, trying to shake him from my head, but his face kept squeezing its way through my weak mental barriers no matter how hard I tried. I shouldn’t be thinking of him right now, even though I was. I should have been thinking of Ethan, and my parents. Not a boy downstairs whom I barely knew.

  Two days ago I wouldn’t have imagined I would be here, in this house with someone from the same country that had attacked us. Was I even doing the right thing by staying with him? It didn’t feel wrong. But was it?

  I shook my head violently, erasing my mind of all overwhelming thoughts at the moment, and stood up. The air in the bathroom was hot and humid from the abnormally long shower I had taken, and I was starting to feel uncomfortable from the lack of fresh air.

  After I pulled my hair into a ponytail, I stepped out into the hall. The television was on downstairs, blaring gunfire and the squealing tires of sports cars, and I briefly wondered if I would be able to sneak up behind West without his knowledge. He deserved it after all; since he snuck his way into the shower before me.

  I slowly made my way down the stairs—being thankful the steps weren’t old and creaky. West sat on the couch with his back to me, totally engrossed with his movie that he never even twitched his head in recognition that I was there. My stomach squirmed with anticipation, and for some odd reason I found myself smiling. I lowered my bag at the base of the stairs and quietly walked up behind him, bringing my head right behind his ear.

  Then I said, “I wouldn’t have guessed you were into chick flicks.”

  He didn’t even flinch.

  “Oh, thi
s isn’t a chick flick,” West said with a matter-of-fact tone. “It’s an action movie.”

  I stood up speechless, staring down at the back of his head.

  A buzzer went off in the kitchen, and I skirted out of the way as a grinning West got up and made his way into the kitchen behind me.

  What was it about him that made him so different from everyone else? Not to mention he was still injured and seemed not to be bothered by them, but there was something else that put him apart from all the others I had met. Others, meaning boys. West was surely different but I couldn’t wrap my mind around what exactly.

  My eyes found the television. and I was positive this wasn’t an action movie, but I took his place on the couch anyway. It was still warm from his body heat, and it suddenly made my stomach dance.

  I moved over.

  As West came back into the room, and around the couch, he handed me a plate.

  “Pizza?” I asked, staring down at the triangle squares with my tongue already watering.

  His mouth was already full so all he could say was, “Uh huh” in response. He was oddly concentrated on the food he was eating.

  It felt as if I was back home again; eating pizza and watching a movie. Only, Ethan wasn’t here to make unannounced comments about the acting. As I thought about him it made me miss him more, so I stopped thinking about him altogether. Then in doing so, it just made me feel guilty for not thinking about him.

  I just couldn’t win.

  We lounged around until the movie ended, and I was fully aware when West tilted his head towards me, leaning on the back cushions so casually. The sun was low in the horizon and the room was beginning to dim with a warm glow.

  “You wanna watch another one?” His voice was hinting a little too much for me to say no, even if I would’ve decided to say that, but I found myself wanting to stay. I was oddly comfortable where I was at the moment, and didn’t want it to stop. It was like the world outside of this house could go on without us. I think we needed a break from everything out there, even if it was only for a night.