Fight or Flight (5 page)

“Skunk?” she whispered.

“Yeah, he swears it has something to do with skunks being dangerous predators, but that’s a load of crap. I’m pretty sure it’s because he smells so damn bad all the time.”

Emerson scrunched up her nose, making a mental note to keep her distance from Skunk either way.

“And I’m Jay, by the way. What’s your name?”

She was pretty certain Ace and Skunk weren’t their real names, and even Jay was most likely short for something else. If she were smart, she wouldn’t go around giving her name to strangers, either.

“Em.
My name is Em.”

“Em, huh?
All right then, Em, come on.”

Chapter Seven

Jay

Obviously Em wasn’t her real name—not the full one anyway—but he was impressed she had the forethought not to give it up. Names had power. Especially when you were trying to leave them behind.

Continuing the tour, he turned to indicate the second door to the right of the hallway. “That’s the bathroom. Don’t go in there unless you
really
have to.” Em’s face scrunched up in confusion and Jay couldn’t help laughing at her naivety. “There’s no plumbing.”

Her expression slowly shifted to understanding and then . . . disgust. “So . . . how do you? I mean . . . If I
really
have to . . .?”

“There’s a bucket in there. Use it, take it out back,
dump it. If you have to . . . ya know, number two? There’s a trowel. Dig a hole before you dump it and then make sure you cover it back up.”

Her face said she was wishing her bladder had an impenetrable seal on it right about now and that just made him laugh harder.

“So glad I can amuse you.” Em had some spunk in her. He hadn’t expected that.

“Me too.”
It was true. Jay couldn’t actually remember the last time he’d laughed about . . . well, anything.  “Back there is a spare room, but part of the roof is caved in so I wouldn’t recommend it. And, this . . .” he drew up to the fourth and final door off the hallway, directly across from Ace and Skunk’s room, “is mine.”

She followed him timidly inside the room, and he watched her inspect the area. He followed her gaze—trying to see it through her eyes—over the slightly warped floorboards, past his
bed of newspaper and blankets in the corner, over the boarded up window, and settling against the far wall where all that could be counted as his ‘stuff’ sat heaped on the floor. It wasn’t exactly like he’d been expecting company. A brown leather suitcase with a few shirts hanging out of it, a milk crate that doubled as a table, and a day old carton of rice. That was his ‘stuff’. Frustrated by the sight of it, he let his gaze wander back to the girl beside him and watched as a violent shiver ran through her body. No wonder, she was dripping a puddle on the floor beneath her. And so was he, come to think of it.

“Here.” Jay snatched a few items from the suitcase and held them out to her. “You can wear these, until your things dry.”

“Thank you.” Her voice barely registered above a whisper, nerves crushing that spunk he’d admired a few moments ago.

Jay didn’t fail to notice the way she carefully avoided touching him when she took the clothes, either. A bolt of angry embarrassment shot through him, but he stuffed it down. Who cared what she thought? He made her nervous?
Uncomfortable? Good.

“I’m gonna change
, too, so you can use the spare room . . . if you don’t mind.” He didn’t mean to sound bitter, but despite his silent declarations, her reaction still stung.

“Right.
Okay. Sure thing.” She backed out of the  room, stammering, and pulled the door closed behind her.

What the hell was he thinking?

Chapter Eight

Em

The spare room was worse than Jay had let on. The roof had definitely collapsed. Not just in a small area, but the entire rear section along with an upper chunk of the back wall. The carpet was completely saturated and squelched under her feet. But, even a partial roof was better than no roof at all, and Jay had given this to her.  He had brought her here—to his home—and trusted her enough to share the most priceless thing he had. And he didn’t even know her.

She couldn’t decide what to think of that, of
him
. Jay made her nervous, and the idea of spending the night in the same room, alone with him . . . it put her on just this side of nauseas. On the other hand, he had protected her. Probably more than once if she were honest with herself. Risked his life to save hers. How do you
not
trust someone after something like that?

She shook out the bundle of clothes he’d given her, careful to avoid getting them wet. They were immense.
Obviously, not Jay’s. Not
originally,
anyway. Sure, he had a built chest, broad shoulders, and more than a few inches on her, but these were meant for the freaking Terminator. They might have fit Ace. It didn’t matter though. They were dry and warm. That’s all her shivering body and chattering teeth cared about. What was she doing thinking about Jay’s chest anyway? Like she didn’t have enough troubles already?

Chapter Nine

Jay

She looked ridiculous, and way prettier than anyone in rolled up sweatpants and a sweatshirt about ten sizes too big had any right to look.
Dammit
. He snatched up one of the two thin, scratchy blankets he had accumulated over time to avoid looking at her, and thrust it in her direction without lifting his eyes.

“You can use this for tonight, but tomorrow you’re on your own.” He warred with himself over his words.

Part of him knew that it was beyond stupid of him to bring her here. To let her stay. He was only making things easier for her, and if he kept it up, she may not realize how bad things could get until it was too late. But, another part of him—a part he sort of wished he could beat to death with its own empty skull cavity—couldn’t let her go. Couldn’t stand the idea of her being out there on her own, even for one night. After all, look what had happened the one night she’d tried it.

The fear in Em’s eyes told him she was thinking the same thing. “Please let me stay. I’ll do whatever you want. Just don’t make me go.”

“
That
!” Jay’s voice was scalding. “That right there
proves
you can’t handle this. You never,
ever
promise someone ‘whatever they want’. You have no idea what some people
want
.”

Em flinched and he had to bite his lip to keep from taking it all back. He hadn’t lied. That was the hard truth out here and it was better she learned it now, from him, than the hard way later on from someone else.

“You’re right.” Her gaze dropped to her hands which were knotted so tightly together it looked almost painful. “That was a stupid thing to say.” When her eyes came back to his they were red rimmed, but she held her tears in check. “Please . . . can I just stay? For a little while? I won’t get in your way. I won’t be any trouble, I promise.” Somehow he doubted that. But those eyes. It was like they could see straight through him and she was pleading right with his heart. “I’ll help out. I may not know much right now, but I’ll find a way to pay you back, I swear. I could—”

“Oh no.”
He stopped her before she could really get started. “If I do agree to this—if I let you stay here—then we do things my way. Understood?”
Stupid. Stupid. Stupid
. This wasn’t some freaking daycare for the new kids on the block.

“O-kay.”
She drew out the word, eyeing him nervously, obviously concerned with what exactly ‘his way’ meant. Good, she was learning.

“If you stay here, you
S
tay. Here.
I don’t want you running around the city stirring up more trouble. I’ll get what you need and bring it back for you, but I don’t want you to even think about setting foot outside this place until you have a better idea of what exactly it is you’ll be stepping into. Got it?”

This was a bad idea.
A
horrific
idea. And how exactly he planned on pulling it off, he had
no
idea. Em stared at him like she half expected him to take it all back. When he didn’t, she nodded so furiously that he worried her head might roll off her shoulders.

“Yes. Thank you. Thank you, Jay.”

“Don’t thank me, yet. This is going to be a disaster.” He didn’t say the last part loud enough for her to hear. That was for him to worry about now.

Chapter Ten

Em

Em stood at the window, quietly watching the concrete dry out on the street. That’s how exciting her life had become. Somehow she hadn’t imagined life on the streets to be quite so . . . boring. Not that she was complaining. She would take all the boring she could get after last night. She’d had enough adventure to last her a lifetime.

The late afternoon sun streamed in through the boards on the window, making the small room comfortably warm. Em had no idea what time it was, but over the past few hours, she’d been watching it slowly sink towards the horizon. There wasn’t much else to do. She’d already explored the rest of her new home, carefully avoiding Skunk and Ace’s room like the plague. Considering how late—or early—she’d heard them come in last night, she felt fairly certain they must still be passed out in there, but she wasn’t taking any chances. She didn’t know them at all, but she knew how the world worked well enough not to trust them. Not to trust
anyone
.

She’d even made the unavoidable trip to the bathroom. It wasn’t nearly as bad as she’d expected. Someone had obviously made an effort in there. She’d seen public restrooms dirtier than that, but the smell . . . That was enough to knock her for a loop. She went about her business as quickly as
possible, holding her breath until her lungs screamed for oxygen and then took the bucket outside to dispose of like Jay told her to.

Going back in had been a challenge. The sun and fresh air were a welcome change from that stuffy little room she’d been trapped in all day. She even risked a short stroll down the sidewalk to stretch her legs before turning around and
scurrying back inside when her nerves got the better of her. She didn’t know Jay that well, either, but she’d agreed to follow his rules and she wasn’t about to risk blowing the one and only break she’d managed to catch by not staying in like he told her to.

Her stomach made a low rumbling noise and Em’s gaze drifted back to the muffin sitting on the floor beside her folded blanket for about the billionth time. It had just been sitting there when she woke up. No Jay to be found, but sure, a bedside pastry. Why not?

The last thing she wanted to do was take what wasn’t hers and overstay her welcome before she could even feel welcome at all, but the more time that passed, the better that muffin was starting to look just sitting there like a sweet, sugary taunt. He wouldn’t have left it beside her if he hadn’t meant for her to eat it, right?

Her plan had been to ask him when he got back, but so far there hadn’t been a single sign of him and she had no idea how much longer it would be until he returned. Finally deciding that if she was wrong about his intentions, she’d have
to make it up to him later, Em peeled off the wrapping and a took a bite of banana nutty goodness. It was cold and slightly stale, but it was food.

She’d just shoved the last of it into her mouth in a disgustingly large bite, when the door burst open and in strode Jay. She nearly choked, forcing it down her throat but he barely even glanced in her direction.

“Here. If you’re staying another night you’re going to need a bed. Use these.” He thrust a stack of newspapers at her. “Keep it away from the window so you’re not sleeping in the draft and make it as small as possible. The more layers of paper between you and the floor, the warmer you’ll be.”

“Wait!”
He was already heading back out the door and the word just sort of popped out because she could stop herself. “Where are you going?”

Jay sighed like he was being forced to explain why the sky was blue to a two year old.
“To get something to eat. Aren’t you hungry?”

Em didn’t answer. The muffin had barely
made a dent in her obscene appetite. She was still starving.

“You eat that muffin I left for you?”

She nodded, uncomfortably conscious of the fact that there may still be some remnants of it on her face. At least, it had been hers to eat. “Thank you.”

Jay’s head bobbed briefly. “Now I’m going to get us something for dinner. I shouldn’t be long.”

Em didn’t protest when he turned to leave the second time. He had to do what he had to do. And so did she. Even if that were just sitting around in an empty room by herself all day.