Anyone? (14 page)

Wow. He actually said something meaningful. “Thanks.”

We stood there in awkward silence for a moment before he
spoke. “This kind of feels like a hugging moment, but seriously, Tess, you
reek.”

“Go on, get in.” Cole drew the curtain aside. Steamy water
ran from the makeshift showerhead, and he placed his hand in it. He then
flicked the water droplets in my direction, wetting my face and forcing me to
blink to keep the water from getting in my eyes. “It’s ready for ya.”

“Umm... I’m not going to get electrocuted or something, am
I?” Even with everything he’d done to make the hanger homey—well,
rich
people
homey—it didn’t look safe. Cords covered in duct tape, keeping them in place, ran
from one side of the hangar to the other, snaking about in a crazed and
dangerous pattern. It was creative and ingenious on a certain level, but this
was Cole. Ingenious and genius were two totally different things.

“The shower and hot tub aren’t hooked up to anything that
will kill ya.” He shook his head. “Wait, that’s technically not true. Don’t
touch the wood-burning stove or drown in the water and you should be fine.”

He’d run an exhaust pipe out the side of the metal hanger,
and amazingly, even though the miniature potbellied stove burned, heating up
the copper coil carrying the water, I could hardly smell smoke. The scent was
faint and actually quite pleasant.

“So it’s safe?”

“Of course. What do you take me for?”

“You were able to do all this, but you can’t hotwire a car?”
The hanger with all its fancy, and somewhat unnecessary, gadgetry appeared a
lot more daunting than twisting a couple of wires on a car.

He shrugged. “Who knows whether I can or can’t. I’ve never
tried before. Are you going to get in or what? You’re wasting water.”

Wasting water?
He had run a drain and tube to a planter
of dirt which sprouted green unidentifiable shoots. I wasn’t going to eat any
of that, but he seemed to have thought of everything, which had to be
commended. All of this must have taken quite a bit of time to put together. But
in an apocalypse, where the idea of being on your own sounded awesome, then his
actions made total sense.

“There’s a t-shirt and a pair of boxer shorts waiting for
you.” He pointed to a nearby table. “Sorry, they’re the only underwear I have
on hand, but no worries, they’re brand new, never been used. I promise.” He
crossed his heart and held up several fingers, making a Boy Scout sign. “I have
several packages. Next time we run into the city, you can grab all the feminine
things you want. Until then, these will have to do.”

He squeezed my shoulder and walked around the dividing
screen that gave the bathing area privacy. After a moment, the sound of music
filled the room, the base booming a little heavier than normal through the
speakers and echoing off the metal sides of the hanger.

It almost seemed natural—a shower, music, Cole humming
along. If I closed my eyes, I could almost forget about everything, and feel
normal.

But I didn’t close my eyes. Instead, I removed my dusty,
sweaty clothes and dropped them in a pile at my feet.

The hot water on my back and shoulders burned a little, but
soon I settled in and allowed it to flow over me completely. I enjoyed the
music and the warmth on my skin, but quickly got to work. Cole was right, I
didn’t want to waste water, so I scrubbed and cleaned myself, wishing he’d
given me a razor along with the soap and shampoo. Boy, the hair on my legs and
underarms made me resemble a Sasquatch more than a teenage girl.

“Cole?” I yelled over the water and hoped the music didn’t
drown out my voice.

A few minutes later, his shadow appeared on the opposite
side of the shower curtain. “Everything okay?”

“Yeah, it’s wonderful, but you don’t by any chance have a
razor on you, do you?”

“Ahh...maybe. Give me a sec.” He disappeared.

The next thing I knew, he’d thrust his hand into the shower,
holding a disposable razor. I grabbed it from him and shielded myself, even
though the curtain hid me. “Jeez, Cole! Boundaries!”

“Didn’t see a thing.” He disappeared once more.

I shook my head.
Holy crap, he is something else.

I took only a couple of minutes to shave, then climbed from
the shower and stood on the rubber floor mat to dry myself off before slipping
on the large t-shirt and striped boxer shorts.

I felt amazing—clean, comfortable, and smelling like lemon
verbena. I’d needed the shower for more reasons than simply washing the filth
off. The water renewed me. But now, the heaviness of the day and everything we’d
been though weighed down my eyelids and I couldn’t wait to sink into one of the
beds and disappear into unconsciousness.

I stepped around the screen, towel-drying my hair and saw
Cole towel-drying Callie. He’d bathed her without me.

He looked up, but kept at his task. “You’ve got a weird cat.”

His statement did not surprise me in the least. Callie was a
strange cat for sure.

“She didn’t even fight me when I poured water on her. I
think this leash thing is messing with her head.” He finished and sat her on
the floor.

She took a few steps, shook herself, then plopped down and
started licking her paws.

“I was expecting a whole lot of struggle, but the darn cat
let me do what I needed to do. She seemed to really enjoy it.” He tossed the
wet towel to the side. “How was your shower?”

“It was fine. Thank you.” I wound my towel on top of my head
like a turban.

“Tired?”

I nodded. “Very.”

“It’s been a crazy day.” He stood and started for the open
door of the RV.

I followed, ready for the day to be over. “Yeah, it has.”

“Have you figured out which bed you want?” He waved an arm
toward the bunks and then the pullout couch.

The bunk beds reminded me too much of the bunker and my
months below ground. “I’ll take the couch.”

He opened a storage bench and removed a couple of pillows, a
blanket, and some silk sheets—nice—and placed them in my arms. “You should
really get some sleep. We’ve got a lot of planning and a lot of decisions to
make in the next day or two.” He patted my towel- wrapped head. “I’ll be
outside if you need anything.”

I made my bed, pulling out the couch until it lay wide open,
and Callie climbed into the RV. She explored the space, checking out every
nook, even climbing onto my bed, before going back outside again. I didn’t
worry about her too much; she needed to wander and feel free, and so I let her
do just that. Soon, she would be back on the leash, trapped and bound.

I removed my towel and ran my fingers through my wet hair to
untangle it. Jeez, I couldn’t even remember the last time I’d run a brush threw
it. Yeah, the world was a freakin’ mess but it didn’t mean I needed to look
like crap. Tomorrow, I’d do better. I’d even ask Cole for some deodorant.

I climbed into the bed and tugged the blanket and glorious silk
sheets around me, but as tired as I was, somehow sleep wouldn’t come. I should
be used to sleeping in strange places—the bunker, the gas station, Rite-Aid—but
what I really wanted, what I longed for, was my own bed back in my room in my destroyed
house. Nothing else would
ever
match that feeling, or even come close.

I thought Cole had turned the music back on, but as I
listened more carefully I heard that the loud music from before had been
replaced by a lone guitar and one single voice, singing
Hallelujah.
I’d
recognized the song, having heard it many different times on reality singing
shows or even in major movie cartoons, but this version drew me to a sitting
position.

The beauty of the words baffled and intrigued me all at
once. So powerful. So rich. Goosebumps rose on my skin.

I slipped from my bed, carried by the music gracing my ears,
and sat in the open doorway with my eyes on Cole.

His head was bent low, his eyes closed, his body curved over
the acoustic guitar, becoming one with the instrument. His lean fingers plucked
the strings in perfect rhythm, not once missing a note, and his
voice—surprising and unexpected from such a juvenile man—held my full
attention.

The beauty of his words, the rise and fall of his tenor,
caused emotions to bubble in my chest and tears to wet my eyes. His talent,
both in playing as well as singing, was beyond exceptional.

He’d made the song his own by changing a few things here and
there, his voice falling where it normally would rise, or rising where it may
have fallen in the original, but the effect was mesmerizing, making it better
than any version I’d ever heard before.

He seemed to experience every one of the words he sang, drawing
from some pain and loss in his past as his face reflected his
feelings—something that couldn’t be faked. He felt every bit of it, whatever it
was, and in essence, I felt it too. The words were a part of him.

I didn’t think I would have believed him capable of such
beauty had I not witnessed it for myself, but sitting and watching him do something
so natural—a gift—made me honored to be a part of it, even if my part was only to
listen.

He hummed and continued to play the guitar with his eyes
closed, and I leaned against the doorframe, not wanting this amazing experience
to end. The music was more than beautiful; it was magical.

“Sing with me, Tess.” His dark eyes locked onto mine as he
thrummed the guitar. I hadn’t noticed him watching me. When had he realized I
was there, listening and watching him?

“No, I can’t.” I wasn’t a singer, not even close.

“You know the words. Sing.” He didn’t turn his gaze away. “There’s
no one else here. Just you and me. So sing.”

I did know the words, but how did he guess?

“Don’t make me pluck this guitar until my fingers bleed,
waiting on you.” He stood, still holding the guitar and walked slowly toward
me. “We’ll start over at the first verse. You can do it. Open your mouth and sing.”

He nodded at me, indicating it was time, and he began to
sing, his voice deep and almost hypnotizing. Whatever insecurities I had felt
before, whatever held me back, evaporated and my mouth opened. Something about the
way he looked at me made it impossible to resist.

He had a way of making my amateur singing beautiful as he
matched my pace and harmonized his words to my own. Perfect. Heavenly. By the
time the song was over, and the guitar stilled, tears fell freely down my face.

I had never experienced anything like that before.
Ever.

He smiled, placed one foot on the bottom step, and nodded. “You
did good. Just like that little pig in the movie where he wanted to be a sheep
dog, you know the one I’m talking about?”

I narrowed my gaze. “You mean
Babe
?”

“Yeah, that’s the one.” He rubbed my wet head. “
That’ll
do, pig. That’ll do.”

I didn’t think anything could have ruined the amazing moment
we’d shared, but somehow, Cole had managed to do it.

I lay on my side, my pillow tucked under my head, my kitten
snuggled against me. A lone light above the sink remained on, and the glow from
hanging Christmas lights peeked through the blinds, lighting the RV and making
it difficult to completely fall asleep, no matter how much I wanted to. Sleep
was cruel like that. It teased me, caused my eyelids to droop, and then flitter
away just as I was about to succumb.

Cole opened the door, quietly. He stepped inside, a foot or
so from where I lay wide awake in my bed, with only a towel draped low around
his waist. My eyes widened.
O-kay.

I should have closed my eyes right then, not looked, but I
couldn’t. Not that I was a pervert or anything, but dang. Tiny droplets of
water clung to his chest and dripped from his dark hair. The water glistened on
his toned skin in the dimmed light.
Jeez.

He didn’t notice me awake and watching, but turned his back
to me as he headed toward his bedroom on the other side of the RV. I sat up,
curious, as the strange but strikingly beautiful tattoo draping from one
shoulder blade to the other drew my attention.
Angel wings
.

I had to stifle a chuckle. Okay, that was a bit too much,
especially for Cole, even if the artistry of it was amazing. A dragon tattoo or
even a portrait of himself, maybe, but I would have never expected angel wings.
Not Cole. I’d seen wing tattoos before—mostly biker gangs in the area, or goofy
teen girls getting one on their wrist or behind their ear—but those crude
drawings in no way compared to the delicate and fine details of the tattoo on
Cole’s back. I’d never seen anything like it.

“Angel wings, really?” I smiled.

He whipped around, still clutching the towel. “Ahh... Tess!
You scared me! I almost dropped my towel!”

Okay. That I did
not
want to see. Thank goodness for
quick reflexes or I’d be scarred forever. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to do that. I
just find your tattoo... interesting.” This time I did chuckle. I couldn’t help
it.

“Hey, don’t judge me. I was going through some things at the
time, and it seemed like a pretty good idea.” He disappeared from view. “Let’s
just say some decisions should be slept on first.”

“So you wouldn’t pick wings if you had to do it all over
again?” I scratched my sleepy kitty’s belly.

He stepped back into view, pajama bottoms on and a t-shirt
in his hand. He looked at me for a long moment. “Depends on the day.”

“Can I see it a little closer?” I slipped from my bed,
making sure not to wake Callie.

He seemed to contemplate my question for a while, but when
he finally nodded, I closed the distance between us until I stood in front of
him. With my finger, I drew a circle in the air. “Turn around.”

He released an exaggerated breath, but did as I asked.

When the simple light in the RV highlighted his muscular
back I took in my own breath, holding it.
Wow.
He was quite a specimen
all right. I shook my head, forcing those thoughts away. He was old, for heaven’s
sake!

I turned my attention to the beauty of the tattoo and
marveled at the fine lines and shadows that etched his skin. Toby had several
tattoos, but since he was lacking in the money department, his tattoos looked
shoddy in comparison. I think one of his buddies from high school even did one
for him that ended up getting infected. What an idiot.

Cole’s was far more professional and the eye for detail was
incredible. Yes, they were angel wings on the back of a more than annoying kind
of man, but still, I had to admire the artwork.

Maybe I shouldn’t have touched it, but my fingers had a mind
of their own. They traced the lines of one shoulder and then the other. Whoever
had done this had a pretty incredible hand—steady and focused. On any other
canvas, it would probably be considered a masterpiece in its own right.

He shivered and pulled away. “Okay, that’s enough.” He drew
his shirt up and over his head. “Shouldn’t you be sleeping or something?”

“I can’t.”

“It’s late.”

I nodded. “I know, and I’m exhausted.”

“Do you want me to tell you a bedtime story, or something?”

At first, I thought he was kidding, but he stared at me with
all seriousness and it took me a minute to respond. “I’m seventeen
not
seven. I don’t need a story.”

He shrugged. “You’re a kid. I thought I’d offer.”

“Well, I appreciate it, but I’m good.”

I turned to go back to my bed and try the sleeping thing
again, when thunder clapped overhead, rattling the metal frame of the hanger
and shaking the RV. I grabbed on to the tiny kitchen counter to steady myself.

In my panic, I threw open the door, ran past the massive
dining table and movie theater, and circled the hot tub only to come to a
standstill in front of the RV again. Where was I going? If this place blew
apart, whether I was in the RV or standing next to the popcorn machine wouldn’t
make a difference.

Nowhere was safe.

My breathing became labored, my heart raced, and when the
thunder boomed again, I crouched on the ground and threw my hands over my head.
Not again. Not again.
Meteors? Tornado? I couldn’t do this anymore.

“Hey.” Cole knelt beside me and placed his hand on my
shoulder. “It’s only a thunder storm, Tess. That’s all. We’re okay.”

My head snapped up. “How do you know? How do you know a
tornado isn’t barreling down on us right now or we’re not going to be blown to
pieces by falling rock from outer space?” I shook all over, waiting for the
entire structure of the hanger to be ripped apart piece by piece.

“Outer space?” He shrugged. “I guess I don’t.”

Another boom exploded, and I found myself in Cole’s arms
with my face pressed against his chest. “We’re gonna die!”

“Now you’re being dramatic.” He hugged me. “Listen.”

I didn’t move my head from his chest.

One more boom, but this time it sounded farther off in the
distance. I still didn’t release my grip on him.

“We’ll probably be hearing rain right... about... now.”

Sure enough, the pinging sound of raindrops hitting the
metal building filled the hanger. It would be beautiful if I didn’t imagine a
large destructive cloud hovering nearby ready to suck us up into its vortex
only to spit us out several miles away.

“Tess, I promise it’s only a thunderstorm. That’s all.” He
rubbed my back in small circular motions. “It’s late. We should really go back
inside and get some sleep. Tomorrow will be busy.”

“Sleep? Yeah, I don’t think so.” My nerves were on edge. My
tired brain worked overtime to scare the crap out of me by imagining all sorts
of scenarios in which I would end up dead. Maybe it was only rain and thunder,
but with everything going on this day alone, I couldn’t rely on Cole’s words to
calm me. My stupid brain wouldn’t let me.

He scooped me up in his arms, surprising me, and carried me
toward the trailer. “You can worry just as much lying in your bed as you can
crouching out here in a ball. What will happen will happen.”

“Is that supposed to make me feel better?” I held on by
wrapping my arms around his neck.

“It didn’t? Hmmm... weird. Okay, well, what if I say
I’m
tired and you’re going to sit in your bed really quiet-like so
I
can get
some sleep?” He climbed the rickety steps into the RV without a problem, as though
my weight didn’t make a difference at all.

“Yeah, that’s worse.”

“Well, I tried. I can’t help it if you’re impossible.”He
placed me on my couch bed and tucked the blankets around me. “Stay there. You
can sleep if you like or you can sit there and worry about everything, but you need
to be quiet. Not a peep.” He motioned to his lips and pretended to lock them. “Get
it? Not a word.”

The rain continued to fall on the hanger roof, but being
inside the RV muffled the sound some. Still, I couldn’t help if death and
destruction plagued my mind. I’d watched a whole city get wiped away. I’d seen
dead people, well, parts of dead people. We’d almost died ourselves. How in the
world was I expected to fall asleep with all that running rampant in my brain?

Cole grabbed my bewildered cat from off the floor and placed
her next to me. I loved Callie, but I needed something more than a crazy kitten
to calm me down. I held her anyway and hoped.

He made the key locking motion by his mouth once more and
then headed to his bed.

I followed his every movement and watched as he flopped
himself down on the huge king- sized bed, sprawling out over the top, not even
bothering to get inside the covers.

Within a few minutes, his snoring filled our living space. If
only it were that easy for me.

I picked up Callie in one arm, gathered my blanket in the
other, and tiptoed toward him. As quietly as I could, without disturbing him, I
crawled onto his bed and made myself comfortable, leaving a good space between
us.

Callie found a nice spot on the pillows, near Cole’s head,
and plumped them with her tiny claws until she found them suitable enough to
lie down and fall asleep.

Thunder continued in the distance, moving on as he’d said it
would, but the rain didn’t let up, even growing more intense as time ticked by.
He slept through it all, seemingly unbothered by it.
How does he do that?

I knew my body couldn’t go on like this. I would, at some
point, fall asleep, but the very idea of closing my eyes and becoming vulnerable
to
everything
scared me. How could I save myself if I was asleep?

Insane thinking, like running around the inside of a hanger
had been, but where I once had wanted to close my eyes and sleep, now I fought
against it. Someone should stand guard, right? Another insane thought. If a
meteor fell on us or a tornado ripped through this area, I couldn’t change it.
What will happen will happen, just as Cole had said.

But that didn’t mean I had to like it.

He slept with his mouth open, snoring so loudly that had I
wanted to sleep, I wasn’t so sure I could. There was a lot about Cole which
irked me, but right now in that moment, I was grateful for his presence, which
meant I wasn’t completely alone.

I grabbed part of my comforter and draped it across him,
sharing.

I didn’t know if sleep would find me, but I did know I felt
a lot safer lying next to him.