“Sometimes, they stumble into town,” James said.

I thought about Krista and how she’d helped me escape. “Let me guess… they become servants.”

“Pretty much,” James said. “They’re called—”

“Extras,” I finished “Yeah, I met one. She works at The House. You know it pretty much sucks the way she’s treated.”

“I know,” James said. “But if she’s in The House, then she’s one of the lucky ones.” The tone in his voice told me not to ask what happened to the girls who weren’t so lucky.

8

Dreams

Even though this wasn’t the reunion I’d dreamed of, it felt good to be close to James again. I helped him make a final trip into the woods for the night’s firewood. We carried the wood back to our camp. James stoked the fire, keeping it going.

“This will burn for a few hours,” he said. “I’ll add more wood later. I’ve been out here so long I’ve developed a built-in alarm clock. It never fails to wake me up just before the fire dies.”

A secret thrill rushed through me when I thought about the fact we were about to spend the night together. Okay, so we were in the middle of the woods, and there was absolutely no possibility of anything happening, but I still counted it.

James unrolled a long mat, then placed it close to the fire. “It’s not the most comfortable thing, but you’ll appreciate it once it gets a little cooler.”

“I can’t take your bed,” I said.

“Well, I wasn’t exactly giving it up. Not entirely, anyway.” The darkness couldn’t hide the tinges of red on his cheeks.

I smiled, thinking it was sweet that the boy who used to wrap me in his arms without hesitation felt self-conscious about suggesting we share the mat, even when it was only a survival-type thing. I couldn’t resist having some fun with him. Scrutinizing the mat as if considering it, I smiled at James.

“It’ll be a bit snug,” I said. “But I guess it’s not the worst way to spend a night.”

James chuckled. “Well, I was thinking more along the lines of letting you borrow it for the night. But hey, if you’re offering.” His eyes sparkled as he smiled.

It was in moments like these that everything was right between us. His making that kind of joke also made me feel that somewhere deep inside of him, in some way, he was still attracted to me.

“Now, James,” I said in mock disbelief, “I hardly even know you.”

James shook his head, pulling his blanket off the tree. He laid it on top of the mat, then motioned for me to sit down. “Morning comes early when you rise with the sun.”