Thicker Than Blood (Thicker Than Blood #1)(76)
“Hungry,” she replied. “Please tell me we got some food.”
“Sure did.” I turned away, reaching into the bag to rifle through it. I chose one can in particular, mostly because it looked to be in better shape than the rest, and pulled it free.
“Creamed corn?” I asked, doing my best to sound cheerful. Leisel’s eyes flickered to the can in my hand, a sad-looking little thing that had probably been traded back and forth a hundred times before coming to us.
Meeting my eyes, a small frown furrowed her forehead as Leisel slowly shook her head. “Tell me there’s more than that.” Her eyes stay glued to mine, watching me intently.
“Of course there’s more!” I laughed gently. “There’s split pea soup, pickled asparagus, and canned pasta.”
Her eyes wide, Leisel looked from me to Alex. “That’s it?”
Swallowing hard, I pulled the bag out from behind me and set it down on the mattress. “That’s it.”
For a moment, Leisel only stared at the bag. Then all at once her nostrils flared and she angrily pawed through the bag, tossing its contents aside one by one until it was empty.
“It doesn’t matter—” Alex started to say, but was abruptly cut off by Leisel, who crumpled the bag and sending it flying across the room.
Shrugging off Alex, she jumped to her feet and shouted, “It was all for nothing!”
“No, Lei.” Getting to my feet, I placed my hand over her trembling arm. “It wasn’t for nothing, and this is fine, this is great.”
Because it was great. If you were starving—and we were—any sort of edible food was a great and wonderful thing.
“It is not f*cking great, Eve!” she screamed. “This is bullshit!”
Snatching the can of creamed corn from my hand, she sent it flying across the room. It smashed into the opposite wall, nearly hitting one of the paintings hanging there before crashing to the floor and rolling behind the armchair.
Idly, I found myself wondering if this was exactly how the can had come to be in such poor condition, dented and dirty, its label peeling and stained. I inexplicably found myself feeling oddly protective over this poor can of corn, unloved and unwanted by all. Dropping to my hands and knees, I started hunting for its whereabouts.
“What are you doing?” Leisel yelled.
“Finding the stupid can,” I yelled back.
“Leave it!” she screamed. “It’s shit, this is all shit!”
Finally, I could see the can. As I flattened my body, stretching out my arm in an attempt to reach it, I ignored the cockroach that scuttled by my fingertips, as well as the sudden frantic beating of my heart that caused, until I finally found it, all alone beneath this equally sad chair. Wrapping my hand around the poor can, I dragged it free.
When I got to my feet, I found Leisel glaring at me, incensed by my actions. Suddenly, she lunged at me, reaching for the can, and I quickly darted out of her way, flinching when she tripped and stumbled into the armchair.
“This is bullshit!” she yelled as tears ran down her face, smearing what little makeup remained. “This is all bullshit!” Curled into fists, she brought her hands down hard against her thighs.
“You did this, Eve!” she screamed at me. “You made me go there, you made me leave, and now this is our life! This is all your fault!”
Biting down on the inside of my cheek, shame and guilt flooding me, I realized she was right. This was all my fault. I’d made her go to Fredericksville, then I’d made her leave it. And despite her protests and her willingness to die, I’d agreed to follow Bryce and Mike to their camp, to Purgatory.
This was all my fault. Her misery, her pain, it was my burden to bear.
Alex was staring at me, glaring actually, silently willing me to set the damned can down, but I couldn’t, I wouldn’t, and instead clutched it closer to me. I was holding this stupid can as if it were a lifeline, this poor can that nobody wanted, that nobody loved, that was only good for one thing. This sad little can that people only deemed good enough to pass along to someone else.
“Calm down, Lei,” Alex said, his tone surprisingly conciliatory. Dropping beside her, he attempted to gain her attention. “Food is food. It doesn’t matter. Eve and I are both fighting today, we’ll earn more. Between the three of us, we’ll make do.”
He reached for her only to end up smacked away as Leisel began to sob again.
Making a strangled sound deep within his throat, Alex’s features hardened. Grabbing hold of Leisel’s wrists, he forcefully yanked her from the chair and into his lap. She struggled at first, trying to wiggle her way free from him, but he only gripped her tighter, forcing her to remain where she was. She began to cry angry tears, her sobs sounding more frustrated than sad, and eventually she gave up fighting and instead sank against him, burying her face into his chest.
“It wasn’t for nothing,” he said, cupping the back of her head. Leisel looked up, and directly into his eyes while Alex attempted to wipe her tears away. “You did an amazing thing, Leisel, you earned us this food.” He paused briefly before continuing. “And you looked goddamn amazing doing it.”
No longer crying, Leisel looked up at Alex as a blush rose in her cheeks. A moment passed by in silence, and then another and another. Then suddenly they were kissing fervently, Alex’s hands buried in her hair, Leisel gripping the back of his shirt. It was noisy and messy and extraordinarily passionate, and I was left standing there feeling awkward and incredibly jealous.