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The look on Maddie's face faded as she nodded.
“Here,” Saff said, holding out the bowl and touching it gently against Maddie's hand. “Popcorn.”
Maddie took it from her, popping a few pieces into her mouth.
“You know,” Maddie said, swallowing her bite. “You never had to sit on the floor. You could always lay on the cot with me.”
Saff stared at her for a moment. Maddie had a look that was almost challenging, like she knew she would say no. And for some reason, that made her want to prove her wrong.
“Okay.”
The look on Maddie's face was worth it. The challenging smirk immediately dropped, replaced by pure surprise.
“Oh–okay,” Maddie said, freezing for a second before she snapped back into action. She took one more quick handful of popcorn, before pushing the bowl away to the edge of the cot. Then she moved herself back towards the wall, creating a small space for Saff to lay down.
Saff took a bite of her own bowl of popcorn, then set it beside Maddie’s on the corner.
She sat down on the edge, then carefully lifted her legs onto the cot, wincing slightly as she felt the sting in her side again. A yawn instantly made its way out of her mouth as she laid her head back onto the pillow. She wasn't sure how Maddie would even be able to rub her head that way, but at that moment, she really didn't care. She was too tired to think about it.
Maddie laid on her side next to her, with her elbow propped up, resting her head against her palm.
“Want me to lay with my back towards you?” Saff asked, blinking away some of the blurry sleepiness from her eyes.
“Yeah, that works.”
Saff rolled onto that side, wincing again as the wound pressed against the mattress uncomfortably. It wasn't as bad as sitting on the hard floor, but she probably wouldn’t be able to last long in that position, either.
“Ready?” Maddie asked.
“Mhm.”
A moment later, she felt instant relief as Maddie's hands fell to their usual spot on her shoulders and neck. She closed her eyes and exhaled.
Maddie chuckled lightly behind her. “Better already?”
She released a soft grunt in response, letting her shoulders fully relax back into Maddie’s touch. “Surprised you were working in finance and not massage therapy,” Saff mumbled, already feeling the tired fog wash over her.
Maddie let out a small laugh as her palms worked their way through her tight shoulders. “My mom said the same thing to me once.” She ran her thumb back up to the base of her neck, and Saff tilted her head, exposing more of the bare skin to her touch. “Her neck used to ache from all the long workdays. So some nights I’d massage it for her.”
Saff hummed. “Not surprised. I definitely couldn’ve used this after hospital shifts.”
Maddie made a noise of agreement. Then she said, her voice falling quiet, “I miss them. My family, I mean.”
It made sense to miss the people she was closest to. But still, Saff couldn’t relate. She’d never felt that way about anyone, much less anyone she considered family.
“I just,” Maddie continued, “I can’t believe what the world has turned into. I can’t believe there are raiders out there now who are okay with hurting others, attacking them and taking things that aren’t there’s.”
Saff swallowed, those words tugging uncomfortably at her gut.
“How can people be so,” Maddie paused, “horrible.”
She said it with such disgust and disappointment that Saff had to physically stop herself from flinching away. Maddie must have felt her stiffen then, because she gave her shoulders a light, almost soothing squeeze.
“I’m,” Maddie continued slowly, “I’m grateful that it was you I ran into." She loosed a small laugh. “I know we didn’t start off on the best foot, but still, I’m grateful that it was you and not one of them.”
A sick feeling filled Saff’s stomach. Maddie had no idea who she was really saying that to. She didn’t know how unlucky she’d really been that day. That she had actually run into one of those—horrible—people she despised so much.
Her side throbbed against the pressure from the cot.She cleared her throat, rolling partially onto her back.