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Saff continued. “Your shots were perfect yesterday. And the day before.” She paused for a second, and when she spoke again, Maddie thought her voice sounded just a small fraction softer. “You’re good enough.”
Maddie sat there for a few moments, running her fingertip along the handle of her mug. Something had changed between them. Something between the night before and that morning had shifted. After she’d awoken the first time, all she wanted was to feel Saff’s arm around her again. And Saff clearly felt the opposite.
A pit formed in her stomach at the thought.
“There's a town a couple hours walk from here,” Saff said. “I have to go today to fill up on some supplies.”
Maddie nodded slowly. “Youhave to go?” she asked slowly. “What about me?”
They’d done everything together since they’d arrived, except in the early mornings when Saff went out alone.
And they hadn’t spoken about Maddie leaving. Or about either of them leaving. Although she’d thought about it every day. It just didn’t seem like something she needed to figure out yet.
Until now.
“Do you want to go?” Saff asked.And for some reason, it sounded like she was asking more than one question.
“Well, I’m not going to just wait here for you,” she answered with a bite in her tone that she didn’t care to hide.
Silence fell between them again, and Maddie took another sip of her coffee. If she thought Saff was difficult to read before, it was nothing compared to how she was now.
They were both quiet for a few more seconds. Then Maddie heard the scrape of the chair on the ground.
“Let's leave in a half hour,” Saff muttered from somewhere nearby.
***
Maddie inhaled the fresh air as she stepped outside the bunker, the warm sun heating her cheeks.
She scratched an itch on her chest, fingers grazing over the decal of Saff’s shirt. Typically, she would’ve changed out of it as she got ready for the day, but this time she decided to leave it on. It gave her some sense of satisfaction, like she was taking one last jab at Saff for the way she’d been with her that morning.
She stood there waiting as Saff closed the hatch to the bunker, then she felt a shoulder brush gently against hers. She lifted a hand, wrapping her fingers around Saff’s arm.
They walked in silence side by side for at least an hour before Saff finally broke it.
“What’s your plan to get to Brighton?” Saff asked.
Maddie loosed a tight breath. “I don’t know. I’ll figure it out, though.”
Saff was quiet for a long moment. “What are you going to do if you run into another river?”
Maddie clenched her teeth. “You mean if I’malone?”
Saff went quiet again.
“I don't know,” Maddie answered honestly. “But I'm sure I could figure it out.”
Saff was quiet for another moment, but when she spoke again, Maddie recognized the slightly irritated tone that her voice had held earlier. “What about the rain?” she asked. “What about finding shelter?”
Now it was Maddie's turn to be irritated. “Whatever happens, I'm sure I'd be able to figure it out,” she said, not bothering to hide her frustration. “Just because I'm blind, that doesn't mean I can't figure these things out on my own.”
“That's not what I'm saying,” Saff spat back, angrier than before. “But this isn't finance. You can't just figure something out at the last second. This is life and death. You're not going to be protected behind the walls of your lake house out there.”
Maddie scoffed. “Well, if you're so worried, then why don't you just go with me?”
She hadn't really meant to say it, but the words flew out of her mouth before she could stop them.
“I’m not worried,” Saff gritted back. A few beats passed before she spoke again, and when she did, her voice had softened somewhat. “And it—it doesn’t make sense for me to go.”