Page 105 of The Hitchhikers

“Stop,” she hissed, and for a moment he faltered, but then the angry look was back.

“You think Ruth is going to bake cookies for you and teach you how to collect eggs? You think she’llthankyou if you make that call?”

“They could die,” she said.

“We’re the ones who are going to die! The second they talk to Tom, every cop in the country is going to be looking for us. I shot a cop, Jenny!”

She was openly crying now, unable to stop the sobs that erupted one after another.

“I don’t want anyone to die!”

“Then trust me, okay? Trust me.” He dropped to his knees in front of her, kissing her stomach, her hands. “I can take care of us, but wehaveto trust each other.”

She nodded. His eyes were so desperate, his voice raw like hewas trying not to cry too. She should have listened to him. She let Alice get inside her head and it had confused her.

“The call didn’t work. The operator couldn’t find the number for the Fernie police. I hung up right away.” She wanted to reassure him. It was only a small white lie.

Simon let out a big breath and sat back on his heels. “Okay, that’s good. The others are going to be fine. It’s only for a couple of days.”

“You make it sound so easy,” Alice spit out. “They don’t have water, food. Tom has a broken collarbone. They’resuffering.”

Jenny looked back and forth between Simon and Alice. Simon moved, getting something from the floor. His T-shirt. He strode over to Alice, and while she fought to push him away with her free hand, he covered her mouth with it, wrapping the shirt around her head and knotting it.

She glared up at him and made sounds through the fabric.

He came over to Jenny, his hair messy and his eyes red-rimmed. He gave Jenny a searching look, then cupped the side of her face. His thumb wiped the last of her tears away.

“I’m sorry, babe. I flipped out. I didn’t mean what I said. It just scared the shit out of me when I woke up and you weren’t beside me.”

“I’m sorry too.” She felt exhausted now. He was taking back his harsh words, but there had been truth to them. She’d felt it. She rested back on the pillows.

He stroked her hair, slow calming movements. “We’ll get a few hours’ sleep, then we’ll walk into town before the sun’s up. I’ll find a car.”

Alice was right again. Jenny couldn’t stop Simon. She’d had a chance, and she’d panicked. Maybe she should tell him that she wanted to take a bus or the train. No more stealing, but her eyelids were so heavy now. They could talk in the morning.

She woke to Simon’s lips brushing against her cheek, and when she opened her eyes, she didn’t see his handsome face, she saw him yelling those hateful things at her. She saw the sneer in his lips when he had taunted her about wishing Alice was her mom. She saw the heat in his eyes when he had talked about Tom, like he was jealous. She rubbed at her eyes now, trying to clear the sleep, as though she could also wipe away the sting, but it was still there.

“Hey,” he whispered. “We slept in. It’s nine thirty.”

Jenny looked at the window. Sun was leaking in around the edges of the curtain, the fabric glowing a more vibrant orange.

“We’re not going to be able to make a move until it’s dark again,” Simon said. “You’ll have to pay for another night—and tell them we don’t want to be disturbed.”

Jenny sat up, yawned, and looked around. The room seemed larger in the daylight, but also shabbier, with faded patches on the carpet, scuffed furniture, and water rings on the night tables. Alice was awake in the other bed, watching them. She still had the shirt tied around her mouth.

Jenny got up and took it off.

Alice licked her lips, which looked dry and sore. Jenny got a glass of water from the bathroom and brought it over. She looked at Simon. “Can you untie her?”

He was watching her now, his eyes forming a question, and maybe he was beginning to understand that he wasn’t fully forgiven, because he got out of bed and untied Alice right away. Jenny handed her the water. Alice sat up and drank it all.

“I need to use the bathroom.”

Simon nodded, and Alice slid off the bed.

“When you book the room,” Simon said to Jenny, “ask if there’s a coffee shop or somewhere you can get us breakfast.”

“Okay.”