Week 426 – That can’t be who it looks like, I watched him die

“Wake up, Cara. Now.”

The insistent voice was accompanied by shaking, and exhausted as she was, Cara managed to surface from a deep sleep.

“Liam?” she mumbled, rolling over and trying to rub sleep away from her eyes, even as it clung to her like a second skin. After the crash and the gruelling hike through the storm it was going to take a lot more rest until she felt normal again. “Is something wrong?”

“Someone is coming.”

If any words could snap her wide awake those were the ones. “Who is it?”

“Don’t know.” Liam was standing beside the bed, dressed, and was that … a gun in his hand?

“You think they’re dangerous?” she asked as she sat up, her entire body protesting the move. Cara felt like one great big giant bruise right now, every single part of her throbbing and pulsing.

“Don’t know, and that makes me nervous.”

Since he had a weapon in his hand then she had to believe he did indeed think whoever was coming was dangerous. “What are we going to do?”

“You’re going to hide,” he said firmly, like his mind was already made up.

“Hide? That doesn’t seem fair.” Okay, maybe she was hurt, and maybe she didn’t know how to help protect them, but she could do something.

“This is what I need you to do, Cara. You’re hurt and weak, and I know what I’m doing. Maybe I’m blowing this way out of proportion and nothing is wrong. I just … I need to know you’re safe. Or at least as safe as I can make you.”

Arguing seemed futile, and a flash of headlights at the window told her whoever was coming was almost here. So Cara nodded, scrambled out of the bed, and when Liam went to move away from her, she panicked.

“Wait,” she cried out, grabbing hold of his hand. When he turned back and around and looked down at her, she didn’t know how to express the mess of emotions inside her. Instead she pushed up onto tiptoes, and touched a kiss to his cheep, brushing the corner of his mouth in the process. “Be safe.”

His gaze was soft as he smiled at her, and he squeezed her hands tight before letting her go and heading for the door.

As badly as she wanted to call out to him, ask him to come back, make him promise her nothing would happen to him, Cara didn’t. Instead she scanned the small cabin for a place to hide and prayed that whoever was out there didn’t mean them any harm.

As she slipped into the space at the bottom of the pantry, she could have sworn she heard Liam say, “That can’t be who it looks like, I watched him die.”