Cruel World (The Tribe Book 1)

9. Jealousy

I wake early the next morning, before the sun rises, and decide I might as well get up and get food ready for everyone. I carefully climb over Martin and out of bed, since I slept on the side pushed against the wall. On my way off the bed, I give Martin a quick peck on the check, and he snuggles deeper into the pillow with a smile, causing me to quietly 'aww' at the sight.

I get dressed in new clothes for the day and walk out and quietly make my way up the stairs, seeing Bray perched over the railing upstairs, most likely having checked on the baby.

"Morning," I quietly whisper with a yawn, giving him a side hug. He returns the hug, head still miles away in thought.

"What you thinking about?" I ask, gaining his attention.

"How much things will change now that Martin left the Locos, and Ebony's gonna be running the city now," He tells me.

"But for how long? Ebony isn't known for having support for long, not without others to back her up, but even the fanatics won't stay with her long, they believed in 'almighty Zoot', not her," I comment, and he tilts his head in agreement. We fall into comfortable silence, before going into the café and having a cup of coffee.

He takes his back down and leans over the railing in between the two stair cases that join into the second flight, and as I move into the kitchen to make food, I see Salene wander down to join him, just having gotten out of bed. I ignore them and give them their privacy, cutting up a couple watermelons that I grew up on the roof.

Once that's done and on some platters, I cut up homemade bread for everyone to have 2 pieces, and cook up a few tins of baked beans for the toast. I place everything on the long table in the café for plating food, with plates and cutlery for everyone. I fill a large jug with water and take some cups for people as well.

Slowly everyone begins migrating out to the café, and grabs their food. I let everyone know that if they are hungry after their helping there's a fruit basket with more on the bench in the kitchen.

I see Martin serve up two plates, before he comes and takes me to our own little table, giving me a kiss on the forehead as he wishes me good morning, making me smile. We sit and chat with everyone about what everyone's planning to do today, and then place dishes in a tub in the kitchen, as some of the boys are on washing up duty today. I made their load easier by washing my dishes once the food was done.

Martin and I head up to the roof for the morning to harvest some of the fruit and veg that are ready for picking, and laugh and joke around the entire time, as if nothing had changed since the virus. At one point I was watering plants while his back was turned, placing some new seeds in the garden beds, so I splashed him with a bit of water.

The way his body jerked made me laugh uncontrollably, eventually having to support myself with my hands on my knees as I wheezed. He gives me a cheeky grin and quickly comes over to tickle me, before we sit with our feet dangled over the edge of the roof, enjoying the sunshine as we enjoyed the peace before we went inside.

"I can see why they picked you as the leader," he mentions, and I looked at him with an eyebrow raised, telling him to continue. "You care for everyone so deeply, without even thinking about it, no matter how much they can get on your nerves sometimes. And you're amazing with my daughter, truly. You may as well be her mother with the way Trudy seems to behave, and I haven't even been here a full day. Everyone listens to you and values your opinion and approval, you're a natural leader," he finishes, making me blush and smile while I fumble with my fingers.

He smiles at me, finding the fidgeting adorable, and leans over to kiss me. I return it, one hand placed on his jaw and the other holding me up as we kiss, enjoying our alone time. We stay that way for a bit, until we decide to go inside before one of us gets sunburnt, however we are in no rush to go back inside. We giggle like school girls, giving each other quick pecks as we return, him even placing a strand of hair that falls in my face behind my ear, making me bashful.