Zone Zero (Book 1 of 3)

Chapter 25

When we arrive home Logan leaves me alone to shower and dress but I can hear him as he paces up and down the hall. I smile to myself and let him be. It actually makes me feel better knowing that my brother is watching over me so carefully.

I emerge from the bathroom and he leads me downstairs and makes me a cup of tea and forces me to sit down and enjoy.

He doesn't ask where I have been nor does he ask what I remember, he just lets me rest.

I spend the rest of the day on the couch dozing in and out of consciousness as he takes this time to clean his pistol and read an old book with dog eared pages. We don't say a single word, but instead co-exist in complete silence; enjoying each other's company.

Hours go by like this until we eventually both decide that we should call it a night. He walks me to my room and makes sure that I keep my door open and he promises that he will keep his open as well. I am touched by his thoughtfulness and I find myself drifting off to sleep a little too easily.

...

I awake with a shortage of breath throughout the night and am overcome with a strange sense of sadness and anxiety. I stare up at the ceiling and close my eyes and try to imagine why I am sad but I can't recall a reason. I feel lost as though something has been taken from me but there is nothing that springs to mind.

I try to recall my dream for some hint of why I could have this dreadful feeling in my stomach but the only thing that has stuck around are bright blue eyes. They don't belong to any face in particular, they just exist and watch me carefully. They are the same blue eyes that I have dreamed of hundreds of times before but this time they aren't menacing or hostile. They are protective.

I shake the feeling of loss and sorrow from my mind and let myself drift off again and dream of the bright blue eyes along with a matching set of lips that tenderly kiss me goodnight.

...

The next week passes much the same. I catch up on some reading and spend all of my time inside while Logan fusses over me like a nervous parent. He cooks every meal for me and won't let me help. He barely lets me leave his sight in fear that something might happen to me again.

He is worried about what happened to me outside of the zone but he is too decent to ask me about it.

The way he looks after me reminds me of when we were children and finally allowed to live in this townhouse together. From that moment Logan took on more of a father figure than a brother and Declyn and I let him. He was only 17 and yet he cared for us better than anyone in this zone ever could.

I smile at him as he makes me breakfast and am astounded that he has been able to take over a week off from his duties. I guess no one has the guts to tell him to get back to work.

My brother has always put family before duty and when pushed he can have quite a temper. He has never gotten angry with me or Declyn but I have seen it once or twice with others and I know that it isn't something that you want to be on the receiving end of. I guess that's part of the reason he is so good at his job.

Although we haven't really said much to each other, I know that he is happy that I am home and I am happy to be home. His mere presence is a form of happiness itself for me.

He sits down across from me and places a plate of food before each of us.

I gently lay my hand atop of his and squeeze his fingers slightly. When he looks up to face me, I greet him with the most honest and thankful of smiles that I can possibly muster. He gives off a nervous one in return and continues to eat his scrambled eggs.