Feeding Frenzy

Chapter 22

Evey kept the bedroom door open a crack so that she could hear the twins if they woke. She was laying on her back and drumming her fingers on her belly. She had yet to change out of her clothes or get underneath the covers. She was listening to the murmur of the soldiers' voices downstairs. She could not make out any words that they were saying. She thought about barging back down into the kitchen again, but she had made her point. She wanted to go to Toronto.

The voices stopped and the front door closed. Footsteps echoed through the house. She closed her eyes, but all she could see was Lila screaming and crying for her life. She envisioned her parents laying dead on the floor with their brains spilling out of their skulls.

The bedroom door creaked open, and Evey pushed herself up so that she was sitting. She expected Josie or Joey to be walking into the room rubbing their eyes and complaining that they could not sleep. Instead, a tall figure stood in the doorway. She could not make out the features in the dark, but it had to be Ford.

"You're awake?" he asked.

"Yes." Evey laid back down on the bed. "I haven't been able to sleep lately."

Ford was silent for a moment. Evey closed her eyes and thought that Ford would try to find another empty room or sleep on the couch. Her heart pounded when the bed dipped. She propped herself on her elbow to see the figure laying on the bed next to her.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"There's no other bedroom," he said.

"There's always the couch."

Ford sighed.

"I'm tired," he said. "Let me lay down for a minute."

"Fine," she said.

Evey lowered herself onto the bed. Ford's arm brushed against hers. Her chest tightened as her arm tingled. She struggled to breathe as she noticed that his bicep was hard.

Evey and Ford were both silent. She focused on the moonlight casting shadows on the ceiling. Ford's breathing turned deep and rhythmic and Evey suspected that he had fallen asleep. There was no way she was going to sleep next to Ford in a bed. She would go to the couch.

Before she could move, Ford spoke. His voice broke the heavy silence that sat in the room.

"I'm sorry," he said.

Evey raised a brow. She turned her head to see that Ford's attention was focused on the ceiling. He was watching the same shadows on the ceiling.

"What for?" Evey asked.

"For your family," he said. "I am sorry that I killed your parents."

"What about my sister?"

"Johnson technically killed her."

Evey sighed. Hearing out loud that her family was killed made her chest ache. This was not a dream. It wasn't a nightmare. This was her life.

"I've been thinking about it," Evey said. She took in a sharp breath to stop herself from crying. "If they were Infected, they would have turned into one of those mindless creatures. Maybe it is better that they are dead? I don't know. It is a lot to think about. It is heartbreaking to think that they were killed though."

Evey was impressed that she was speaking without crying. Tears were threatening to spill, but she was able to hold them back.

"So you forgive me?" Ford asked.

She was silent for a moment as she thought.

"No," she said. "I don't forgive you. I don't think I will ever be able to forgive you."

Ford let out a deep breath. He turned his head to face Evey. She was so close to him, but she could not see his expression because of the darkness. Was he mad? Was he going to storm out of the room? Was he upset with her answer?

"Never?" he asked, his voice barely above a whisper.

"Never," she said. "But that's okay. I don't have to forgive you."

Evey so badly wanted to see Ford's facial expressions. Normally, he looked so stern and strict. He appeared as if nothing could hurt him. Had her words changed that?

"I don't hate you though," she said.

Ford took in a sharp breath. Was he trying to hold back tears?

"I don't hate you either," he said.

"Why would you hate me in the first place?" she asked.

"Because you're so fucking stubborn."

Evey chuckled and turned her gaze back to stare at the shadows on the ceiling. Ford had not moved and was still watching Evey. He had also wished that he could see her face in more detail.

"Why are you like that?" he asked.

Evey shrugged.

"I became this way working the Emergency Department," she said. "I learned quickly that people will try to walk all over you. Sometimes you have to be stubborn to get what you want."

"And you want to go to Toronto?" he asked.

"I do."

Rain began to pelt against the window. Sleeping during the rain was always her favourite, especially when crawling into bed after a night shift. She closed her eyes and could already feel herself drifting off. There was no way she was going to fall asleep in bed next to Ford.

"Why are you so mean?" Evey asked.

"I'm not mean," he said.

"I'd beg to differ."

Ford sucked in a deep breath and shifted so that he was staring at the ceiling too. He raised his arm so that it was resting on top of the pillow.

"Maybe I'm a little difficult," he said.

"A little?" Evey giggled. "You're a man of few words who somehow is always bossing me around."

There was a moment of silence. Evey hoped Ford would explain himself in more than a few words.

"I grew up in foster care," he said. "You don't really have a voice there, so that kind of followed me through life."

Evey's chest tightened. Ford was about to unload some heavy shit. She wanted to hear it, but it was always a struggle to prepare.

"I thought you said your family was dead," Evey said.

"They are," he said. "It's just not because of Thyestean."

"What happened?"

Ford shifted his arm so that he could pinch the bridge of his nose. When was the last time he talked about this? Has he ever discussed it?

"My Dad died in Iraq," he said. "He was in the military too. My Mom suffered from mental health issues. She killed herself a couple of years after. My older brother and I were in foster care but he died from Leukemia."

"Ford, I am so sorry," Evey said.

She was lost for words.

"No way to change things," he said. "No need to apologize."

"It's still shitty," she said.

He laughed. It was a sound Evey had never heard before. It eased some of the tension in her chest.

"Definitely shitty," he said.

Evey closed her eyes as she listened to the rain. Without realizing it, she fell asleep inches away from Ford.