Don't Whistle Past the Graveyard

Ch. Thirty-Nine

Dinner was deathly quiet, if you'll forgive the pun.

Though the fun started, and ended, when Brayden asked Cassidy if her last name was short for anything.

Cassidy looked at him kind of blankly and said, "Short for something like what?"

Brayden shifted somewhat uncomfortably and completely missed Cassidy's smirk when she said, "Like Piercing Arrow or something? I'm only a quarter Cherokee, jackass. My dad was white."

Shane choked on his peas, and Viktoria placed her forehead on the table in a bid to hide the gigantic grin stretching over her face.

You know those people who are always trying so hard to make sure they are unoffensive or sensitive to the... whatever it is they need to be sensitive about to other people? I always found it so hilarious how they managed to offend anyway.

There was no more talking after that. Then I had to figure out how in the hell we were going to split up for watches now. Kyle had pulled me aside and I had, not so subtly, gotten the feeling that in no uncertain terms was I to stick him with Brayden again.

I had already pretty much figured that out after today's little debacle. Only about three things really got under Kyle's skin anymore, and messing with his brother was certainly at the top of that list.

With a heavy sigh, I looked at Shane and whispered, "Are you okay with Danny taking watch with Brayden?"

I know we had agreed to always have one of us with one of them on watch detail, but after today, Danny certainly felt more 'us' than 'them'.

Shane nodded minutely and I leaned over to Danny who was already looking weary. I shrugged at her apologetically and she just nodded. I decided it was only fair to bite the other bullet. So to speak.

"Danny and Brayden can take first watch. Then Melanie and myself. Shane and Cassidy. Kyle and Vik." I looked at Sam and Sacha. "You've got last."

Everyone nodded and we got ready for the night. I was in the bedroom I had woken up in this morning, piling extra blankets on the bed for Shane, and jumped when there was a light tap on the door. Turning, I found Cassidy watching me, and raised an eyebrow at her, smoothing down the edge of a blanket.

Cassidy shut the door behind her and sat on the floor, leaning her back against the wall. She frowned at the floor for a moment, then said, "So what's the deal here? How does it work?"

"Sorry?" I asked, sitting on the edge of the bed.

She smiled a little at me. "I don't have the patience to try and figure out the whole dynamic here by myself. You seem to have some idea of what you're doing. So... what's the story. Who goes where?"

Not sure I really understood her question, I started with what I figured was the most obvious. "Shane and Kyle are brothers."

"Yeah. No. I kinda could see that for myself. Let me go out on a limb here and guess that the two Russian kids are related too." Cassidy rolled her eyes and I couldn't help my smile. Her blunt manner amused me and prompted my own honesty.

"It was just me and Shane and Kyle. Then we found the kids. Then we ran into Danny's group. Melanie and Brayden are married. Shane and I," I paused, frowning. What was even the right word?

"Are sleeping together," Cassidy finished.

I shrugged. With a sideways smile I said, "I like to think it's a little more than that, but yeah, sure. If you want to keep it simple, we're sleeping together."

"So you pair up the new girl with your boyfriend?" Cassidy asked, and I got the sense that she was just testing the waters, nothing more. Just testing bonds to see how tight they were, trying to find how she would fit within them.