Love Among The Ruins

NADINE'S P.O.V

The next night was just as bad as the first.

After the little encounter with the monster yesterday, I was in no mood to go out. The last thing I wanted to do was come face to face with that thing again. I had no idea how the soldiers could do it night after night- go out to find food, forage and basically just live there knowing that these things were after them.

It was terrifying.

Caine went out, but it was barely for an hour. The entire time, my heart was pounding rapidly in my chest. I thought I was going to throw up my breakfast at some point. There was truly nothing to do save for wait around for him.

I folded our clothes at least three times and looked over everything we had. I did everything I could to try and get my mind off the fact that he could be out there dying. It wasn't until the moment I saw him swimming back that I allowed myself to breathe.

"You were gone for a while," I mumbled, my hands crossed over my chest as I watched him. "Did you find anything?"

It was a stupid question, if he had found someone, he would have been with them by now. He was alone and he looked a bit frustrated as it was.

He ignored my question and pulled off his shirt. He had been doing this for two days and yet, I wasn't used to it. My cheeks still flushed and I felt heat gather in places that heat had no business being. I looked away but not before getting an eyeful of his back.

The pink and pale scars stood out against his back. I had already seen them a lot of times but it never got easier. I couldn't imagine the sheer pain he must have gone through.

"Caine-"

"Do you ever shut up?" he snapped and I frowned.

"That's not fair."

He ignored me and grabbed a pair of loose pants to pull on. "We have to leave soon. It isn't ideal to keep swimming in here and getting our clothes wet. This hideout is only good for a few days at most."

"Aren't we waiting to see if anyone will-"

"if there were people, they would have shown up by now. We are on our own."

I knew that but hearing it was something else entirely. It felt like someone had dropped lead in my stomach, I couldn't breathe, couldn't speak, I felt bile make its way up my throat. Goosebumps danced over my skin and all I could do was wrap my arms around myself for comfort.

I had always been lonely but I had never truly been alone before. Before this happened, we had workers at home, and when the monsters broke out, we had the bunker. We were safe and I was with people. This would be an entirely new experience for me and I had no idea how to deal with it.

"We have to be more careful. The next hideaway is a distance from here. We will be on the road for a few days. Just don't light a fire and stay out of trouble. I don't want to encounter any other monsters."

"Shouldn't I have a weapon?"

"You're more likely to hurt yourself-"

I pursed my lips in annoyance. He had seen me train, he knew what I could do. I knew I wasn't as good as he was, I didn't have the practical experience but I wasn't entirely useless. I opened my mouth to protest but he held up a hand to stop me, as if he was speaking to a child.

My cheeks flushed and before I knew what I was doing, I grabbed the dagger he left on the ground and held it to his throat. He either wasn't expecting it or he didn't see me as much of a threat because he just stood there, somewhat bored.

"If this was a fight, you would be dead," I told him and he scoffed.

I wanted to ask what he found funny when he moved. He twisted my wrist hard enough that I released the knife but not hard enough to hurt me. in one quick move, I was spinning and Caine had my back to his chest, his arms around my head.

"I could snap your neck in a second," he sounded bored. "You can't win in a fight."

"Maybe," I pushed back against him and he released me. "But, if I were throwing a knife, I would have taken your head off and you know it."

"Go to sleep, Nadine," he frowned. "We have a long journey tomorrow. You can eat the rest of the bread and cheese."

He didn't speak to me again for the rest of the night. He simply made his way to the sleeping bag and lay down. I knew he wasn't sleeping, but I also knew he didn't want to be bothered so I left him alone.

By the time I got into the sleeping bag after him, he didn't even turn to me or try to hold me like he did the first night. He acted as if I wasn't there and I forced my eyes closed.

I woke up to the sound of soft but firm breathing. I followed the sound, shocked to find Caine in a corner of the cave doing pushups. I lay there for a full minute, staring at him in complete shock because our lives were in danger and he was training.

"I know you're awake," he said dryly, looking up slowly to watch me.

He was shirtless and drenched in a light sheen of sweat. He was built, that much was obvious and I guess I could see why. He didn't have the kind of body that came across by accident.

"Won't this make you tired?" I asked, my brows furrowed in confusion. "We will be walking for a while."

"I didn't start training today. I have been training for years. My body is used to it."

"Will you train me?'

"No," I started to protest but he cut me off. "Not now at least, we have enough issues at hand. I don't need you in pain if we need to run."

I pursed my lips but I knew he was right. "When do we leave?"

"Right now. The sun is beginning to rise. We need to cover as much ground as possible. Get dressed, Nadine."

He turned his back to me, pulled off his pants and jumped into the water. I barely had time to look away before getting a glimpse of his ass.

While he cleaned himself up in the lake, I gathered up our things.

 I barely had any time to get cleaned because Caine kept rushing me but there was no way in hell I was stepping out without washing myself first.

We swam to the other side of the cave and didn't get dressed until we were out so as not to risk getting our clothes wet. I pulled on a pair of cargo pants and a short-sleeved shirt. I didn't want to risk getting overheated on the way.

I returned to where I had kept the bag only to find something sitting next to it- a tiny dagger- the one that Caine always kept strapped to his thigh. I looked up at Caine but he already had his back to me and he was shouldering his bag.

"Are you coming at all or are you going to keep standing there?" he drawled.

"Thank you."

"Don't thank me yet, try not to get yourself killed first."