Free Kingdom Come by Michelle Smith Page B

as I lay in the fetal position on the cold, wooden floor of that tiny shack, I felt crazier than I ever had in my life.
    “I really am a freak,” I whispered when Danny placed a thin blanket on top of me.
    The floor creaked as he walked around my body, which was now trembling from the cold, and he sat on the floor in front of me. He looked fuzzy, as my vision was blurred with both fatigue and unshed tears, but there was no missing the empathy on his face.
    “We’re all freaks,” Danny said. He reached out and pulled the blanket further up my shoulder, until the top rested at my neck. It didn’t provide much warmth, but at that point, every little bit helped ease the chill. “Talk to me, girl. What’s goin’ on in that head of yours?”
    Nothing , I wanted to say, because that’s how it felt. My brain was exhausted from this crap. Why was I such a mental case? Why couldn’t I just be like other teenagers my age? Why did it have to be me?
    I licked my lips, momentarily soothing the chapped skin there. “Sometimes, I feel normal,” I began, blinking away the tears. “At least, what I think normal should be. And then things like this happen. I have another vision, or a nightmare, and I spaz out.”
    “Normal is so overrated,” he said. “Nobody should try to be normal—it’s like, this unattainable goal. Just be you. You seem like a cool chick. We all think so.”
    My eyes tried to flutter closed, but I fought the urge to fall asleep on the spot. “Yeah?” I asked through a yawn. “You must not have high standards. And Nate doesn’t seem too sold on me.”
    “Nate isn’t sold on any of this,” he said with a glance to the doorway. “Nate’s here because he didn’t want to risk dying in that cellar. There’s no loyalty there.”
    As much as I hated to admit it, he was probably right. I yawned again and shifted in an attempt to get comfortable, which was a joke. Danny shivered, and I felt like a jerk for hogging the blanket, thin as it was. I propped up on my elbow and looked around the room.
    “Why don’t you grab another blanket?” I asked.
    He shrugged and nodded toward the opposite side of the room. “Haven needed one more than I did.” I glanced over and, sure enough, Haven was curled into a tiny ball in the far corner. I hadn’t even noticed her slip into the shack. “I gave the other one to Ethan and the doc, since they’re on lookout duty. Nate wanted nothing to do with it. He’d rather freeze to death than admit he needs help.”
    “Well . . . here.” I lifted the edge of my blanket. “Lie down. There’s no need for you to freeze, too.”
    He eyed me for a minute before taking me up on the offer. Facing me, he rested on his side, only an inch or so away. It felt strange, considering I hardly knew him, but there really was no need to waste the blanket when he was obviously freezing. We weren’t exactly dressed for the elements.
    He tossed an arm around my waist, making my cheeks flush. There was nothing romantic there—at all—but I couldn’t help it. He was a guy whose body was right against mine.
    “You know,” he said, “Ethan would probably try and slaughter me in my sleep if he saw me right now.”
    That woke me up. “Huh?”
    Danny snorted. “Kidding. Mostly. You haven’t noticed?”
    “Noticed what?”
    “Pretty, he’s been staring at you like a lovesick puppy since you rolled into the cellar yesterday. I think it was love at first sight for that kid. That’s why I’m not trying to get in your pants right now. He’s a good buddy—has been since I got to that center.”
    My mouth dropped open, but I was speechless. I’d felt something between us, that was for sure, but actually hearing it from someone else . . . it was weird.
    “Huh,” I finally said. “Shame I’m nuts then.”
    Danny shrugged and yawned loudly. “He’s got his shit, too. Maybe the two of you can be nuts together. If we’re still alive tomorrow, that is.”
    “You’re not a glass