Free Surviving Passion by Maia Underwood

over there,” and he gestured at it. “Feel free to come hang out any time you like.”
    “Okay, thanks,” Selena said, making her way to her steps. “Goodnight.”
    “Goodnight” he grinned with a wave, adding, “Nice to meet you,” before heading off.
    When Selena got inside, she bolted the door, hoping this Clint wasn’t going to make a nuisance of himself. Selena was not so naïve as to think he was only interested in idle conversation with her. So Clint’s a little creepy, she decided, shrugging.
    The fact that he disliked Dan so much was disconcerting. While she hadn’t entirely trusted Dan, she trusted Clint far less. What if her judgment of Dan was too harsh? Selena began to regret all the arguments they had. She sat on her bed and sighed, running her hands through her hair and feeling like an idiot. The only reason he chased me was because I was headed in a dangerous direction and risking my safety again, she pondered. Well that may have been the reason he went after her in the first place, but Selena knew something had triggered his desire.
    “God, people are confusing,” she whispered under her breath. What if she just wasn’t equipped for this, Selena wondered. What if she was an exception to the rule?
    His story made sense. She had acted like a wild animal. It was justified of course, but that didn’t help the situation. And he was right. She wouldn’t have accepted any form of help from him at all. Not willingly. So he fed her a semi-honest truth about adding her to the community, and now that she was here, she could choose for herself. At this point, he didn’t seem to care too much whether she left or not.
    Suddenly, Selena wanted to stay. Well, why not? she asked herself, feeling suddenly reckless. But there was this other posse and creepy Clint. That made twenty-one good reasons not to stay. Selena lay down on the bed, biting her lip. Most of the people here didn’t seem half bad. She had to admit that human contact felt good. She hadn’t realized how lonely she had been all these years. People were confusing; but interesting too, and she was almost as curious about them as the intriguing leatherworking equipment that was now hers. She’d love to have time to experiment with it.
    Selena deliberated long and hard into the night before coming to a decision. In the end, curiosity won. She wanted to learn about these people and their way of life. Besides, she thought, even I know it’s not polite to eat and run. And that steak had been good .

    Five

    Selena stirred as the light through the windows became too bright to ignore. She had found the bed too soft, so she had and taken refuge underneath it; un-tucking the blankets above to hang down, concealing her. Old habits were tough to break. Her sleep had been restless, but when she awoke, it was already late morning. She suddenly felt nervous. Half the day had gone by and she was missing everything that was going on. The feeling mounted until her heart actually quickened. This is going to kill me , she thought, trying to relax and take deep breaths. I don’t have to keep track of everything that happens here. When her heartbeat slowed once more, Selena headed to the mirror in the bathroom and smoothed her hair. She briefly considered making herself look worse. No. If I can’t live here normally, then I can’t live here at all , she concluded resolutely and headed out the door.
    There were a couple of kids running around outside. They hid and watched her from behind a bush, pretending to be stealthy. She waved, spoiling their fun. The person she really wanted to see was Blaire because she was the only one who made Selena feel comfortable. Also, she needed something to do and she guessed Blaire wouldn’t hesitate to give her some work. Weaving her way between various cabins and a couple of larger buildings, she ran into Gina who greeted her promptly.
    “Hey! We didn’t officially meet last night. My name’s Gina.” She offered her hand