EMP Catastrophe - Hamilton, Grace (best books to read for beginners txt) 📗

remembered falling asleep. He’d had to coax Kathleen to bed the night before. She hadn’t said much, even when he tried to get her to open up about the vote to keep Jade around. They both shared the same dissatisfaction with the outcome, but for some reason, it felt like a wall had been erected between them. Gently, he’d asked her to tell him about her trip from Chicago. Instead, she’d curled herself into a ball with her back to him. He’d assumed she’d fallen asleep before he crashed himself.

Now, he tried to sense if she was still in bed with him and realized he slept alone.

Opening his eyes took monumental strength of will. He blinked at the dawn cascading through the windows and saw a dark shape blocking one side of a window. Kathleen stood close to the glass, most of her cast in shadow, except for her profile. She rubbed her thumb back and forth across her lower lip as though she were deep in thought.

Matthew eased out of bed and approached her carefully, suddenly worried he might spook her as though she were a cornered animal about to strike at the smallest provocation. Slowly, he put his hands on her shoulders and rubbed them. This close, he could see the dark circles under her eyes. Her face seemed gaunt. The rest of her appeared haggard, as though she’d barely rested before taking up this strange vigil beside the window. At his touch, her eyes fluttered. She let out a soft sigh as though coming back to reality. Yet she never stopped staring out the window.

“Did you sleep?” Matthew whispered.

“I couldn’t,” she said. “Someone is out there.”

Matthew stopped rubbing her shoulders and felt a ping of concern race through him. “What do you mean?” he asked.

Kathleen’s thumb scraped over her lower lip again and she gestured out the window. “I saw someone watching the hotel from the woods.”

“Where?” he asked, leaning forward to get a better look. Her statements made him feel uncertain and on his guard.

“There.” She pointed toward the tree line. “You can’t see them anymore, but I watched them all night. I don’t know what they want, but I think they’re planning to attack us.”

Matthew’s uneasiness intensified. He slowly wrapped his arms around Kathleen’s waist and pulled her against his chest. Her whole body felt tense. He put his chin on the top of her shoulder. “I don’t see anyone,” he said softly. “Why didn’t you wake me?”

“They didn’t do anything threatening. You needed to rest, but it’s creepy that they’re just watching us. They’re there, Matt.” Kathleen sounded defensive.

“I believe you,” he said, and tried to make it sound convincing. “I’ll go outside and check.”

“I had to make sure they didn’t come any closer,” Kathleen said, her defensive tone escalating with frustration. “I had to make sure we were safe.”

“I know,” Matthew said and rubbed her arms again. He studied the tree line, looking for any sign of movement. Anything that might look out of place. Instead, he saw green buds beginning to flourish on the tree branches. Spring had arrived and had brought the beginning greenery of new life with it. He peered harder, trying to see what Kathleen saw, but he only saw beautiful foliage shedding the winter and the sharp mountain vistas that had drawn him here in the first place. “I promise, I’ll look at every nook and cranny.” He pulled away from her. “I’m getting dressed, but let me know if you see them again.”

Kathleen didn’t respond and instead crossed her arms. Her hands stroked her elbows as though trying to self-soothe. As Matthew pulled on his jeans, he felt a strange tug of loneliness inside of him. He and Kathleen had never had problems talking to each other before. They’d always been best friends who shared every inner thought. The fact that she seemed so guarded from him hurt in an unexpected way. Somehow, he needed to get her to open up about her experiences. Something had happened to her that she was scared to tell him.

Either that, or she’d become scared of him. He hoped that wasn’t the case. He didn’t want her to be fearful of him in any way.

He couldn’t push her. She needed time to process whatever had happened to her. He had to trust that Kathleen would come to him on her own terms.

“I’m going to go downstairs,” he said, once he was fully dressed. He waited, but again, she didn’t respond. “Are you coming?” he asked.

Kathleen shook her head. “I’ll be down soon,” she said, sounding far away.

Matthew waited a moment, hoping she would change her mind. “Are you sure?” he asked.

“I just need some time alone,” Kathleen said.

Matthew sighed. “Okay. I’ll see you later, then.” Concern filled him again as he walked out of their bedroom. Don’t push her. Even so, he couldn’t help but say, “I love you.”

As he headed downstairs, he heard the familiar movements of his family. The soft tones of his father and mother filtered through the air. He passed them sitting at one of the big tables in the dining room. Their heads were bent together in deep conversation. He smiled wistfully but snuck by them. He didn’t want to disturb them. That was the kind of intimacy he hoped he would once again have with Kathleen.

He walked to the front door, paused, and with a stab of uneasiness wondered where Jade might be. He couldn’t be concerned about her at all hours of the day. It would eventually drive him insane, but he couldn’t help but wonder if she was the mysterious person Kathleen had seen. Was Jade taking stock of their property? Assessing it for weaknesses? Perhaps she was working with another group and had infiltrated them in the attempt to take the hotel from them. For a moment, he felt breathless with fear. Then he shook the thoughts away, packaging them up so that he could think more clearly. First things first. He