{"id":681,"date":"2011-09-16T00:00:50","date_gmt":"2011-09-16T04:00:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/?p=681"},"modified":"2011-09-06T13:58:04","modified_gmt":"2011-09-06T17:58:04","slug":"day-15-chapter-10-marin-05","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/?p=681","title":{"rendered":"Day 15 – Chapter 10 – Marin – 05"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Thom found us standing out there a few minutes later.\u00a0 \u201cWhat do you think?\u201d\u00a0 He asked quietly as he came up next to me and slid his free arm around my waist.\u00a0 I tugged him a little closer, to take some of the weight off of his ankle and onto me, and he obediently leaned against me.
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cIt looks like it\u2019ll work?\u201d\u00a0 Carolyn shrugged a little, sounding as unsure as I was.\u00a0 This was his area of expertise, not ours.
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 He nodded slightly.\u00a0 \u201cThe area below the clock tower would\u2019ve been better, but the drainage isn\u2019t great out there and it\u2019s anyone\u2019s guess whether that tower\u2019s going to stay standing or not.\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cOh!\u00a0 Oh, we didn\u2019t tell you.\u201d\u00a0 Carolyn looked at Thom and I, smiling.\u00a0 \u201cWhen we went out to the Shakespeare garden the other day, we saw the clock tower was still standing.\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Thom frowned.\u00a0 \u201cIt was still standing the last time anyone saw it, it was just leaning at a thirty degree angle.\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cNo, I mean straight up, ninety degrees from the ground.\u201d\u00a0 She shook her head a little, still grinning.\u00a0 \u201cIt was pretty incredible.\u00a0 It looked pretty solid, but none of us have gone out to take another look.\u00a0 J.T. thought it must\u2019ve been one of those last big earthquakes that shook it square\u2014like maybe it was the ground that was crooked, not the tower.\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Thom and I exchanged a look and he shook his head a little.\u00a0 \u201cThis is better for now, anyhow,\u201d he murmured, squinting out toward where Paul was herding the sheep with some help from Brandon, who was apparently learning the trade.
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Good, at least it\u2019ll give him something to do other than running around looking for something to do to help.<\/em>\u00a0 \u201cHow long do you think it\u2019s going to take?\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cWell, I didn\u2019t really want to start until after we\u2019d gotten the well dug, but since it\u2019s been dry the past few days I was thinking that maybe I\u2019d round up Rory and Davon and start marking where we want to run the heating tubes.\u00a0 If we get that done, we could start digging and getting things up inside of the next couple days.\u201d\u00a0 He frowned a little.\u00a0 \u201cI hate trusting the weather, but as long as it\u2019s holding, we might as well take advantage.\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI don\u2019t like trusting it, either,\u201d I admitted, then sighed and shrugged.\u00a0 \u201cBut we don\u2019t have any way of reliably predicting it these days, right?\u00a0 Not that we could before<\/em> this happened, but still.\u201d\u00a0 I put my arm around his waist and squeezed gently, watching his face for traces of pain.\u00a0 He\u2019d been regularly taking his pills since Jacqueline yelled at him about it, but that didn\u2019t mean I trusted him entirely.\u00a0 He winced a little and looked down at me.
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cCareful, I\u2019ve got bruises there from getting tackled by your brother.\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 I snorted softly even though my stomach did a complete 180 turn inside of my guts.\u00a0 That still didn\u2019t feel right, still worried me.\u00a0 What the hell had happened<\/em> while Matt was at that radio?\u00a0 It still didn\u2019t make sense.\u00a0 If it had exploded in his face, it should have done more damage<\/em>.\u00a0 Jacqueline and I had been trying to avoid talking about that, but every look she gave the both of us screamed it.\u00a0 She knew as well as I did that there was something more to that situation, something neither of us understood.
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Drew had shown Kellin what happened, but if she had any insights based on her inspection of the ruined radio and burnt desk, she wasn\u2019t sharing them yet.\u00a0 Probably because the problem with the wards had become all-consuming.
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cThe pills help with that, right?\u201d\u00a0 I looked up at him, held his gaze for a moment until he smiled faintly and nodded.
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cThey help, yeah.\u00a0 But when you\u2019re sticking your thumb right into the center of a bruise, Mar, they don\u2019t help enough<\/em>.\u00a0 It\u2019s not like I\u2019m numb and floating on a bed of clouds.\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Carolyn started to giggle.\u00a0 I choked on a laugh myself as I imagined Thom in a loincloth, stretched out on a puffy, cottony cloud surrounded by little cherubs.\u00a0 His abs contrasting with the baby fat chubbiness of those little Eros-like angels\u2026
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 My face flamed and Thom shook me, looking between Carolyn and I.\u00a0 \u201cWell\u2026I\u2019m glad that image gave you two a little fit of pleasure.\u00a0 Guess I\u2019ve still got it.\u201d\u00a0 He winked and me and I started to laugh, resisting the impulse to slap him in the stomach.
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cDon\u2019t be awful,\u201d I told him.
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cOnly when you ask me to.\u201d\u00a0 He squeezed me, then let go, leaning against his crutch.\u00a0 \u201cI actually came out here to let you two know that Matt\u2019s getting breakfast started.\u00a0 Chickens laid enough that there\u2019ll be scrambies, I guess, and Tala said something about maybe frying up some of the smoked bacon, seeing how it turned out.\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Hot breakfast that isn\u2019t oatmeal sounds amazing.<\/em>\u00a0 \u201cWe\u2019ll be right down to help.\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Thom nodded and stole a kiss from me before he started to limp back to the tents.
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A gust of chilly wind blew past Carolyn and I as he headed back in.\u00a0 I shivered a little.
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cHe seems better,\u201d she said.
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 I nodded.\u00a0 \u201cHe is<\/em> better.\u00a0 Not one-hundred percent and not quite where I\u2019d like him to be, but he\u2019s much better.\u201d\u00a0 I paused for a moment, then looked at her sidelong.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ll talk to J.T.\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 She hugged me and nodded, tension draining from her body.\u00a0 \u201cThank you.\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 I hugged her back, wishing and hoping that someday, I\u2019d feel that same relief.\u00a0 Deep down, I knew that someday I would, but it was probably a very, very long time in coming.<\/p>\n

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\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Thom found us standing out there a few minutes later.\u00a0 \u201cWhat do you think?\u201d\u00a0 He asked quietly as he came up next to me and slid his free arm around my waist.\u00a0 I tugged him a little closer, to … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[23,27],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-681","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-chapter-10","category-day-15"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1EBlN-aZ","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/681","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=681"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/681\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":689,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/681\/revisions\/689"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=681"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=681"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=681"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}