She washed her face and hands, and used a small towel to sponge down the rest of her. Though she would have killed for a shower, the simple act of washing herself felt wonderful. Picking up the small hairbrush someone had left by the sink, she patiently began to unravel the tight knots matting her hair. She bit into her bottom lip, wincing as she diligently worked through the tangles. Finally, the brush flowed freely through her hair, leaving it shiny and flowing once more. Dark circles still shadowed her eyes, but some of her color had finally returned.
Sighing softly, she made her way slowly back out of the bathroom and toward the front of the store. “Turn the light down princess,” Julian whispered to her.
She jumped slightly in surprise; she had not seen him amongst the dark and shadows. Her hand fumbled with the switch that turned the small electric flame down, leaving it merely a flicker within its plastic casing. “Where are you?” she whispered.
“Front window.”
Cassie shuffled wearily forward until he came into view. He was standing by the window, leaning against the wall as he watched her from beneath lowered lids. Though he had gotten no sleep, he did not appear on the verge of exhaustion. “What time is it?” she inquired softly.
“About nine.”
“Don’t you think you should get some sleep?”
He shrugged negligently, the lazy smile she remembered slipped into place. She couldn’t help but return it. “I’ve become accustomed to someone talking my ear off till I fall asleep from boredom.”
Cassie couldn’t stop herself from laughing softly as she crept steadily closer, grinning brightly at him. “Where is Liam?”
He nodded across the way. Cassie turned to find Liam sitting in a chair. He was leaning against the wall, his eyes closed, his head tipped back as he slept soundly. She quirked an eyebrow in surprise, trying hard not to laugh. “He’s a good guard.”
“I think he’s mainly supposed to be guarding me.”
“They don’t trust you yet.”
“No, they don’t. It’s understandable though.” He shifted slightly, crossing his legs as he peered out the window again.
“They’ll learn to,” she said softly, placing the lantern on one of the shelves as she hobbled closer to him.
“If you say so princess.”
“I do. Has there been anything out there?”
He glanced back at her, his strange eyes oddly aglow in the flickering light of the lantern. The white blue band encircling his irises seemed to glow. The darker, brighter blue of them shone as he watched her move toward him. “A few of those things skittered across the road about an hour ago, but I haven’t seen anything since.”
Cassie nodded, biting nervously on her bottom lip as she joined him by the windows. “There might be others that survived whatever happened down there.”
“There probably are, but if I find them they won’t be alive for long.”
“Julian…”
He turned back to her, his eyes flashing briefly red in the light. “I’ll stay here with these people, and I won’t hurt them because of you. I may even stop killing, when we get out of this town, if it will make you happy. But if I come across those bastards that put us in that hell hole I will kill them. They do not deserve to live,” he growled.
Cassie’s lips parted at his words. It was not the fact that he planned to destroy the people that had tortured them that surprised her, but the fact that he would stop killing for her. “You would really stop killing?” she breathed.
He stared at her for a long moment, confusion and hurt flickered briefly through his eyes. “I would do anything for you Cassie.”
She inhaled sharply, tears burned her eyes. She ached for his unhappiness. “Julian...”
He held a hand up, shaking his head. “I know Cassie. I’ve always known that you would choose him, that he was where your heart belonged. It doesn’t mean that my feelings for you will change though.”
Cassie managed a small nod, her gaze darted behind him to the covered window. “I never meant to hurt you.”
He quirked an eyebrow, the familiar amusement played over his features again. “Don’t get ahead of yourself there princess.”
“Don’t call me princess,” she responded automatically.
He grinned at her, flashing his perfect white teeth. “Your wish is my command.”
“That’s even more annoying.”
He laughed softly, a small rumbling sound that reverberated through his chest and warmed her to the tips of her toes. She was immensely relieved that he still wanted to speak with her, that he did not hate her, and that he could stay her friend. “Thank you Julian.”
He frowned at her, shifting uncomfortably. “For what?” he demanded gruffly.
She smiled over his discomfit, taking some pleasure in aggravating him as much as he liked to aggravate her. “For keeping me sane, for being there for me, for being my friend.” He scowled at her for a moment before turning his attention back to the window. “And for not ripping my throat out the first chance you had.”
He laughed softly as he turned back to her. “Well, the night is still young.”
Cassie grinned at him, moving closer to lean against the wall on the other side of the window. She moved the curtain aside to peer out at the dark street. Nothing moved but the street lights, apparently on a timer, had come on. Their light cast shadows across the road, it spilled into the darkly lit woods.
“Thank you also Cassie.”
She poked her head back out from behind the curtain to look at him. “For what?”
He grinned at her, wiggling his eyebrows comically. “For keeping me sane, for being my friend. For making Dani come back for me.”
She looked at him surprise. “How did you know about that?”
He shook his head as he rolled his eyes. “Blondes,” he muttered, though he smiled kindly at her. “You and Dani did have to touch me to help get me out of there.”
“Oh,” she said dully, a small flush staining her cheeks. “Then you already knew everything that Dani told us about what was going on in there, and what they wanted with us before we got here. Why would you threaten to take the knowledge out of her forcefully?”
He shook his head, his hand clenching slightly on the curtain. “I didn’t already know what she knew. I can’t read two people at once, it’s too overwhelming. And since I can’t stand that bitch, I concentrated on you instead. You also kept hold of me for a lot longer than she did.”