y

breathes. Her

d in the woods, but I also couldn't come up with an

hink it's the one you came from. You had a bump on your head when I found

ng her. She deserves the truth. But if I've learned anything about Ana over the last three weeks,

it crash?

said it was probably bad we

goes from p

on the

er if she might have another panic attack. Tha

Everyone thinks you're dead. When I ordered this stuff, I heard ab

someone

two together. I doubt he will. My brother's an idiot. But even if he did, he

d you were hiding from your family u

feet. "My family does know that I'

nce? You have a family, and look at all they're doing for you! Surely if they're willing to go to all this trouble of keeping you supplied up here, they'd be ab

her not asking questions about t

e asks, her gaze intense,

ld get her. Now I know that she's interested in neither. I don't really know why I haven't already told her. Maybe it's because she's the first person aside from the guys in the

She looks angry, but I can still see the paleness in her face from the shock of

watch reali

guard. "What? I - no," she says,

ask, already tired

nfusion changing to a

rd of the

s as I feared. I watch as her eyes narrow and her head tilts to one side. She seems to be looking at nothing, her eyes un

very uncomfortable

n relaxes and her eyes widen. "The son who died. That funeral -

ay. "Did yo

d that question. I kind

hat it happened. I don't watch their show.

se it's some small relief to know that she

nks you're de

es

you'r

ught this w

hy

dea how ruthless the

at me ques

me being secretly alive, though. They do that for all sorts of celebrities who've died, especially unde

ting to contemp

mily, then? They've agreed to help y

hey di

ha

For their show. They didn't quite have the network conv

probably obvious by the ski mask that something unfortunate had

are they h

ckmailin

and finally lo

ruth about a secret you've been keeping was suppose

ace to get their sho

I ask, h

, even some talk shows. Your funeral was the first episode of their TV show. I remember thinki

squints a little as she

icture looked like. I just remember

r a moment, st

are you?"

nty-

ting. She finally looks away fro

did you t

t." Her expression shifts from nonchalant to a

s not that stupid. If he tells anyone about

Would that be your br

dismayed that she seems

nkling her nose like she

n't think I've ever seen anyone

she says, the look of displeasure returning. She pauses to think agai

ut Saph. Talking to her about my family is one thing,

she?"

decide it's time to do som

~

h at the sound of something clattering on the coffee table in front of m

a crashed helicopter ma

for arming her. As I search for an explanation that wo

u want more weapons? Wh

into he

ictims in the cras

yes w

ns," I say, confirming what

n the couch beside me and as she stares at

ness protectio

p at me with fea

at, more of a statem

er face in them, her arms coming around her head. I move a

hurt you, Ana. You

ods a

want you to be able to rely on yourself for protection, not other people. I thoug

nsider packing the guns back up and storing them away, out of sight, out of mind. Just as I'm about to do it, Ana's he

tart with thi

hen you can move on to the Glock, if you can break it do

tart with the

as soon as it's bri

first time I don't see fear in

~

o the article Joe read to me, she was supposed to testify against the man who murdered her family. She was

have begun to recognize in her the same tendencies I had when I first moved here. Today was her first time going outside and it took quite a bit of convincing even for that. When I came here, I didn't go out

locking those

fety, r

. The only thing gained from locking them up is making i

ntinue unloading th

going to shoot the other

y of how it got there or how it became loaded. When the only person I could harm was myself, it was merely troubling. Now that Ana could be the unsuspecting vict

e?" I ask, trying to spin th

she

in the cabinet. En

me. I go back