Collide by Christine Fonseca Page B

“Yeah!”
    “Wait.”
    Before I can finish the thought, Josh yells “Warriors unite!” as he laughs and pulls me toward the fields.
    “What are you doing?” Josh has lost his mind. “There may be more of them.”
    “Doubtful,” Josh jokes. “Unless they’re enlisting boys who only like to play with swords.”
    “Hey, I used a sword and a gun this time.” David pushes through the cornfields, meeting us in a small clearing.
    I stop, frozen where I stand. I can’t decide whether to run or stay. Either way, David is not getting off the hook just for saving us.
    “I knew they couldn’t have gotten you.” Josh says, his relief palpable.
    “Ha! I saw ‘em coming hours before they got here.”
    Josh laughs and nudges me forward. I remain mute, my sight fixated on the house ahead.
    David steps in my path. The familiar scent of pine fills my senses. “Dakota.” His voice is husky and low. A flood of memories I can’t control streams forward, along with my love, my anger, my pain. I turn my head away, refusing to meet his eyes. “Dakota, please.” He reaches out for me.
    Silence speaks everything I can’t yet say as I push past him and make my way to the house. Clouds swirl in the sky, hinting of an impending storm.
    “Don’t mind her,” Josh says. “It’s been a rough couple of days.”
    “I owe her an apology.”
    “Yeah, good luck with that.”
    The boys chatter behind me as I cut through the fields and walk across the grass behind David’s house. Confusion over our past ties my brain into knots. I climb the stairs to the porch. The clouds gather closer and darken, turning the sky into a spectacular mixture of orange, purple and grey.
    “We should leave,” I say, watching the storm move closer. “We aren’t safe.”
    “This house is safer than you may think,” David says as he brushes up against me to open the door. “Besides, the roads will be horrible if those clouds let loose.”
    “We’ll stay. We have a lot of things to discuss. Preparations to make. ” Josh motions for me to go inside.
    “Ever the leader,” David jokes. “Just like when we were kids.”
    I glare at Josh and follow David into the house, a fresh punch of anger blooming inside of me.
    David leads us on a quick tour of the house. The interior is in better shape than the outside, fresh yellow paint on the walls, new tile in the kitchen and bath. David’s been busy since leaving Cambria.
    “You guys look like you’ve been through hell,” David says as he guides us back to the kitchen. His green eyes catch mine and I turn away.
    Josh pulls out a chair and sits. “We have,” he says.
    The boys joke for a few minutes as David takes a plate of fruit from the refrigerator and places it on the table near Josh. His arm brushes against mine and he pulls a chair out for me. My skin heats from the brief touch, riding up from my chest, to my neck and flushing my cheeks. I turn, trying to hide the obvious impact of his presence.
    “Time to talk,” I say, killing the mood before it begins. “I’ll start. I’m really pissed off at both of you for not telling me about WITSEC. But right now, I’m more worried about Mom and Dad, and I don’t know how finding you and the others will help us find them.”
    “Mom and Dad said—”
    “I know they told us to find the others and bring them to the safe house. Honestly, I don’t give a crap about them. Sorry David. I just want to find Mom and Dad.”
    David reaches for my hand and I pull away.
    Josh clenches his jaw. “I’m sure they’re at the safe house. They wanted to protect all of us. The only way to make sure we don’t end up like Mari is by being together.”
    Tears fill my eyes when he mentions her name.
    “Someone want to fill me in?” David says as he glances from me to Josh.
    “He didn’t tell you?” I glare at Josh. “I’ve been going crazy since you left; even got hospitalized. When Mom and Dad came to take me home, we were run off the road and shot at.