Vagabond by J.D. Brewer Read Free Book Online Page A

sultry to it, and it unnerved me. The voice felt familiar in ways I couldn’t pinpoint.  
    Instead of answering his fears, I let it be. I laid down so that my back was towards him, and when sleep came, it came hard.  

    “Why not feet to face?” I kept looking for a loophole around it, but I was running out of energy. The rain was melodic, and the harder I fought it, the more my eyes wanted to droop like wilted flowers.  
    “You never know who kicks at night,” Xavi answered.  
    This made me laugh. “Doesn’t a sleeping bag stop that?”  
    He was already facing the wall of the tent, showing his back to me. “Sometimes it only traps feet together, and a face gets a double whammy. But give it a shot if you like.”  

    The rain didn’t wake me up, because it wasn’t one of those hard ones. It was the drippy kind. It traveled the pathways of leaves and plinked through the branches above.  
    I knew we should have taken turns to keep watch, but I also knew we were both too tired. If the Militia found us, they found us. We were careful and made it pretty far, but, if they fell for none of my tricks, I didn’t have any more up my sleeve to throw them off unless I got rest.  
    I woke in a groggy daze. I was in a safe cocoon of arms, and I didn’t feel like opening my eyes. It was too peaceful with the drip-drip of rain and the warmth of Xavi’s arms. I turned my body into his neck, but the smell was off. It was too clean, and the skin was too smooth. Xavi’s skin wore the roughness of the tracks. I forced my eyes opened and gasped. I tried to push my body out from under the boy’s, but his arm was deadweight and he was dead asleep.  
    “Excuse me,” I said, nudging his chest.  
    He was just as disoriented as he woke, and let out a little yelp before backing away. For a second, our eyes were millimeters apart, and the blue-greens marbling in and out of each other were a little too perfect.
    Then realization and distance gained momentum, and his skin no longer touched mine. I was free of him.  
    “I’m sorry. I’m sorry,” he whispered.  
    “It’s okay,” I said, and it surprised me to mean it.  

    Since Randolf showed up, Xavi kept his distance from me, and it allowed for Randolf and me to become close. He reminded me so much of Daddy, with his easy laughter and calculated wit, and I learned so much from him since Xavi wouldn’t give me the time of day. It amazed me how Xavi changed under the eyes of others. Wary. Friendly. Cautious. Sharing. Secretive. The contradictions were woven so deep in everything he said and did. That moment under the canopy had run out of steam, and it never returned. It was like he realized how I felt about him had changed, and it made him uncomfortable in ways he’d never been around me. I even think it’s why he encouraged Randolf to stick around a bit longer.  
    The world had become colder than cold. So cold it burned. Xavi got the tent set up with fumbling, cold fingers while Randolf had his up in no time. He bent down to help Xavi since I was too full of shivers to even move. I couldn’t figure out how Randolf didn’t even have minor shakes. “It’d be warmer if we cuddle-puddle,” Randolf suggested. Xavi looked truly apologetic when he declined on my behalf, and I tried not to look relieved. As well as I was getting to know our new friend, it still made the idea of sharing a tent uncomfortable.
    “No worries! I’m not even cold, you yellow-bellied newbies,” he joked.  
    Over the months, Randolf had proven to be all kinds of wonderful. He never pushed, and he always understood. “It’s the Bond of the Vagabond,” he explained once. “Never take offense. Even if someone is robbing you blind, it’s usually nothing personal. Survival is a funny thing, and we all react differently to it. Some react to fear and forget to be human and humane, but that doesn’t mean they have malicious intentions. People have different boundaries, and I promise to