Chapter 6
Three days later…
Stuart not only broke his word, but no one had seen or heard from him since the morning she’d confronted him. Ariel was furious. She’d spent the better part of the last three days pacing and growling any time she was not working. She’d barricaded herself in her room at the Schamas’ apartment the rest of the time.
She’d been grateful for their hospitality from the moment she’d arrived, but lately, she’d been equally thankful that they’d left her alone to work things out on her own. Willa, Ledger’s mother, had interrupted Ariel’s pity party only one time two days ago, and only to let her know that she was there for her and would lend an ear if needed.
Finally, this morning, Ariel had received some news she was thrilled about. A group of Wanderers was heading out tomorrow morning to find and bring back more clothing and supplies to make clothes. Ariel had been invited to join the team because they could really use a female on the trip.
The clothing exchange mostly consisted of four employees who spent their days helping outfit the entire compound. Sometimes that meant sorting and organizing clothes by size. Other times it meant sewing in order to fill gaps in the inventory.
Ariel had learned to sew at a very young age. While her sister had spent her days watching plants grow—boring—Ariel had learned everything she could about fashion and practicality. She wished she’d been born in a different era, perhaps Victorian or even early twentieth century. She was particularly fond of flappers.
But no. She’d been born into a dystopian society in which the main goal was just to find anything that would fit.
The team she would be traveling with consisted of three men and herself. When she’d told Layla, her sister had pursed her lips and said very little. After all, she herself traveled from time to time with the agriculture department. She’d even been nearly captured once and had been forced to hide in the forest for a very long, gut-wrenching afternoon and evening that nearly drove her partners out of their minds.
“I’ll be fine,” Ariel had told Layla, trying to reassure her. “I haven’t been above ground since we arrived three months ago. I need to see sunlight.” And not just from skylights that were the only source of natural light found in the compound.
Everyone who lived in this bunker spent some time each week under the skylights for their own mental health, but it wasn’t like the real thing. No one could actually see the sun itself. Just feel its rays.
It was late in the day when Ariel was studying the maps with the rest of the team, memorizing their route for tomorrow and listening to last-minute safety precautions that Stuart finally made an appearance. How not shocking.
His huge frame filled the door to the library where the team was meeting. His presence was so foreboding that everyone in the room turned to look at him.
He was scowling, and his gaze was pinned on Ariel. “Over my dead body,” he growled, hands on his hips.
Ariel’s face turned ten shades of red. How dare he disappear from the compound for three days, going against his word to meet with Kester and Tarin, and then show up now to shout at her in front of her entire team as if she were twelve—again.
Gray Tillson, one of the three council members, was in the library with them, approving the final plans. He stood from his spot at the table and stalked toward Stuart. “Watch it, Stuart. You’re about to cross a line here.”
Stuart shot Gray a glare and returned his stare to Ariel.
She had two options: tell Stuart to essentially fuck off and risk him being so angry that he got escorted permanently from the compound or…try to talk him off the ledge he was standing on.
Furious didn’t even begin to describe how she felt about his behavior, but she didn’t want him sent away either, so she calmly faced her team. “Please excuse me. Would someone mind filling me in on what I’ll miss in a while?”
“Of course,” Abnor stated. “I’ll bring you up to speed tonight back at the apartment. Don’t worry about it. Go. Take your time.” Abnor Schama was Ledger’s father and Willa’s husband. Ariel was staying in his home. His willingness to keep this interruption from getting out of hand and catching her up later made Ariel grateful for his hospitality all over again.
“Thank you,” she stated as she passed Abnor and headed for the door. She set a hand on Stuart’s chest to shove him out of the way and proceeded to stalk down the hallway, heading for Stu’s apartment. She was not having a fight with him in the corridor.
Luckily, he followed her, saying nothing. He was on thin ice with the council, and everyone knew it. The fact that he’d left the compound for three days had probably been to his benefit, but someone must have gotten word to him that Ariel was planning to leave the bunker, otherwise she doubted he would have returned so soon. He was obviously still hot under the collar from their last interaction.
She stepped aside and waited for him to type in the code and open the door to his apartment, and then she slid inside and waited for him to shut the door before she spoke.
She wanted the first word. She intended to get the last word too. “How dare you?”
He leaned against the door, hands on his hips. His eyes were ablaze with aggravation. “You’re not leaving this compound, Ariel. End of story. I don’t care what you do to get out of it, but do it. You can fucking tell them I forbid it if you want. I’d rather be excommunicated from The Wanderers than have you leave here on some half-cocked mission just to piss me off.”
She gasped. “Are you serious? You actually think I’m going on this trip to make you angry? How self-important can you possibly be, Stu?” She shook her head, mostly because she couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “I’m going on this clothing run because we need clothes. That’s it. I don’t need your permission to go, and you can’t stop me.”
He seethed. “You’re going because you want to rile me up. I bet you thought it would bring me back to the compound, and you were right. Happy now?”
Heat raced up her cheeks. “No, I’m not fucking happy, you arrogant prick. I’m infuriated. This is stooping too low even for you, Stu. Did you really think it would go over well for you to stomp into the planning meeting and shout orders at me? Jesus, Gray Tillson was there. He has the power to march you right out of the bunker and not look back.”
Stu gritted his teeth. If steam could have literally come out of his ears, it would have.
Since he didn’t respond, she kept talking. “You cannot order me around, Stuart. Once again, let me point out that I’m not a child. I’m a grown woman. I have complete autonomy over my being in this community. If I want to go on a clothing run, I damn well will do so. You need to back the fuck off and apologize to the council, or you’re going to be in serious hot water.”