Broken Dreams(242)

“I’m going to clean it.”

“Oh, right.” I sagged back into the seat for a moment. Then it occurred to me. “Wait!” I jacked myself straight up. “No way. That will burn!”

“It’s better than an infection!” He pulled a little kit out of his pack that had a tube of super glue in it.

“Super glue?”

“Yes. It’ll seal it. We just need it to stop bleeding first, and make sure it’s dry. Lay back.” He held a fresh gauze pad on my head for a few minutes.

I was listening to Claire, hoping that the baby was fine. She was panicking, but Nick was doing a great job calming her down. Once she was calm, her pains subsided. I breathed a sigh of relief from the back seat. Henry pulled the gauze pad away from my head.

“Looks like it’s good.” He grabbed another gauze pad and put some vodka on it. I took a few deep breaths. “Here, hold my hand and squeeze, if need be. Just don’t break it.” He smiled. Asshole. I took his hand and closed my eyes. I winced before he even touched my head. “I haven’t touched you yet.”

“I know. It’s the anticipation.” Once he dabbed my forehead, I hissed. I squeezed the shit out of his hand, growling in pain. That wasn’t the worst part. After he dried off the gash, he held the skin together and ran a bead of superglue over it. It stung so much, I nearly pissed my pants. He held the gash together while the glue dried.

“Ow! Damn it, Henry!” I wanted to kick him in the tomatoes.

“Sorry, love.” He held it for a little while longer and let go with a smile. He seemed quite pleased with himself. “All better.” He kissed my cheek. “Just be careful, and don’t furrow that forehead of yours. Or make any faces at me behind my back.” I couldn’t help it, I had to laugh. Then I stuck out my tongue at him for good measure. He cupped my face with his hand and kissed me. I turned my attention to Claire.

“How are you feeling, Claire?” I was full of concern.

“I think I’m okay. The pains have gone away for now. Maybe it was a mix of stress and dehydration.”

“Just try to relax the best you can.”

She laughed at me. “Yes, Mother. I’ll do my best.” I smirked. “How’s your head?”

“Hurts like a bitch.” Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Henry drinking out of a bottle of vodka. Perfect. I rolled my eyes. He took a few pulls before he capped it and set it down on the floorboard.

“I’m going to head out and wander a bit, see where we’ll be able to cross over. Looks like this area was heavily bombed.” He rubbed my hand and jumped out. He pulled out his Sig before turning back around to us. “Thomas, keep an eye on the women. Nick, come on.” He hesitantly left Claire’s side, but not before he kissed her cheek and touched the baby bump.

Thomas stepped out of the truck and walked around with a rifle in his hand. I watched Henry and Nick walk away toward the crater and walk along the edge until I couldn’t see them anymore. The sides of the roads looked like grassy fields with tall brush close to the road.

I fiddled with my fingers, bounced my knee, played with the fray on my hoodie sleeve, and twisted my hair in my fingers until I saw them walk back to the truck.

Henry opened the back door and grabbed the bottle. He had a hearty drink, then proceeded to tell us where the crater ended, and that we should be able to navigate around it using four-wheel drive.

Obviously, Nick was driving. Henry didn’t like relinquishing control, but he wanted to help navigate from the passenger seat. He felt two pairs of eyes were better than one, even if his were peering through vodka goggles.

We settled Claire into the middle of the backseat, with her leaning against me. Thomas allowed her to rest her legs on him, as well. She was so worried about the baby that I could feel it radiating off of her. I played with her hair and tried to be reassuring.

Nick put the truck in four high and we headed to the left of the crater. He slowly and carefully drove us around it. There were times where Henry made him drop it into four low because some of the terrain was treacherous. It looked like a grassy area, but it was quite unleveled.

We finally made it back on the highway and Nick decided he would drive slower. I figured it was a good decision on his part because if he went any faster, I probably would have throat punched him.

Knowing we were much closer to our destination, my anxiety was kicking in again. I was afraid that Gunther was going to jump out and get us. My head was throbbing so I decided to indulge.

“Henry?”

“Yeah, love?”

“Pass that back to me.”

“Pass what back?” He looked back at me with confusion.