June Summerfield

Chapter 7

June woke up early the next day, before everyone else. Rubbing the sleep from her eyes, she drank a few sips of water and did a quick stretch routine. It’s been a while since she stretched so it felt heavenly. After she was finished, she looked back at Montana. He was still sleeping, on his back with one arm above his head. Relaxed, but still on guard. Just like always. She felt her heartbeat quicken as she watched his chest rise and fell.

June quietly made her way to the kitchen, searching the cabinets for anything that would make a good breakfast. She wanted to surprise Montana with something decent to eat since he agreed to share a room with her.

As she reached up to grab a box of protein bars, she felt someone touch her shoulder. Jumping, she turned around, only to find Montana looking back at her. She didn’t hear him coming at all, even down the creaky stairs.

“Good morning, sleeping beauty.” He whispered, pushing a strand of loose hair out of her face. She had forgotten to redo her braid this morning, so her hair was a mess.

“Good..morning.” She responded as blood rushed to her face. She could not believe he just called her sleeping beauty. She was confused, but couldn’t deny that she enjoyed the attention from him.

“How’d you sleep?” He asked with a sleepy smile.

She found herself holding her breath and staring at him. “I slept alright, and you?” she shot her glance down to the floor and leaned against the counter, trying to hide her infatuation.

“I slept great.” his smile grew. “Listen, I got a confession..” he awkwardly rolled his eyes and took a step back.

“Really? What is it?” she found herself desperately asking, her eyes racing up to meet his.

He stood in silence for a few seconds, which felt like hours to June.

“You know how I told you I liked someone in the group, but never said who?” he brought back the memory she had been replaying in her head ever since it happened.

June just stared at him, gripping the counter for support. She could try to hide it all she wanted, but it was obvious to her and everyone around her that she liked Montana. This moment would either be the best moment of her life, or it would crush her soul into a million pieces.

“That someone is you, if it wasn’t obvious.” he finally blurted out, crossing his arms and waiting for a response from June.

“Oh, um..” she fumbled her words as she let go of the counter and began panicking. She dreamed of this moment but never actually thought about how she’d respond.

“You don’t have to say anything. Just let me know if you feel the same way.” his eyebrows rose as he anxiously waited, hoping for the best but expecting the worst.

“I do!” she blurted out, not wanting to ruin the moment. “I do feel the same way.” she smiled.

June noticed Montana relax as he smiled back. He reached out and brought her into a hug.

Everyone started waking up one by one, each emerging out of their rooms.

“I can’t believe you left me last night!” Zoran called out to June, catching her off guard. “Who could you have possibly chosen over me?” he walked up to her, crossing his arms and pretending to be hurt, but he couldn’t hide the small smile fighting its way across his face. He already knew what happened.

“She chose me,” Montana said, staring him down. Zoran just raised his eyebrows and winked at them and walked off, leaving the two confused by his change of mood.

Everyone instinctively gathered in the living room, looking at each other, unsure of what their next move was.

“How long are we staying?” Eli asked as he laid back on the couch.

“Well, what do y’all think?” Rufus sighed. “It seems pretty safe, so we could probably stay a bit and rest,” he started and everyone began nodding their heads as they waited for the other option. “Or, we could keep going and head toward Savannah.”

“What are we even going to Savannah for? This place seems pretty safe, and I bet we could make it even safer. Why don’t we just stay here?” Tobias chimed in. They all looked at Zoran who had this amused grin on his face as he leaned against the staircase.

“You guys can do whatever. It’s not like I own the place.” he shrugged and walked off, leaving the group to their decision.

“I say we just stay here. At least for now. We’ve all been through hell, we deserve a break.” Audrey stood from her seat as everyone began agreeing. “Rufus, we’d like to just stay here and forget Savannah for a while.”

Rufus looked around and noticed everyone agreeing. “Well, then it’s decided. We stay.” he shrugged.

Unknown POV

Zoran,

Thank you for being such a big help. I made sure to send my best to help. I do feel the need to remind you to please, keep the deaths minimal.

I know they will probably piss you off. That’s to be expected. Don’t go slicing their throats and eating their hearts just because one got in the way. We went over this. You know what to do.

If you follow my instructions, no one should die. You mentioned she was interested in one of her friends. You must bring him along if that’s the only way we can get her to cooperate. You know how important this is to me. Do NOT mess it up.

I’m keeping an eye on you, and the girl. Everything is under control. Do not make me have to teleport and show you what happens when we break rules. You should know by now.

King Maslin

Zoran finished reading the note and rolled his eyes.

“I know what the f**k to do,” he grunted to himself as he folded it up and set it on fire with a flick of his thumb.

He was having fun watching everyone become a close-knit group. He almost felt sorry for what was about to happen. Especially to June and Montana.

He shrugged those feelings away as he turned to go hang out in the living room. As far as he was concerned, his only task right now was to appear normal.