Brody clears her throat, stepping right between Rhett and me like she's about to drop some kind of bomb. She hesitates, biting her lip before finally blurting out—
"So, uh… is it true? You two actually… y'know. Slept together?"
Rhett and I groan in unison, both of us tilting our heads back like we're begging the sky for patience.
After a beat, Rhett answers flatly, "Yeah. It's true."
Brody's eyes widen, and she leans in, voice hushed but buzzing with gossip-fueled excitement. "So how come you're all good again now? Are you two, like… dating or something?"
"No," we say at the same time.
Brody nods slowly, but her grin doesn't fade. If anything, it gets worse. She turns to Rhett, tilting her head. "Okay, but… would you? Date her, I mean."
The air goes dead silent.
Rhett doesn't answer right away. He just stares at the river, jaw working like he's debating whether to lie or throw Brody into the water. Then, after what feels like an eternity, he shrugs.
"Yeah."
Brody gasps, clutching her chest like she's been shot. "Oh my god—"
Rhett cuts her off. "She's the only one in this damn school I actually like."
Brody's face falls. "Wait. You don't like me?"
Rhett doesn't even blink. "No."
Brody scoffs, but she's already turning to me, eyes sparkling. "Okay, Vi. Your turn. Would you date him?"
I freeze.
Rhett's watching me now, expression unreadable. The river rushes beside us, and for a second, all I can think about is how his hands felt over mine, steady and sure.
I exhale.
"Yeah," I mutter. "Guess I would."
Brody squeals. Rhett's smirk is infuriating.
'I am never living this down.'
After Brody's little interrogation, Rhett jerked his chin toward the riverbank where Clem and AJ were fishing with their spears.
"Go check on them," he told Brody. "Make sure the kid doesn't stab himself."
Brody rolled her eyes but wandered off, leaving us alone again.
We kept fishing in silence for a while. Rhett caught another one—a fat brook trout—bringing his total up to four. I managed to snag one more on my own, though it was smaller, bringing me to two. Not bad, but still embarrassing compared to him.
Then, without warning, Rhett moved closer. Close enough that his arm brushed mine as he reeled in his line. When he spoke, his voice was low, rough around the edges like he wasn't entirely sure he should be asking.
"You ever think about it?" he muttered. "That night. Almost a year ago."
I stiffened, fingers tightening around my fishing rod.
He kept going, eyes fixed on the water. "I do. Every time I'm drunk."
The honesty caught me off guard. Rhett didn't do honesty unless it was brutal. This was different.
I swallowed. "Yeah," I admitted. "I think about it too."
He nodded, like he'd expected that. Then he was quiet for a long moment, the only sound the river and the distant chatter of Brody and Clem.
Finally, he spoke again, voice even lower. "Wanna do it again? Tonight."
Not a demand. Not even really a question. Just an offer, laid out between us like a challenge.
I hesitated. Then, before I could overthink it—
"Yeah," I said.
He nodded again, satisfied, and went back to fishing like nothing had happened.
"Spread out," I ordered. "See if we can find them."
AJ clutched his spear. "Watch out for monsters."
Rhett, Brody, and I moved through the underbrush, tension coiling in my gut.
After a few minutes, Clem called us over.
There, hanging from one of the traps, was a walker-impaled through the chest with a sharpened stick.
"Well, we didn't kill this one," I said. "We wouldn't have left it hanging in our trap."
Brody's breath hitched. "What the hell?"
Clem held up a half-smoked cigarette. "Found this too. Do any of the kids smoke?"
Rhett scoffed. "I do. But I don't share, and mine's better quality."
Louis and Aasim finally caught up, Louis eyeing the dead walker. "Who is this unlucky fella?"
Clem crossed her arms. "Where have you been?"
"Checking nearby traps," Aasim said. "The ones that were sprung were all empty. All the rest are broken."
Brody's hands shook. "Someone robbed us?"
Louis groaned. "Oh, great. And now we're gonna starve."
Brody's breathing turned ragged. "Fuck, that's... fuck. Fuck! It's just...fuck... It's okay, it's... breathe. Brody, c'mon... c'mon, c'mon, c'mon..."
I grabbed her shoulders. "You're gonna be fine."
"Fuck, fuck!" she gasped, clutching her head.
"It's just a panic attack," I said, though my own pulse was racing.
Clem stepped in. "Hey, easy. We'll still find enough food to get us through-"
"That's not what I'm worried about!" Brody snapped.
I tightened my grip. "Brody, just chill."
She wrenched away. "I have to tell Marlon about this."
Louis threw up his hands. "Um, we still need food. You know, to live? We definitely don't have enough here."
Brody didn't answer. She just turned and bolted into the woods.
Aasim sighed. "I'll take this haul back to the school. Maybe we can ration out something." He followed her, leaving the rest of us standing there.
Louis kicked a rock. "So what do we do? Eat rocks?"
AJ frowned. "You can't eat rocks."
"I'm aware," Louis deadpanned.
AJ looked up at Clem. "Will Marlon kick us out if we don't find food?"
Clem's jaw set. "Well, let's not find out."
Louis rubbed his temples. "Where else could we look?"
Clem pulled out the map, tracing a finger along the lines before stopping. "The train station. It's not too far from here."
I shook my head. "I don't know, that's pretty far outside our perimeter."
"There was food when AJ and I passed through," Clem said. "It's worth a look."
"You sure there was food?" I pressed.
"Positive," she said. "Yeah, some of it was destroyed in the explosion, but there has to be something left. There was so much there."
I exhaled, glancing at Rhett. He gave a slight nod.
"Alright, fine," I said. "Lead the way."