Chapter 4

“Morning.”

One side of Nick’s mouth twitched up for a second before he yawned.

“Christ, Nick, some days you make me feel like a pedophile.”

Nick yawned again, scratched at his chest, and mumbled, “Huh?” He inched along the ground until he wedged himself between Todd’s legs and laid his head on Todd’s shoulder, face pressed against the side of Todd’s neck. Nick yawned again. His entire body relaxed as he nestled against Todd, ribcage expanding with yet another yawn.

“Lemme see this.” Todd lifted Nick’s shirt and inspected the bandaged wound as he had during the night. “According to the map, there’s a town not too far from here. How about we check it out, see if we can get some supplies? We need more bandaging material and more medicine to put on your wound. I’m going to heat some water and get it cleaned out again.”

“I don’t think it’s ever going to heal,” Nick grumbled. “It’s been almost a month.”