NADINE'S P.O.V
I gauged Caine's reaction for any sign of pain or hurt but there was nothing. He didn't even seem fazed when I told him that they were dead. He must have speculated about it for a while now but I refused to believe that he had actually known or else their bodies wouldn't have been lying out there.
"Didn't you hear me?" I asked but he ignored me, dragging my hand under the sink and turning on the water. "Caine-"
"I heard you the first time you said it now keep your hand there."
He walked away from me and disappeared for a minute. When he returned, it was with a small first aid box. I watched him go through the things inside with careful precision before taking out some rubbing alcohol and bandages.
I watched as he carefully took care of my injuries and I couldn't help but wonder if this was shock. Was this was way of dealing with his grief? Or was where something more that I didn't realize? Caine was still very much a mystery to me and every passing second proved that to me.
"Try not to cut your hands anymore," he walked past me to where my can of baked beans lay. "Most of it is still in the container. You can go sit and eat. I'll find another house to take the bodies."
"We should bury them-"
"No," his tone was unusually harsh. "If they can smell a fire, do you think they will not smell a rotting body and come to investigate? I don't know about you but I have no intentions of going into the woods again."
"They were your family."
He snorted. "I lived with them. That hardly makes them family."
"Until you were eighteen, I don't know how long that was but that had to be at least a year. They deserve some form of respect don't you agree?"
"Respect?" he turned to me, his eyes harder than I had ever seen them before. "Don't you dare speak on words you don't understand."
"You seem to be the one who doesn't know what respect is. They fed you and clothed you and-"
"And they tore up my back whenever they felt that I wasn't in line. They threatened to have me thrown in juvie if I dared to say anything. This kitchen that you're walking around in so freely was off limits to me. I had to rely on whatever they decided to give me that night and if they were in a bad mood then it was no food for me."
I opened my mouth to speak but no words would come out. I couldn't imagine anyone being that mean to another child. I knew it happened but I had never seen it firsthand. For all his faults, my father never treated me badly. I was always well cared for and he never ever lifted his hand to me.
"I tried to run, I did it twice actually but they went to the cops and said I had stole from them. Both times I had to sleep in a cell until they came to drop the charges and give me another chance. Don't you dare speak to me about respect."
"I'm sorry," I whispered finally, unable to say anything else. "I didn't know."
"Go eat, Nadine. I'll get rid of the bodies."
I wasn't sure why but hearing my name on his lips had a knot forming in my stomach. It was always 'princess' and even though he said it in the most exasperated and condescending tone, I had gotten used to hearing it. Hearing my name felt like a slap in the face but I knew better than to push him now and instead, dragged myself up the stairs.
I looked around the house, it seemed so simple, so cozy even, no one would ever be able to imagine the horrors that went down here.
I pushed open the doors, there were three bedrooms but only one looked like it had been lived in. It was clearly the master bedroom. I could see the clothes in the closet and the empty boxes that held what I assumed was jewelry. It was obvious people had been here before us and they must have gotten their hands on the jewels.
There was a massive shower attached to the master bedroom and I didn't hesitate to strip off my clothes, abandoning my food as well as I stepped into it.
It had been so long since I took a proper bath. I stood there for far longer than necessary, washing away the grime and the smell of the woods from my skin. I scrubbed until my skin turned red and grabbed clothes from the closet.
It should have felt weird stealing a dead woman's clothes but I didn't care. They fit me perfectly and they were more comfortable than the things I had packed.
I left my hair out to air dry before grabbing my beans. I forced myself to wolf down the rest of it before making my way out to find Caine. He wasn't in any of the spare rooms so I went downstairs and found him sitting on the ground in front of what looked to be a supply closet, his empty can of beans by his side.
The front door was barricaded with a large dresser and I was sure the back door was too.
"This used to be my bedroom," he gestured to the closet. "All I had was a bed and a tiny light in case it went dark."
I wasn't sure why he was telling me but I sat down and listened to him.
"Whenever the social workers would come over, they would move me to one of the rooms upstairs. They would keep me there for about a week."
"Didn't you try telling on them?"
"I did, but they already made me out to be a thief and a troubled kid. You would be surprised how many cases there are like mine."
"That sucks."
The corner of his lips tipped up. "Yes it does, princess."
I let out a sigh of relief, it wasn't Nadine anymore.
"Come on, we should go to bed. We've been up all night."
I didn't realize just how tired I was until he said that. I forced myself to my feet and back up those stupid steps.
He walked past the master bedroom like it didn't exist and towards one of the smaller rooms.
"You can sleep wherever you want," he told me. "I'm sure they won't care if you sleep in their bed."
I crinkled my nose. "Can I stay here?"
He looked shocked but managed to hide it quickly. "You know that you don't have to, right? I thought you would be sick of me by now."
"You're manageable for now."
He rolled his eyes but didn't stop me from joining him. He pulled off his shirt but stayed in his pants. Maybe it was years of being outside, but he didn't seem like the kind of person who let his guard down easily.
I climbed into bed next to him, turning my back to him.
For a moment, we just lay there, neither of us speaking.
"Are you asleep?"
"I would be if you weren't talking so much," he drawled but his words held no bite. "What do you need?"
"Why did you kiss me?"
I felt him go impossibly still. "You were going to scream."
"There were other ways to shut me up."
He just shrugged. "It was the only one I could think of. It wasn't a big deal."
I turned to him but he wasn't looking at me. He was lying on his back with his eyes closed.
"Caine-"
"I kissed you to save your life. It didn't mean anything. Go to sleep, princess."