“Your van’s not working? What do you mean it’s not working?”

“The engine won’t start.” Darius glanced away, his brow furrowed. He tugged his shoes off and dropped them next to the cabin’s front door.

Kat sat up straight on the couch, her head beginning to pound again. “Are you kidding me? How do we get to town?”

“I’ll look up a number for a tow truck,” Darius promised and went upstairs. She heard him typing at his keyboard.

“And it’s going to take a truck ages to get here.” Kat leaned back heavily into the cushions, realizing how inconvenient this was. “Even if they leave right away, I’ll never make it to my appointment on time.”

She flinched, realizing how selfish she was being. “I’m so sorry about your van! I hope it’s not expensive to fix.”

“I’ll get it figured out. You just take it easy. There, I found the number for a towing place.”

Kat overheard him explaining the problem quietly over the phone, catching the occasional word.

“...Alright, I’ll wait for you to text or call.” He finally said.

Kat felt a prickling like ants crawling on her skin. Her fingers, rubbing circles on her temples, stilled. “We’re... actually stuck here. How far is it to the main road, again?”

“Nine miles by road.” Came Darius’s voice from above. “Do you want me to call the doctor’s office to reschedule your appointment?”

“Yes, of course, thank you,” Kat said. “Catfish and chukar, sometimes it’s obvious that I’m still not thinking clearly all the time.” She shook her head and sighed. “There’s not a reason to rush anymore, is there? We could eat first, and then you can call them.”

Darius came trotting back down the stairs, pausing at the bottom step with one hand on the railing. “Good idea. I’ll start on some lunch.”

 Kat sagged against the couch. “What a mess. You’re not just out of gas or something, right?”

Darius shook his head. “No, I have more than half a tank. I keep it pretty full because the nearest gas station is about fifteen miles from here.”

Kat nodded, closing her eyes as she reflected on the past. “Man... This is turning into the most ‘special’ weeks of my life. I’m starting to think being accident-prone is contagious.”

“Things will work out. It’s not all bad, right?”

“...No,” Kat conceded. “things could be worse. There could be a plague of locusts.”

“Then I’d sic my geckos on them.”

Kat laughed, and Darius’s chuckle followed close behind.

After a moment, he grew more sober. “I know this has been hard for you, Kat. But I want you to know I’ve loved having you here. Every minute. This place feels like a real home, again.”

He knelt beside the couch and wrapped her in a hug. Kat stiffened, heart racing, then made herself relax, resting her hands lightly on his back.

“Thank you for sharing it with me.” She murmured and he squeezed her softly.

“You’re welcome, love. Did you want some lunch?” He finally pulled away.

“That sounds great. Thank you.” She watched him walk away to make her food yet again. He’d been doing everything for her, but she could barely give him a real hug? ...With her here this place felt like a real home? The sentiment was both touching and made her uneasy.

She’d noticed he used more pet names for her. She hoped that things would ease up between them once she was back in her own place. She was incredibly grateful to Darius, but eager to reclaim some independence and some distance. Right now, everything was extremely one-sided, which wasn’t fair, and it didn’t feel healthy for either of them.

Kat was quiet as they ate lunch, deep in thought. Her head still throbbed from the effort of writing what she wanted Darius to say to Cami and e-mail Mr. Walker. Each word was a reminder of how much she’d have to untangle once she got home.

A tap against the window pulled her from her thoughts. Outside the cabin, the clouds had grown thick and heavy. As she watched, more drops struck the window in sloppy gusts.

“..Shoot. We’ll probably lose internet.” Darius remarked, and she looked at him quickly.

“It goes down often during storms, but it’s no reason to worry. I can always get a call out the old-fashioned way. I know some spots with reception up the road.”

“But the rain—“

 “I don’t mind a little rain,” Darius reassured her, clearing the dishes from the coffee table.

“Are you sure?”Kat looked from him back at the trees lashing outside.

“Absolutely. I’m used to the weather, plus I’ve got a good raincoat and don’t get cold easily, remember? Endothermic.” He shot her a wink and set the dishes in the sink while she watched him from the edge of the couch.

“Be careful out there, though.” She said uneasily. She certainly wouldn’t want to wander around in this kind of weather.

“I will be,” He said, looking touched by her concern. He tugged on his hiking boots and a black raincoat and gave her one last grin before he opened the front door. “I’ll be back before long, hopefully with news from the tow place and your apartment.” He shut the door and turned the lock.

Kat grabbed the handheld gaming console, idly tapping the buttons. What she wanted was a Wi-Fi signal. She could send the doctor’s office an email explaining her absence and shoot Cami a few messages on social media. Even when Cami wouldn’t answer her texts, she always checked her social media since she was on her ‘influencer’ kick. Dictation was fine, but how many e-mails had she missed while couch-bound? She could sort things out herself much more easily.

Kat eyed the stairs longingly. Darius’s desktop computer was hardwired to the router. If the internet came online, maybe she’d ask him to bring her up there. She could compose some e-mails and see the geckos.

She shifted on the couch cushion, needing to use the bathroom. She’d have to wait. Stupid foot.

A twinge in her head reminded her she was stressing. I’m improving, she told herself, taking a few deep breaths. She tucked into the couch and squeezed her pillow in her arms as hard as she could. She shut her eyes and waited for Darius to return and tell her how the calls had gone.

Footsteps on the cabin’s front porch startled her from her doze. By the time Darius unlocked the door and came inside, she was wholly alert.

“Well, bad news on the tow,” he reported, shedding water droplets. “They can’t send a guy out to help until tomorrow night, at the earliest. There’s good news, though, I rescheduled your doctor’s appointment for next week, and Mr. Walker said the apartment’s yours until the end of April. He hasn’t kicked Cami out, but she’s been AWOL.” Darius reported.

“So... we’re stuck here until tomorrow night?”

 “Looks like it.” He shrugged. “Want to watch another Aliopex?”

“Maybe later.” She needed to address the gnawing in her chest first.

 It was good to hear she’d have a roof over her head when she returned to town, but where was Cami? It wasn’t out of the question that she had decided to stay with a friend or, more accurately, a boyfriend, but she’d just broken up with Nate...

“So tomorrow night for the tow truck... Did you try anyone else who could give us a ride?” Kat asked, biting her lip.

“I was lucky to get even a couple of calls out. The storm rolling in sure isn’t helping anything, and I didn’t want to stand around getting soaked and risk my phone shorting out.” Darius said.

Guilt hit her like a slap. Yes, she was frustrated. It was no excuse to have a bad attitude. As her grandmother often said when a situation was out of control, ‘Sometimes all you can do is be the best you!’.

Kat forced the depressing thoughts away and focused on what she could do.

“I’m sorry, you must be freezing. Here, do you want a blanket?” She held up her, wishing she could do more.

Darius’s face softened as she offered him the blanket. “I’ll definitely borrow it, thanks. It’ll be alright in a minute once the fire’s going. Oh hey, there’s that old shed at the edge of the yard. It’s full of random junk—”

“That’s my favorite kind of junk.” Kat joked, trying to lighten the mood.

He smiled back and removed his raincoat, hanging it on a hook by the front door. “Since we can’t get to town to pick up crutches, I’ll dig around inside later and see if there’s any out there.”

Kat perked up, excited and moved by the offer. Even though he’d just gone outside and gotten soaked, he still thought of her. “That would be great! Even if there’s just one, it would help me get around way more easily. I’d go from crawling to slow hopping. That’s bug to frog levels of improvement.”

Darius tugged his boots off and gave her an odd, amused look. “Bug to frog?”

“A huge step up on the evolutionary chain; much more advanced,” Kat said, nodding sagely.

“I’ll take your word for it.” Darius flicked a switch, and a cheery yellow flame lit the fireplace. “Were we on... the fourth one?”

It took Kat a second to catch on. “Oh, for Aliopex? I think so? I slept through most of the last one... Have you seen the underground complex yet?”

“Yes. That was at the very end of the last one we watched.”

“Then we’re on four,” Kat confirmed. Darius started the movie and then came to sit beside her on the couch. She passed him the blanket and then hesitated, lightly twining their fingers.

Darius stilled, his face going slack. His eyes fixed on their joined hands.

“Thanks for hiking in the wind and rain to make those calls for me,” she said meekly, tracing a pattern on the back of his hand, which was warm against hers. “And for... everything else.”

Thunder pealed outside, startling them. Darius squeezed her hand as the movie and lights stuttered.

“Anytime. Looks like we’re in for quite the spring storm.” He said in a hoarse whisper.

“Think we’ll lose power?” Kat wondered.

“If we lose the lights, I know where the candles are.”

Kat scrunched her nose and chuckled. “No flashlights or electric lamps?”

“Sure, I have a couple, but candles are more fun,” he pointed out, inclining his head towards her.

“True,” Kat agreed, then focused on the TV screen. “Oh, here it comes. Alio has this ridiculous plan, and it fails so hard. I love this part.”

Her shoulder brushed his as she leaned forward in anticipation, caught up in the action on display. Darius’s eyes remained on their hands.

“Me, too,” he murmured.