14. Silence

Piercing blue eyes stare at you incredulously as the wind continues whipping the mans hair around his rugged face. You get the sense that he’s likely younger than than his weary, weathered, face would lead you to believe. “Are you real?” His voice is soft and hesitant as if he can’t believe what he’s seeing. One of his hands raises and you instinctively draw back as it reaches out towards your face. You do, however, nod warily in affirmation.

“Oh god” he whispers as if he’s worried making to much noise will cause you to vanish “I thought I was the last person”. You can’t help but feel yourself soften a bit as you see a little moisture well up in his eyes. The sun has completely set now and his eyes are only illuminated by the lanterns light. You’re surprised how blue they look in the dim light. “It’s okay” you say sympathetically and reach your free hand out to him.

He glances at your face for a moment before reaching out and gently squeezing your palm. He lets out a deep breath, which is made visible by the cold air. You grip his hand in yours and turn towards the cabin “Come. I’m sure you’re tired and hungry.” You go to drop his hand but find his fingers wrapped tightly around yours. You consider trying to pull away but then remember it could be over a year since he’s had human contact.

You keep your hand limp but allow him to keep his hand wrapped around it. After a while you reach the cabin and he finally drops your hand so you can push open the door. The warm light of the fire only highlights his eyes more. The man takes a moment to look around. You catch a small frown pass across his face when his eyes glance over Dex’s spare boots in the corner of the room.

This worries you slightly but you decide to ignore it for now. You shrug your coat off and place it on a coat rack by the door. “Please, sit” you gesture to the rocking chair you had been sitting in earlier. The man glances at you and you quickly turn around and head toward the small kitchen area. There’s no electricity to use a fridge but the cold winter provided an easy solution. After you fetch a bowl and spoon from the kitchen you turn and glance at the man who’s now sitting down staring at you. You blush and continue on to the door. You don’t bother putting your coat on, the ice chest you keep your food in is just sitting on the porch. You’re not sure what you’ll do when spring and summer arrive but for now you’re thankful for the freezing temperatures.

You turn to drag the chest inside and find the strange man standing right behind you. Your eyes widen as his hand reaches toward you. To your surprise and relief he reaches past you and grabs one of the handles of the chest. You wordlessly let him help you carry it in. After a few minutes you’ve pulled another chair up to the fire and are defrosting some stew in a metal pot you’ve fashioned to hang over the fire. You only use the wood fired stove when Dex was home. He’s far better at controlling the temperature than you are.

You can feel the mans eyes boring into your head as you look down silently stirring the pot. Finally the awkward silence is to much to bare and you clear your throat. You hear the man sit up in his seat as you tell him your name and ask his. “You can call me Jack” he replies still studying your face. You give him a small smile and hand him a bowl of stew before pouring another one for you. As the two of you eat in silence you feel a knot forming in your stomach. What are you going to tell Dex when he gets home?