Read Rebel for Free Online

you hungry? I can grab you some food.”
    She shook her head. “No, Micah gave me some.”
    “Okay. I’ll be right back.”
    She smiled at me over her shoulder as I headed in the direction of the big tent. Micah appeared to be the only one incharge here, and I had a feeling he’d be more than happy to accommodate a request on Wren’s behalf.
    The flap to the big tent was closed, and I scanned the area, unsure of what to do. They needed a knocker or something on these things.
    “Micah?” I called.
    He poked his head out a moment later, his eyebrows lowered. “What?”
    Apparently his friendliness didn’t extend much beyond Wren. I crossed my arms over my chest. “Wren hasn’t slept in, like, two days and she’s exhausted. Do you have somewhere she can rest for a while?”
    His frown disappeared. “Oh, of course. I should have told her. I had a tent cleared out right over there.”
    I turned to where he was pointing at a small tepee-style tent that had been untouched by the blast. I wondered who he had “cleared out” to make room for her.
    “Hey, Jules!” he yelled. “Did you get pillows and blankets and everything in that tent?”
    “Yeah, it’s all set!” she called from behind him.
    “Thanks,” I said, turning to walk away.
    “Let me know if you need anything else!” he called.
    I sort of waved in reply, torn between being annoyed at her special treatment and grateful that had been so easy.
    I found Wren in the same spot. Firelight flickered off her blond hair and, even exhausted, she was striking, the mostinteresting girl I’d ever seen, in several ways. Her small, delicate features contrasted with the tough, almost terrifying expression she often wore. It was one of the first things I noticed about her. I remember lying on the ground, looking up at her, being sort of scared and sort of turned on at the same time.
    Addie was trying to make conversation but not getting very far, and I extended my hand down to Wren. “Come with me?”
    She took my hand and let me pull her up. As we walked, she slid an arm around my waist and leaned against my chest, which made a few Reboots turn to look at us. The numbers seemed just as important here as they were at HARC, and I wondered if they were staring at just her, or because a Twenty-two and One-seventy-eight were together.
    I led her to the tent and pulled back the flap. There was a small fire pit in the middle, but it wasn’t lit. Next to that were two blankets and two pillows on top of a thin, homemade mattress. Given the amount of clothes and linens they had, they must have been growing cotton somewhere. Successfully, it seemed.
    Wren plopped down on the mattress as I climbed in after her. “Is this just for us?”
    “Yeah, Micah said he had it cleared out for you.” I stayed crouched near the tent flap, suddenly aware of the fact that we didn’t have to sleep in the same tent if we didn’t want to. When we escaped from Rosa, we had to stay close, huddled togetherbehind trash bins or against tree trunks. We’d had the night in my old bedroom, but I didn’t want to assume we were going to sleep in the same bed every night.
    She looked nervous, playing with a loose string on her pants and not meeting my eyes. I wanted to crawl onto the mattress and hold her without the threat of HARC hanging over our heads, but maybe that wasn’t what she wanted.
    “I don’t mind staying with the other Reboots, if you’d like to be alone,” I said, shifting closer to the edge of the tent to prove I was serious.
    She gave me a confused look. “Why would I want to be alone?”
    I laughed softly. “I meant if you’d be more comfortable sleeping in here without me. I didn’t want to assume. . . .”
    She shook her head, holding her hand out to me. I slipped my fingers in between hers and scooted toward the bed, until I was close enough for her to lean down and brush her lips against mine.
    “I’m always more comfortable with you,” she whispered.
    I