"I just don't understand how someone could do that to themselves. It doesn't make sense." He took her arm and began to gently slide the glass from her gashes. The pile was so big it was terrifying to think that all the glass had actually been embedded in their flesh.

"It's complicated." She mutters. Hoping he would take the hint Meera pushed herself up onto her two shaking legs. Taking a moment to steady herself she concentrated on a single tree, using it as a focal point. Once she felt firm enough, she began walking, turning her back to Alex.

He got up and set his hand on her shoulder pausing her in her footsteps. His hand was warm in the curved indent of her collarbone.

"We shouldn't split up. Not after my uncle disappeared into thin air, it was as if he was there one moment and then gone the next."

"My mom just ran off, as usual. I'm sure it's nothing." She confessed. "But, if you want, my place is a couple miles down the road." Casually she let his hand drop back to his side, it felt odd for someone to touch her at all. She had shied away from physical contact ever since her father had begun hitting her and she had learned to shrug off all contact.

"Yeah, that's fine. Are you sure you can walk with all the gashes in your knees?" He asked concern ringing from every aspect. Meera shook it off and kept walking.

"I don't even feel them."

"What happened to make you so …" Alex drifted off as he looked for a fitting word that wouldn't hurt her feelings. He suspected she had enough of that in her life.

"Pathetic. That's the word you were looking for." She inserted. Her pace quickened she tried to deflect the oncoming questions, but Alex wasn't ready to let it go.

"No, you're not pathetic, just sad." He gently laid the words on her, trying not to scare her, or worse offend her. He was afraid she'd break, her slight frame, long ghostly hair, and matching milky skin, gave her the image of a dove's feather. Pale and brittle.

Smirking she turned to show him her half smile. "Sad, that's what I am."

"Are you sure you're alright? Your cuts are bleeding again." He stated pointedly, Meera looked down without a change in expression as her hand reached to wipe the warm runny blood. Not even a twitch at her mouth. She was so emotionless that it was slightly scary.

"Were almost there." Monotone.

"This is the middle of nowhere." Alex claimed gesturing toward the rolling never-ending fields. Meera just pointed to the horizon where a small shape was a house. It didn't seem so big from where they stood, but Alex assumed it'd grow bigger as the continued on.

"I never said it was close to the town." Meera answered the implied question reaching to slap a mosquito that had settled on her arm. With a sickening clap, that was harder than it needed to be it fell to the ground leaving a new spot of blood on her arm.

The rest of the walk was quiet and Meera was glad Alex hadn't asked her anymore questions. She wasn't used to talking to people this often. Eventually the house grew into a two story building with a wraparound porch and a spacious picket fenced yard.

Meera was hard to read but she could read anyone else like an open book. She could tell that Alex was reluctant to refrain from pursuing the questions that pounded in his head. She could also see he was still in pain from the gashes in his arm, well, she didn't need to be able to read people, he was cradling the arm to his side. Rix was loping behind Alex with an ecstatic step, and Meere knew that Rix wouldn't be having a problem with Alex.