I had a feeling we could stand here all night, arguing over who was worse off and who got to help who, so I only smiled faintly and nodded when Eddie asked to look at the scratches on my calf. I turned so he could see them better, wishing they would at least stop bleeding soon. It wasn't much, the flow was thick and sluggish, and I knew it was close to stopping, but it hadn't stopped yet and I didn't want that to worry Eddie more than it should have.

"I never knew what it was like before you," I said, the words coming easier now that I was faced away from Eddie. That felt silly, like I was a little kid, because I wanted to say all these things to Eddie, but sometimes I was afraid. I couldn't be afraid now, not when he had been so brave down in the kitchen. "Having someone who wanted to keep me safe. Before you... the boys on the Island were my friends, but I was always the one looking out for them. If I had gotten sick like so many of them did, I know none of them would have taken care of me the way I did for them."

I paused, then shrugged a little. "But you would. If I needed you, you'd be there."