Sunset Rising Read Online Free Page A

did get was rationed for both drinking and bathing. We wouldn’t waste it on bathing at all if the bourge hadn’t made weekly bathing mandatory in order to prevent disease.
    The traffic on the stairs was always faster going down than climbing up , so Summer and I made good time getting back to the sixth level. We parted ways to go to our respective homes and collect our towels and soap. My father hadn’t moved much since I left him this morning, but, at my arrival, he turned over to look at me.
    “How was work?” he asked , but his expression was vacant.
    “S till there.” I sat on the side of his bed and placed my hand on his back. He felt frightfully thin. “I got a job tonight, too, so I won’t be home until later.”
    “What kind of job?”
    “Just some extra kitchen duties.” He didn’t need to know what I would be doing. I couldn’t bear the thought of adding to his pain.
    “P robably to do with that wedding.”
    “Probably. Since I have to get back upstairs, I can’t take you to get dinner tonight. You’ll have to go by yourself.”
    “Th at’s okay, dear. I’m not hungry.” He rolled over, turning his back to me.
    I sighed. “Dad, promise me you’ll get up and eat.”
    “Okay, Sunny. I promise I will.”
    I was almost certain he wasn’ t going to get out of bed, but there was nothing I could do about it. If only Mom were here. I kissed his cheek and left him to get a bar of soap, a piece of coal, and the one towel assigned to me. I made my way to the bathroom and, as I suspected would be the case, there was no line. Summer was already waiting for me.
    “I’ ll wet my towel,” I said.
    The trick to taking a bath in the Pit was never to set foot in the bathtub. The cold stone tub was fairly large and deep, so if the water was allowed to sit undisturbed, the dirt and sediment fell to the bottom. By bathing in pairs, we could soak one person’s towel to use as a washcloth and then dry off with the other. But a completely soaked towel down here in the Pit took forever to dry.
    “No, let me ,” Summer said. “It’s my fault we were late this morning. I got us into this mess.”
    “You didn’t hav e to say yes to tonight, Summer. I wish you hadn’t.”
    I stripped and let her clean my back. The water was freezing, and I shivered.
    “And you didn’t have to wait for me this morning . Best friends do things for each other.”
    I snorted. Going with me tonight went well beyond friendship. “You know what you signed up for, right?”
    “I know,” she snapped.
    Her anger took me aback but made me realize that she was feeling every bit as apprehensive about tonight as I was.
    “I know ,” she said again, a little more calmly. “But we don’t have to make it all about that . I mean, it’s just sex, right? How bad can it be? We’ve never seen inside the main part of the Dome, and they might share the food. I hope they share the food!” She handed me the soaked towel so I could sponge the rest of my body clean.
    Summer could always see the silver lining in every situation, a talent I wished I could learn. But I couldn’t even squelch the anxiety that was growing inside me. I had never had sex. I always thought my first time would be with Reyes after we were married, although I hadn’t spent much time thinking about it. Now I was terrified.
    I finished bathing and handed her the wet towel. Picking up the dry one, I wrapped it around me. I used my piece of coal to touch up my hair. “One of the things I love most about you is that you can take a bad situation and see the good in it.” I took the wet towel out of her hand and started washing her back. “But I worry that your love of life is going to get you into trouble.”
    “Which brings us back to our conversation this morning . Reyes.”
    “ No it doesn’t!” Although her back was to me, I drew my brows together and made a face. “I’m not sure how that brings us back to Reyes, but for the record, I don’t want to talk