Chapter 452: Mei Getting Caroline’s Help

After Tommy left, Mei and Keith remained seated on the bench.

For a while, neither of them spoke.

Tommy had returned to his position near the back of the yard, standing with his weapons visible and his attention apparently fixed on the other prisoners. To anyone watching, he was just another guard doing his job.

But Mei knew he was thinking.

Planning.

Trying to figure out how to steal a boat, get their keys, free Emily, avoid Audrey, avoid Liam, and somehow get all of them out of Brigantine without Gaspar noticing.

The plan had too many weak points.

One mistake could ruin everything.

Keith stared down into his bowl, barely touching the food now.

"What are you brooding over?" Mei asked before taking another spoonful of the thin meal.

Keith glanced at her.

"Tommy’s words."

"What about them?"

"Am I really that useless?"

"You are," Mei replied immediately.

Keith groaned and leaned back slightly.

Mei smiled into her bowl.

Then her expression softened.

"But we are in a situation where there isn’t much we can do," she added.

Keith looked at her again.

"You’re doing better than me."

"I just offered one possible solution."

"You are still trying," he said. "You are being useful."

Mei shook her head.

"Caroline might refuse."

"She probably won’t."

"You don’t know that."

Keith sighed.

"Still. At least you thought of something."

He stared toward the house where they were kept at night.

"Tommy told me to try getting the room keys from Liam, but how the fuck am I supposed to do that? I want to help. I do. But if I mess up even once, I ruin the whole plan."

"Definitely," Mei said.

Keith gave her a tired look.

"And I’ll never forgive you for it."

"Right."

Despite himself, Keith laughed.

It did not last long.

He suddenly winced and reached toward his right eye.

Mei’s expression changed.

The swelling had gone down since Williams beat him, but the bruising around his eye had not completely faded. Purple and yellow marks still stained the skin beneath it. There were cuts on his cheek and near his brow that were healing, though they remained visible enough that Mei noticed them every time she looked at him.

Keith had taken a lot that day.

Too much.

And every time she saw the injuries on his face, guilt returned.

"Does it still hurt?" Mei asked quietly.

Keith glanced at her.

Mei hesitated before reaching out.

Her fingers lightly touched the swollen area beneath his eye.

Keith let out a small groan.

"Yeah," he admitted. "A little. It stings every few seconds."

"I’m sorry," Mei said.

Her fingers brushed gently along the edge of the bruise, careful not to press too hard.

Keith caught her wrist lightly before she could pull away.

"Don’t," he said.

Mei looked at him.

"I wouldn’t even be able to call myself a man if I didn’t try to stop that bastard," Keith continued. "I just... didn’t manage to do anything."

He gave a weak, self-deprecating laugh and looked away.

"Callighan was the one who stopped him. I just got myself beaten into the ground. As usual."

"No."

Mei shook her head.

Keith looked back at her.

"You did help me," she said.

Her voice was firmer now.

"You were a much better man than anyone else in this place."

Keith blinked.

Mei gave a small scoff, trying to act as though her words had not meant much.

"An idiot who keeps throwing himself into fights and getting beaten up," she added. "Yeah. I’m used to that now."

"Is that supposed to make me feel better?" Keith asked, wincing slightly.

"No."

Mei looked at him again.

"But I’m telling you that you aren’t a coward."

Keith stayed quiet.

"You fought for me," Mei continued. "You tried to protect me when everyone else would have either watched or looked away. I was scared that day, Keith."

Her fingers were still against the side of his face.

"And you were there."

She swallowed.

"That matters."

Keith stared at her.

The yard around them seemed to fade for a moment. The prisoners talking nearby, the guards watching from the entrances, the ocean wind moving through the streets, none of it felt as important as the look in his eyes.

Then Keith lifted his hand and gently closed it around hers.

Mei shivered.

Only then did she realize how close she had moved to him.

How much she had said.

It was clearly not like her.

Her face warmed immediately.

She started to pull her hand away, but Keith did not let go.

Not tightly.

Just enough to make her pause.

"Mei," he said.

His voice had become quieter.

More uncertain.

"I think I..."

He hesitated.

Mei’s heart skipped.

She looked at him, frozen in place as Keith slowly leaned closer.

His face moved toward hers.

For one second, Mei did not move.

Then a sharp voice cut through the yard.

"Hey, what the fuck are you doing?"

Both of them jerked apart.

One of Callighan’s men stood several feet away, staring at them with suspicion.

Mei’s face went hot.

Keith looked just as embarrassed.

"N-Nothing," he said quickly.

The guard gave them another warning look before turning away.

Mei and Keith lowered their heads over their bowls.

For the rest of breakfast, they barely spoke.

They finished their food in silence.

Neither of them looked directly at the other again.

And when it was time to leave, they parted without saying goodbye.

Mei requested to wash herself almost immediately after breakfast.

She needed an excuse to get away.

Not only from Keith.

From the embarrassment still burning in her face every time she remembered what almost happened on that bench.

The guards allowed women to wash at a restricted part of the beach, separated from the rest of Brigantine by wooden barriers and patched-together sheets of metal. It was not real privacy. Guards still watched the entrances, and the women were only allowed a limited amount of time there.

But it was the closest thing to privacy anyone in Brigantine could get.

More importantly, Caroline often came to wash at the same time.

Mei found her near the women’s section and asked if she wanted to go together.

Caroline agreed immediately.

She looked happy just to have company.

The two of them were escorted toward the shore, passing through the narrow entrance between the barriers. Beyond them, the ocean stretched out beneath the pale morning sky. The water was cold, the waves small but constant as they reached the sand.

Caroline talked almost the entire way.

Mei barely heard half of it.

Her thoughts kept returning to Keith.

What the hell had that been?

They had only been talking.

She had been trying to comfort him. That was all. He had been hurt because he tried to protect her from Williams. He had taken a beating that should never have happened, and she had only wanted him to understand that his actions mattered.

Then she had touched his face.

He had taken her hand.

He had looked at her like that.

Mei’s face warmed again just thinking about it.

She had only felt that kind of nervousness a few times before.

Mostly around Ryan.

And even then, she had always tried to ignore it.

Ryan saved her life. He gave her a place among people who did not look at her like she was a burden. He made her feel safe when the world had stopped feeling safe.

But that did not mean every feeling she had was only because of him.

Since coming to Brigantine, Keith had become something else for her.

A steady presence.

Someone who could make her laugh, even when everything around them was miserable. Someone who had sat with her during the worst days, shared the little food they had, listened when she needed to speak, and stayed near without demanding anything from her.

And when Williams tried to hurt her, Keith stepped in. ℯℯ𝑙.

He had known Williams was stronger.

He had known he could get hurt.

He did it anyway.

The memory made Mei’s chest tighten.

By the time they reached the sand, the other women had already begun spreading out through the restricted section. Some washed at the water’s edge. Others stood farther back, talking in low voices or keeping watch on the guards near the barriers.

Mei kept a towel around herself and walked into the water with Caroline.

The cold waves moved around her legs, then higher as they stepped farther out. The ocean water touched her skin and helped clear her head a little.

Not enough.

"Mei?"

Caroline’s voice pulled her back.

Mei turned.

Caroline stood beside her with a gentle smile, though concern had appeared in her expression.

"Are you okay?"

"I’m fine," Mei replied.

Caroline did not look convinced.

Mei glanced around the women nearby.

Most of them were far enough away that nobody would hear if she kept her voice low. She moved a little farther from the others, toward a quieter part of the water.

Caroline followed her.

"I heard about what happened with that man," Caroline said softly. "I’m really relieved you’re okay, Mei."

Mei nodded.

She did not want to talk about Williams.

She did not want to remember the fear, the anger, or the way Keith had been hurt trying to stop him.

"I’m okay," Mei said. "But I have another problem. I was hoping you could help me."

Caroline’s eyes immediately widened.

"Of course. Tell me. Whatever I can do."

"It’s about Audrey."

Caroline waited.

"She’s been watching me a lot," Mei continued. "And she’s getting... forceful about being around me."

That was not entirely true.

Audrey had watched her. She had made her interest obvious in ways that made Mei uncomfortable. But she had not done anything as bad as Williams had.

Still, Mei needed Audrey out of the way.

Only for a few minutes.

"Sometimes I need her away at night," Mei said.

Caroline blinked.

"At night? Isn’t Audrey usually at the waterfront then?"

"That’s the problem."

Mei hesitated, then chose the easiest explanation.

"I don’t want her catching me with Keith."

Caroline’s eyes widened.

Then they practically lit up.

"Oh."

Mei felt her face warm again.

"Oh," Caroline repeated, smiling. "Mei, finally."

"Don’t make it weird."

"And it’s Keith too?"

Caroline sounded excited enough that Mei almost regretted telling her.

"The outlaw of this place."

"Outlaw?" Mei repeated.

There were far worse people in Brigantine than Keith. Men who had actually been prisoners before the outbreak. Men who had hurt people, threatened them, stolen from them, and done whatever they wanted until Callighan forced rules on them.

Keith was not like them.

He just did not know when to stay quiet.

Maybe that was why Caroline called him an outlaw.

"So you want some private time with your boyfriend," Caroline said. "I understand. Tell me what I need to do."

"Tonight," Mei said, "can you get Audrey away from the waterfront for a little while?"

Caroline’s expression shifted from excitement to confusion.

"Tonight? Are you planning something?"

Mei kept her voice low.

"We just want some time together. Audrey doesn’t like us being close. She wants us to stay away from each other because we’re prisoners."

It was not a perfect lie.

But it was believable enough.

Caroline frowned as she thought it through.

"Wait." Her eyes widened again. "Audrey likes you, right? So she’s jealous?"

"Well... yes."

It was easier not to explain further.

Audrey did like women. She had made some uncomfortable attempts at flirting with Mei before. That part was true enough.

"Keith already has enough problems," Mei added. "People keep finding excuses to beat him up. I don’t want Audrey catching us together and creating another problem."

Caroline’s face went pale.

"Y-You mean Audrey is why Keith’s face is so injured?"

Mei went quiet.

Caroline clearly did not know the full story. She knew Williams had tried to force himself on Mei—most people in Brigantine had heard something about it—but she did not know how badly Keith had been beaten trying to intervene.

Mei did not want to give her more details.

"It happened because she caught us," Mei said quietly. "So please don’t mention this to her."

Caroline nodded quickly.

"Of course. I won’t tell her anything."

She hesitated.

"Tonight, though... she won’t hurt me, right?"

"No," Mei replied. "She won’t."

At least, Mei did not think Audrey would.

Audrey had been a prisoner before the outbreak, but she was not like Williams or Romero. She had not shown the same kind of cruelty. Her interest in women made Mei uncomfortable, but Audrey was not someone Mei believed would become violent just because Caroline talked to her. Rather Audrey would be very willing since Caroline was cute.

"Just be careful," Mei said. "Don’t force anything. I only need her away for five or ten minutes. That should be enough."

Caroline nodded slowly.

"Okay."

Then she gave Mei a more determined smile.

"Just tell me the time."

Mei nodded.

"Thank you."

Caroline reached over and briefly squeezed Mei’s hand beneath the water.

"Don’t worry. I’ll help."

Mei looked back toward the barriers enclosing the beach.

The plan was still risky.

Too risky.

But now she had found a way to create an opening.

All she needed to do was tell Tommy when Caroline could distract Audrey.

If Audrey was away from the waterfront, Tommy would have a chance to reach the boats without her watching him or questioning why he was moving around that area.

Then he could take the boat.

And if everything else went right, they could finally leave Brigantine.