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[easiertohate]

Boredom, a noun. The state of being bored, tedium, ennui. It didn't matter what she called it. Whether she referred to it as dullness, doldrums or weariness. It all equaled the same thing to her. Ros Myers found herself trapped on an island and bored

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[beentodamascus]

"I know that one."

He'd been watching her for a few minutes, watching her read the children's book. He had a mug of coffee in his hand. Coraline was taking a bath, which meant that Adam was more or less tied to the compound. He still wasn't good at leaving her on her own.

"Want me to tell you how it ends?"

[easiertohate]

Ros raised an eyebrow as she looked up at him, "No thanks. I think part of the exercise is making it through myself. Though I imagine that the moral of this one is that one can't be too prepared."

Turning the page, she smiled, her amusement only at her own expense. "I volunteered to teach."

[beentodamascus]

"I volunteered to help," said Adam, with an easy grin that was almost entirely fake, sliding down onto the sofa beside her.

"I've come over all domestic."

[easiertohate]

She snorted, knowing full well that her teaching raw beginners Arabic was likely to me an unmitigated disaster, possibly even with Adam's influence. "Domestic bliss, both of us?"

Ros wasn't content with the situation any more than Adam was actually as happy as the smile implied. "Sleeping any better?"

[beentodamascus]

"Sometimes." It wasn't a straight answer, but it was the truth. "Sometimes, I just sit and read and listen to Cora sleep. It's a bit of a trade off."

[easiertohate]

Ros made a non-committal sound in response, closing the book. "You can't fix her Adam. If this place does something to her, you can't protect her all of the time."

[beentodamascus]

"I can look after her, Ros. She's ten years old. Sometimes, she needs to be rescued, and I made her a promise, and I intend to keep it."

The look in Adam's eyes indicated that he intended to brook no argument.

[easiertohate]

"Adam," Ros paused, her voice dropping as she spoke his name. "Is that really wise?"

[beentodamascus]

"She's ten years old, Ros," he said, his tone mirroring hers. "She needs someone to look after her."

[easiertohate]

Of course it had to be him. Ros knew there was no point in saying that to him, nor that she thought he was just replacing Wes. It would only lead to a fight she wasn't in the mood for that morning. "You should be careful of promises you can't keep."

[beentodamascus]

"One promise at a time, Ros," said Adam, picking up one of the books on the sofa and restively flicking throug it. "I kept the last one. I'll keep the next one. Baby steps."

[easiertohate]

"Do you mean to tie her to you? To hold onto her if this place sends her home?" Ros leaned forward, wanting him to see, needing him to see. There were things you couldn't promise, no matter how much you wanted to.

[beentodamascus]

"You're thinking about this too much, Ros." It came out sharply, a snap. "She's a little girl and she needs someone to look out for her. Not everything has some deep inner meaning."

[easiertohate]

"Oh nd you'll tell me she isn't a replacement for Wes?" she snapped back, knowing she'd gone too far and not caring. His stubborness had pushed her there, she told herself, ignoring her own "You can't keep trying to save people."

They could barely save themselves.