Love Burned, She Rose Unscathed novel Chapter 873

The next morning, they were on the first run of the 516 bus. But it was not what they expected.

The bus was absolutely packed with people, most of them elderly. Wicker baskets and hampers filled with freshly picked vegetables and other local goods were piled everywhere.

Mamie was dumbfounded. “Why… why are there so many people?”

The three of them were squeezed into the middle of the bus as soon as they boarded, surrounded by baskets at their feet and standing shoulder-to-shoulder with old men and women who hadn’t gotten seats. It was so crowded you could practically tell what the person next to you had eaten for breakfast when they yawned.

“Roseanne, I’m scared…” Mamie whispered, turning to look for her friend with tears welling in her eyes.

Instead, her gaze met Scales’s. Roseanne had been pushed further back into the bus.

Their eyes locked—one on the verge of tears, the other frozen in surprise.

“You…”

“Caley, I’m scared…” Mamie repeated, her voice trembling.

Something in Scales’s heart gave way. “Here… move closer to me,” he said, trying to shuffle aside to make a little more space for her. Mamie immediately leaned into the small pocket of safety he’d created.

“Why are all these people crowding onto the bus so early in the morning?” she whimpered.

“It’s probably market day,” Scales guessed, nodding toward the baskets of produce.

Suddenly, someone jostled Mamie from behind, sending her stumbling forward. Scales reacted instantly, catching her with his chest and shielding her from hitting her head on the back of a seat. “Are you okay?” he asked, steadying her with a worried look.

Mamie’s face was beet red. “Caley, I… I can’t breathe…”

Without a second thought, Scales slid open the window next to them, letting a rush of fresh air into the stuffy bus.

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