Find Me (Life After the Outbreak, Book 2)

by Baker, LJ

  "Something going on with you two?" I whispered to Dan once we settled in.

  "No. What do you mean?" Dan squirmed around. His muscular frame didn't leave much room for two in the sleeping bag.

  I rolled onto my side with my back pressed up against his front, to give us the most possible room. "You’re acting weird, and Will is all jealous again. Did he say something to you?"

  Dan took a deep breath. "Andi, this position is not going to work. And no, he didn't say anything. Everything is fine. Except this." He tried to turn himself over so I wasn't up against him, but it wasn't working.

  "It was fine how we were. Stop squirming."

  Dan took another deep breath and let it out very slowly. "I promise you, it was not fine. If you press yourself up against me like that again, Will is going to have something to be jealous about."

  I opened my mouth to tell him he was an idiot, then it dawned on me what he was talking about. A hot blush spread across my cheeks, and I was glad he couldn't see me at that moment. I tried to twist myself around so that I was lying on my back or something, anything other than how we were, but I wasn't even sure what position wouldn't be a problem.

  "My God, woman, stop moving. Please." Dan unzipped the sleeping bag halfway and flipped me around so I was facing him, but he was on his back. He zipped us back up and patted his chest for me to lay my head on.

  "Better?"

  He shrugged his chin back to look down at me. "Is that a trick question?"

  "Um, no? I don't get it."

  Dan laughed.

  I slapped my hand onto his hard chest. "Stop that. What do you mean ‘trick question?’”

  "Sure, it's better if I want to keep Will from kicking my ass, but Angel, having you pressed up against me like that isn't something I really want to end."

  "You two are supposed to be getting some sleep over there," Will called over. He looked annoyed, and I was suddenly very grateful that he couldn't hear our conversation.

  The next time I woke up, daylight was peeking through the door, and I could hear Will talking to Izzy.

  "Iz, I'll take you to the military base if that's what you want, or we can go to the place Andi mentioned. It's up to you. I trust her, so if she thinks you will be better off there, it’s probably the best place." Will peered out the door and scanned the area.

  She nodded her head in our direction and raised both eyebrows. I closed my eyes so they wouldn't know I was listening.

  Will let out a small laugh. "Yeah, I trust her. Him, maybe not so much, but Andi, absolutely."

  A twinge of guilt rolled over me, and Dan tightened his arm around my waist.

  "I wouldn't trust me either, if I were him," Dan whispered into my ear.

  I tapped him on the side of the face and tried to turn myself around and reach the zipper to release us from our cocoon. My struggle was amusing to Dan. His laughing got the attention of Will, who came over to unzip the bag and glare at Dan.

  Yeah, the jealousy is back.

  "Sleep well, babe?" Will smiled and kissed the top of my head.

  "Better than in a long while." I smiled back and leaned my head against him for a much needed hug. Part of me wanted to hop up and wrap my legs around him and hold on forever. I knew what it felt like to lose him, and I never wanted to feel that again.

  Dan got to his feet and stretched. "I'll go and find us some breakfast before we head out."

  Will nodded and draped his arm around my shoulder. He was providing some extra visual proof that his claim was staked. The claim being me. Which was all very amusing since he just spent the last few hours watching me sleep cuddled up against Dan in a too-small sleeping bag.

  Dan stepped into his boots, laced them up, and grabbed his pack. "Any requests?"

  "Yeah, nothing I've ever had as a pet," I said.

  Will looked down at me with a curious look, but didn't say anything.

  "I'll do my best, sweetheart." Dan winked and headed out to hunt.

  "Something I should know?" Will looked down at me, his arm still around me.

  "Bunnies … their cute little faces looking up at me. You know … ” I swallowed hard at the thought.

  Will chuckled. "Yeah, that's my girl."

  Dan returned with a couple squirrels and some sort of wild berries. It wasn't quite enough for four, but we made do. Izzy decided to go with Jay and Mira after a long discussion of both options. Well, we discussed, she nodded and made approving and disapproving faces. She didn't seem to like either one, but there really wasn't another choice.

  We got our stuff together and headed out. It would only take a couple hours to make it to Jay and Mira's and we could decide from there whether to spend the night or head right back out. If I got my way, we would stay. Jay, Mira, and Jenny were great, and it was nice to see other people that didn't want to kill you once in awhile.

  Izzy looked up at Will and pouted. It wasn’t hard to tell she wanted to know why she couldn’t just stay with us.

  Will gave her a sad smile. "I’m sorry, Iz, but you need to be with someone your own age. Plus, you'll be safer there."

  She huffed, and I imagined her asking why we didn’t stay too, then.

  It would have been a valid point, if she could ask it. Jay and Mira's setup wasn't bad. Sure they lost some people, but none were lost within the confines of their little town square that they defended. I liked it there, but I didn't want to live there. My guess was, Dan and Will felt the same. I wasn't quite sure why the three of us decided to go back to the basement, no matter what, but we had. Without any discussion, that was the plan, and we all knew it.

  "It’s going to be fine. You’ll see." Will tried to placate the girl, but she wasn't buying it.

  The closer we got to our destination, the less corpses we came across.

  "Does it worry anyone else that there are no bodies around?" I looked from Dan to Will.

  Dan took a deep breath. "Even the smell is gone."

  Will shrugged. "The military was gathering them all up in pits and burning them when an area was clear. So maybe they were through here."

  Izzy pulled on Will’s sleeve and looked up at him as if to ask why.

  "There was some concern of disease, but I don't know, it was all of a sudden they came up with it. Chatter was, they found something in their experiments that made them change everything. They even had us wearing respirators when we burned them." Will looked down at Izzy and realized she looked a little scared by what he said. He patted her back to soothe her and smiled.

  "When did that happen?" I asked him.

  "First day of the last mission we got word. I didn't really think much of it. It does make sense. All those dead bodies rotting everywhere … we could end up with another plague."

  Izzy's eyes opened wider. She probably didn't know exactly what the plague was, but she knew it wasn't good.

  Dan looped his arm through Izzy's and pulled her a little closer to him. "You don't have to worry about any of that. It's all precautions. I've been all over, and I haven't heard of anyone getting sick other than the usual illnesses."

  I looked around once more at the lack of bodies. "I wonder why that is? No more vaccinations, or regular medical care or meds, and the sanitation isn't great. Yet, I haven't seen anyone with anything worse than the flu in two years."

  "Only a matter of time, though. Eventually, people are going to start getting sick … and that's if they aren't already and we just don't know about it," Will added.

  Izzy stopped walking and looked around. Dan and I both stopped and glared at Will for his insensitive comment. He was scaring Izzy and he didn't even notice it.

  He turned to see why we all stopped, confused. "What?"

  I shook my head at him. "Seriously?"

  He looked over at Izzy and realized his mistake. We weren't exactly used to having kids around, but he still shouldn't have been so oblivious.

  Will walked over to Izzy and gave her a weak crooked smile. "Hey, that's nothing you have to worry a
bout. Like Dan said, it's just precautions … to make sure nothing bad happens."

  She nodded, but I could tell she was still spooked. Dan pulled her closer and gave her a quick hug.

  Izzy was only nine when the outbreak began. I couldn't even imagine what it must be like to be so young and go through everything she has gone though. I felt like an ass for all the times I whined about everything I missed out on in my old life. I lived a lifetime compared to this girl. It was no wonder she didn’t speak.

  We all walked a little faster the rest of the way. Dan started up his usual chattering, mostly to Izzy, to keep the conversation from going back to flesh eaters, disease, or anything else death related.

  We made it to Jay and Mira's earlier than expected. I heard the yappy little bark of Precious first, then Jenny came running out when she saw me.

  "Andi! You made it back. I told Jay you would. He didn't think we'd see you again."

  Jay jogged over, his hand firm on the knife that sat in his belt. "Jenny, what the hell?"

  "It's Andi. We know her."

  Jay looked over Dan and Will. "We don't know her friends."

  Will extended a hand to Jay. "I'm Will. That's Dan and Izzy."

  Jay picked up on the name right away, and a huge grin spread across his face as he looked over at me. "The Will? As in your missing boyfriend?"

  "The one and only." I couldn't help but smile.

  "Well, I guess I owe Mira a foot massage." Jay motioned for us to follow him inside the cafe.

  "They made a bet on whether or not you'd find him," Jenny whispered.

  "My money, or I guess my foot massaging skills, would have been on Andi finding him. She's way too stubborn to give up." Dan elbowed me and laughed.

  Will's eyes followed his jab, but refrained from glaring again. I was sure he would prefer it if Dan never touched me again.

  Inside the cafe, Mira was cooking up something that smelled way too delicious to be lunch during a zombie apocalypse.

  I walked over and gave Mira a hug. It was so good to see her again. "Oh God, I hope you have enough of that for us."

  "You know I cook too much. There's plenty." She smiled. "Who's this you brought with you?"

  Jay laughed. "I guess I owe you that foot massage after all."

  Her eyes shot from Will to Dan. "Wait, what?"

  I smiled again. It was still hard to believe myself that he was back. "Mira, this is Will and Dan. The little one is our new friend, Izzy."

  She came from behind the counter and gave all three a huge hug. "I hope you're all hungry. Lunch will be done in a bit. Why don't you boys go help Jay with his new trap. He could use some strong men out there." She waved the guys out and went back to her cooking.

  Mira looked over at the girls. "Jen, why don't you show Izzy how to make a paracord bracelet?" She was trying to get rid of everyone so we could talk.

  "Come on, Izzy." Jenny took her hand and led her into the back where they kept the supplies.

  "You found him! I knew you would." Mira’s wide smile brightened her whole face.

  "Well, you bet on it." I laughed. "So I guess you did."

  "I have to admit, I wasn't sure if I'd ever see you again to know if you found him or not, but I hoped." Mira turned the heat off on the stove and sat down at the table with me.

  "We kind of came back for a reason, actually." I wasn't sure how long we were going to stay so I figured it was best to just get it out.

  "Oh?"

  "It's because of Izzy. Will found her before I found him. He was going to take her to the military base, but I thought maybe she should stay here instead." I wasn't sure how she was going to feel about it, and her expression didn't give anything away.

  "It's just that …” I continued. "Well, I don't totally trust that place, and Jenny could use someone closer to her own age. It's good she has you and Jay, but she needs a friend too."

  Mira stayed silent and thought over what I said.

  "If you don't want her to stay, I understand. We can take her to the military base, but—"

  "I have to talk to Jay, of course, but yeah … I think it's probably a good idea." Mira nodded to herself. " Yeah. I think Jay will agree."

  “I don’t think she talks.”

  “All the more reason she needs some stability.”

  “So she can stay?" Jenny practically bubbled over with joy from the doorway where she and Izzy listened in.

  Mira raised an eyebrow. "If you eavesdropped correctly, you'd know I said I had to talk to Jay."

  Jenny ran to Mira and wrapped her arms around her. "Thank you." She kissed Mira on the cheek and pulled Izzy out the front door while Precious trailed behind.

  Mira shook her head. "Jay is such a push over with that kid. She knows he will say yes. You know, you can stay too, right?"

  "I know and I appreciate it, but not yet."

  "You're not going back to that military base, are you?" Mira got up and went to check on the food.

  "No. We are going back to my old house for a while. I think it's just what we need to do right now."

  Jay walked back in the front door with one hand on his hip. "I guess I'm going to be overruled three to one from now on."

  Mira turned to me. "I told you he was a push over."

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  My feet we covered in blisters from so much walking. I was going to have to rethink my beloved converse and look around for something more sensible. I practically begged Will and Dan to let us spend the night and get a fresh start in the morning … or the morning after that. They agreed to one night, which was better than nothing.

  "Ready to give up on the silly sneakers?" Dan asked and sat down next to me.

  "I love my sneakers." I pouted.

  He glanced at the blistery mess that was my feet. "Doesn't look like they love you back."

  "I'm no quitter." I poked my tongue out at him.

  "On the bright side, soon they will be covered in calluses, and you won't have the blisters."

  Will sat down next to me and wrapped his arm around my waist to pull me closer to him … away from Dan. "You're a mess. Time for boots."

  Dan laughed. "See?"

  "Whatever." I shook my head and hopped off the chair. I did my best to hobble over to Mira to see if she had anything to help the blisters.

  By the time early evening rolled around, I was already falling asleep in Will's lap by the fire outside. The air was chilly, and I was wearing the oversized sweatshirt Dan gave me before he left a couple months ago.

  Will pulled at the sleeve and raised an eyebrow. "Kind of big, isn't it? I have something that would fit you better in my bag, if you want."

  "Nah. I like this one." The truth was, it still smelled of Dan and made me feel safe for some reason.

  Dan beamed, knowing exactly where the shirt came from. "Don't worry, Will. I'm pretty sure she has your ridiculous pink pony shirt on underneath."

  Will balled his hands into fists and tensed. "How exactly would you know what she has on underneath?"

  Dan laughed. I knew he wasn't purposely trying to piss Will off, but it seemed like he found it to be a happy bonus. "Chill out, dude. I haven't undressed your girlfriend … lately."

  Will slid me off his lap and stood. "What is that supposed to mean?"

  Jay got up and moved between the two jealous morons. "Calm down boys. We aren't going to do this here."

  Jay wasn't any bigger than Dan, but I had a feeling he could easily take them both on without a problem.

  Will took a step back and held out a hand to me. "We should get some sleep."

  I wasn't about to encourage an argument. I took his hand and led him over to the physical therapy office where everyone slept.

  "What the hell was that about, Will?"

  "You realize he has a thing for you, right?" Will slammed the door shut to the room we were staying in.

  "He's just messing with you. Why do you take it so seriously?"

  Will threw his hands up. "You can't b
e that blind."

  "I am not blind, Will. I know how Dan feels about me, but we are friends. That's all. You need to stop acting like a jealous asshole."

  Will laughed. "Oh, is that how I'm acting?"

  "Yes. That's exactly how you're acting. I thought we were past all this."

  The room we were in was a little bigger than the one I had the last time. There was a mattress, chair, and the original counter left from when it was an exam room. It was separated from the other rooms by an old bathroom that no longer worked and a supply closet.

  Will paced the small room, not saying anything for a few minutes.

  I hopped up on the counter and extended my legs out to block his path. "We need to talk about this jealousy." I grabbed his arm and pulled him over to me. "Don't you know I want you? Not anyone else, you."

  "I know you do, but that doesn't change the fact that he wants you."

  I tilted my head down and nudged his chin up to look at me. "It doesn't matter what anyone else wants. The only thing that matters is what you and I want."

  His face softened. "I know you believe that. I love your innocence about things, but in the real world, that is not all that matters."

  "How do you figure? Do you think he is going to steal me away? Even though it’s you I love?"

  He wrapped his arms around my waist loosely. "You think that doesn't happen?"

  I leaned my face forward and touched my nose to his. "I know that it won't happen here."

  He nuzzled his face against mine and moved back to look at me. "How do you know that?"

  "Because I love you, dork."

  Will smiled and kissed my lips. "I love you, too. That's why it scares me. Have you ever even had a boyfriend before? I know there was Zach, but I never got the impression you were actually together."

  "No. You're my first. What does that have to do with anything?"

  Will met my eyes with his. "It has everything to do with it."

  I shook my head, confused. "How? I don't see how it could possibly have anything to do with it. Or with Dan."