I took a step forward, and Jamie held up his palm. He shook his head and backed out of the room without another word, leaving me standing there staring at the emptiness he’d left in my room.
I wanted to chase after him. Get answers. But I couldn’t because the others were out there, and because I probably would have seemed like a crazy person. Although I wasn’t the one being a crazy person. Was I?
Maybe he just needed a moment, and he’d be back. He probably had to clear his head. After all, the moment had been intense.
I sat down on the bed, still staring at the door. It didn’t take me long to realize he wasn’t coming back.
I laid down on top of my blankets trying my hardest not to think of the kiss. But my thoughts always came back to it.
I turned over onto my side with my back to the door, looking at the empty space next to me. Jamie could have been in that space. I could have been lying there gazing into his crystal blue eyes.
Instead, I was lying there wondering what I’d done wrong. One thing I knew for sure was that I had to stop thinking about him. We were going to be spending a lot of time together, and I didn’t want things to be any more awkward than they already were.
Jamie and I could be friends. Nothing more. No matter how badly I wanted another kiss, I had to push the thoughts away. It wasn’t right. It wouldn’t work.
Maybe that’s what Jamie had realized. Maybe that’s why he’d walked out of the room.
Strong winds threw the droplets of rain harshly against my bedroom window. Thunder rumbled shaking the floor and my mattress. I sat up worried that my apartment was going to crash down onto the first floor.
It was still dark, but there was a small amount of light, so I knew it must have been close to morning. I could hear someone moving in the living room. And then moments later, a stream of curses.
I hugged myself as I walked into the living room. Nick must have seen me through the corner of his eye.
“Look at that,” he said pointing down at the yard. “That’s gotta be several inches of standing water.”
I stepped up to the window and shuddered as a bolt of lightning shot out of the sky striking a few blocks away. The electricity rippled through the air causing my skin to prickle.
“It’s the never-ending storm,” Nick said, disappointment thick in his voice.
I stared at him waiting for him to say what he didn’t want to say. He was by far the most anxious to get out of my apartment, and not only because half of it was missing. Nick didn’t like the men in gas masks, but we hadn’t seen them in days. For all we knew, the tornado had blown them away.
“It’s either we put it off another day, or we slosh through the muck,” Nick said turning to me.
“The weather will slow us down tremendously. It’ll make traveling difficult,” I said with a small half-shrug.
“Dammit,” he spat. “A strong wind could knock what’s left of this place to the ground.”
I chewed my lip for a moment. It would probably take more than just a strong wind. But if everyone wanted to leave, I’d join them. Getting out of my cramped apartment was awfully tempting even with the rain pouring down and thunder shaking the earth.
Lightning crashed down a few blocks away, and Nick shook his head. I wondered if he too was starting to feel crowded… maybe it had something to do with Blair. Although I sure as hell wasn’t going to ask, and it probably didn’t.
“Guess we’re here another day,” Nick groaned before slamming his palm against the wall. “Sorry guys.”
“It’s okay,” Blair sang in a far too cheery voice.
“Yeah, it’s not your fault, man,” Bronx said stretching his arms over his head, revealing his muscled stomach.
Nick looked up at me before taking a step closer. He opened his mouth but snapped it shut before walking into the kitchen.
It almost felt as though he wanted to blame me. Maybe he thought that if I would have let us leave sooner, we’d be almost there.
“I’m sure the rain will stop soon. It’s not like it can go on like this forever,” I said turning toward the kitchen.
Nick was making himself a peanut butter sandwich on bread that was starting to look questionable.
He grunted and took a bite of the sandwich. I walked into the kitchen and stood next to him. His eyes shifted over, but he didn’t move his head.
“Why are you so anxious to get out of here anyway?” I asked keeping my voice low.
“Maybe I’m starting to feel a little claustrophobic,” Nick said answering quickly. There were droplets of sweat gathered up at his temples. His eyes were shifting around in their sockets.
I cocked my head to the side. “Have you been sleeping at all?”
“Not much,” he said shaking his head. “Who needs it?”
He turned to me flashing me a smirk that made my skin crawl. Something wasn’t right. His pupils were hugely dilated, and the whites of his eyes were bloodshot.
“God dammit, Nick,” I said leaning closer. “Have you been… been using?”
“What?” He released an awkward chuckle that vibrated through his nostrils. The tendons in his neck jutted out as he inched his face closer to mine. “Don’t be stupid.”
The anger that radiated out of him frightened me, and it confirmed my suspicions. His hand tightened into a fist, and he slammed it down on the counter.
“How dare you even ask me that?” Nick said. The fury that poured out of his bloodshot eyes sent a shiver down my spine.
I ignored my fear and pulled my shoulders back. “Why did you do it, Nick?” Disappointment coated my words. “Where did you even find it?”
He bared his teeth like he was a wild animal. I glanced toward the living room over my shoulder, and Nick’s eyes followed mine.
Bronx was staring at us, his eyes narrowed. There was no doubt that even though he couldn’t hear us, he was concerned about what Nick and I were discussing.
“Keep your fucking voice down my sweet sister.” Nick’s tone was as sour as it was salty.
“You wanted us all to follow you out of here, but no one is going to want an addict leading the way. Gun or not,” I said crossing my arms.
The knuckles on his fist were paper-white. First, his anger increased, and I thought he was going to pick me up and throw me out of the window, but then his face softened. He looked like he was going to cry.
“I was going to throw it away, I really was,” Nick said.
“But you didn’t.”
“You can’t tell them,” Nick pleaded.
I shook my head. “Of course I can.”
“Look,” Nick said, his eyes bulging out of their sockets, “it’s gone. It won’t happen again. I made a mistake. Everything just got to me.”
“If I had a nickel for every time I’ve heard that.”
Bronx stood up, his eyes still on us.
“Please don’t tell him,” Nick said shifting his weight.
“He can probably tell.”
“I’ll make this right with you, I promise,” Nick said, turning the ends of his mouth upward as Bronx approached.
Bronx looked back and forth between us, settling his eyes on me. “Everything okay here?”
My stomach twisted. I knew what I should have said, but I was an idiot.
“Yeah, we were just discussing which route to take to grandma’s,” I said hating that I was lying for my brother. “He thinks he has a shortcut, but you pretty much never want to take one of my brother’s shortcuts.”
Nick forced an awkward laugh. “Aw, they’re not that bad.”
“They’re terrible,” I said taking a step out of the kitchen. I couldn’t stand to be next to him, not even for a minute longer. “Excuse me.”
I wished I could have left the apartment, but the only place I could go to get away from Nick was my bedroom.
When I stepped into my bedroom, I wanted to punch something. My pillow. The wall. Nick. But I sat down on the bed and drew in several long deep breaths.
>
I couldn’t help but wonder when he’d found whatever he’d taken. How long had he been hiding it before he finally broken down? Not that it mattered, he still took it.
There was a light knock at my door, and Bronx peeked his head inside. I could tell by the look on his face that he knew something was up.
“Sorry to bother you, but your brother wanted me to tell you they’re back,” Bronx said jerking his chin toward the window.
My stomach started to swirl as I stood up and made my way to the window. When I saw them wading through the flooding and debris, my mouth dropped open.
I really wanted to hit something.
Twenty
I shook my head after Bronx asked me to come into the living room to discuss things with the group. There wasn’t anything he could do or say that would get me out there to discuss what we were going to do while my brother was wasted.
“Shouldn’t we discuss this?” Bronx asked. “This changes things even with the rain and storms, doesn’t it?”
“They can’t get inside,” I said with a confident half-shrug.
Bronx looked over his shoulder and shook his head before stepping into the room. “I’m sure they could find a way. Just like we plan to find a way out.”
The floor creaked as he took several steps into my room. I didn’t turn away from the window.
The redness in the sky seemed to have lessened, perhaps because of the storm. Still, the men wore their masks as they tried to move through the yard.
Water came up to their knees, and it looked as though they were struggling to wade through. It was as though the earth below was trying to suck them down into the soggy ground.
“They’re turning back,” I said just as Bronx stepped up beside me.
“That’s good for now, but not good that they’re still out there, and still trying to get to the apartment.” I could feel Bronx looking at me, but I tried to ignore it. “He just wants to talk about leaving.”
The masked men stepped out of a view, and I turned away from the window. “I can’t talk to him right now. Tell him I’m not feeling well.”
“You look fine,” Bronx said flashing me a smile. “Do you want to talk about it?”
“I definitely don’t want to talk about it,” I said refusing to meet his gaze.
“I think I know what this is about,” Bronx said lowering his voice.
I shook my head and crossed my arms.
“It’s about his eyes isn’t it?”
My lips pressed together tightly as I cocked my head to the side. “Eyes?”
“Yeah, I think you know what I mean,” Bronx said. “Not to mention I was with him when he found it. He thought he was being sneaky but,” Bronx said leaning closer, “I see everything.”
I blinked several times. “He doesn’t know that you saw him?”
Bronx shook his head. “He stared at it for a solid minute before he stuffed it into his pocket. Inner struggles perhaps.”
“Why didn’t you say something?” I asked wishing I could take the question back. It wasn’t Bronx’s duty to stop my brother.
“I didn’t really know what to say.” He tilted his head down. “I guess I probably should have. Has he been using long?”
I glanced at the door and then back at Bronx. “Quite some time. Thought it was done but I guess I was wrong.”
“Is that what you two were discussing in the kitchen earlier?”
I nodded. “He didn’t want me to say anything to the others.”
“I don’t blame him.”
“So, if you could just keep this between you and me I’d really—”
“Say no more,” Bronx said tilting his head to have a better look into my eyes. “I wouldn’t have anyway. He seems like a good guy… we all have our demons, don’t we?”
I shook my head as I looked back into his eyes wondering what kind of demons Bronx might have.
“Just tell him I’m fine with whatever he wants to do,” I said waving my hand in the air as if I’d seen a mosquito.
“As you wish,” Bronx said taking one last look at me as if I might change my mind before exiting my bedroom.
I turned back to the window, but the men were long gone. Hopefully, they wouldn’t try again, until the standing water dissipated, and we were long gone.
Soft voices from the other room floated through the air like clouds on a summer day. I moved closer to the door.
Nick was talking. “We’re leaving tomorrow unless someone has a good reason not to. Our time here is up.”
“I just don’t know,” Jamie said. “If they couldn’t even make it through the yard, how will we?”
“It’ll be hard, but we’ll find higher ground. I know the best routes,” Nick said.
“We should give it a little more time,” Jamie said. “At least wait until the rain stops.”
Footsteps tapped against the floor. “We can’t keep putting this off,” Nick said. “Eventually they’re going to make their way back here. We don’t want to be here when that happens.”
“They gave up. They aren’t coming back,” Jamie said.
“Maybe not yet, but they will,” Nick said his voice rising with each word. I could tell he was struggling to keep himself calm.
Before I knew it, my feet were carrying me into the other room. Nick’s eyes shot up.
“That means we still have time,” Jamie said turning as he heard me coming up next to him. “Tell him we should give it more time.”
I looked into Nick’s eyes, studying them. It looked like he was crashing. He was sweating, and his fingers were shaking.
“Nick,” I said keeping my voice steady, “I think you need to sleep on it. Take my room.”
“I don’t need rest,” Nick said, his fists tightening. It looked like he wanted to jump out of the window and compete in an iron man competition. “What we need is to get out of here.”
Blair wrapped her arms around herself. “If Nick says we should go, we should probably go. He was a police officer.”
“Police officers don’t necessarily know how to handle situations like this. No one does,” I said. “We don’t even know what those guys are really after. They probably just want supplies.”
“And they’ll fight for them,” Nick said.
“Whatever,” I said letting out a heavy sigh. “Here’s the deal. You sleep on it, and whatever you decide in the morning, I’ll support you.”
It looked like countless responses were zipping through his mind. I shifted my weight and stared at him, trying to mentally convey that I wasn’t going to change my mind.
“Or your other option is to take your bag and go. Anyone that wants to go with him, is more than welcome to leave.” I stiffened my jaw. “Don’t worry about me. I’ll catch up.”
Not that anyone had been worrying.
“Okay, so who’s with me,” Nick said stomping over to the pile of backpacks.
“Me,” Blair said looking at me out of the corner of her eye.
“I guess me too,” Maggie said with a shrug.
Jamie put his hands on his hips and shook his head. He didn’t even have a chance to say his peace before Nick turned to Bronx.
“What about you?” Nick asked.
Bronx ran his fingers through his hair. “Wow,” he said with a chuckle. “Nothing like putting me on the spot.”
“It’s not a difficult question,” Nick said his gaze seared Bronx’s flesh.
The tiny smile that had been on Bronx’s face vanished. “You know what, I think I’ll stay back and make sure your sister gets out of here safely.”
Nick and Bronx exchanged a heated look. The tension in the room became so thick it was hard to breathe.
“Well, I guess that’s all decided then. We’ll see you guys soon.” Nick shifted his cold glare my way. “You remember the way, right?”
“Funny,” I said cocking my head to the side, “was going to ask you the same thing.”
Nick clapped his hands, and I shuddered. “Well, a
re we ready to go ladies?”
Blair raised her nose into the air and stood next to Nick. “Whenever you are, right Maggie?”
“Sure,” Maggie said seemingly disinterested.
“Maybe you should wait until morning,” I said as Nick pushed past me heading toward the backpacks. “You’ll run out of light soon.”
“We have flashlights,” Nick said, as he drew a shaky hand under his nose.
I reached out for his shoulder but quickly pulled my hand back before touching him. “With the flooding, don’t you think it would be a better idea to just put it off a few more hours? Those men won’t come poking around here at night anyway.”
“I think she’s right,” Jamie said.
Nick turned sharply, his shoulders rising and falling. He looked like a wild animal ready to pounce on its prey.
Jamie took a step back and held up his palms. “It was just a suggestion.”
“Well, I don’t need any suggestions,” Nick said as he glanced at the window. His shoulders and expression both softened at the same time. “Maybe I didn’t realize how late it was.”
“We have the flashlights.” Blair shrugged.
“No, no,” Nick said placing his hand on Blair’s shoulder. “Their right. We should go in the morning. First thing.”
I let out a long breath, relieved mostly for Maggie and Blair. But my relief was only temporary because there was no doubt in my mind that they were leaving in the morning. At least I’d feel a little better about Maggie and Blair being with him when whatever he’d taken would be out of his system.
There probably wasn’t anything I could say to Blair to change her mind, and I wasn’t even sure I wanted to bother. She was a grown woman and could make her own choices. If she couldn’t see right through my brother, that was her problem, not mine.
And Maggie, I could tell her everything, and she’d just shrug. She was in her own stupor, one from a prescription that would soon run out.
“Let’s eat something and then get our rest,” Nick said mostly to Blair because Maggie hadn’t moved from her little corner on the floor.
“Great idea,” Blair said shooting me a quick glance of superiority.
The Red Sky Series Box Set Books 1-4: A Post-Apocalyptic Survival Series Page 11