Dating After the End of the World - 28

Pushing the door open at the top of the stairs, I find everyone either seated or mulling around the kitchen and living room, waiting for news on Blake. All heads swivel in my direction at the sound of my arrival.

My dad immediately rises from his chair, taking a step toward me, his eyes full of worry. “How is he?”

“I’ve got some good news and some bad news,” I say, letting out a sigh. “Good news, he didn’t become a Nome. Bad news, he’s still a dick.”

A sense of relief washes over the room, with a few people stifling laughs.

“Casey!” Elaine chides, holding back a small smile.

Dad gives me a stern look, but it fades away just as quickly as it appeared.

“What? Blake literally pretended to lose his memory. Who does that?” I roll my eyes.

Greg and JJ burst out laughing and high-five one another, sharing the same sentiment over Blake’s antics.

“Classic,” Greg says, still chuckling.

“So he’s in the clear now?” Elaine tilts her head to the side, her eyes practically pleading with me to say yes.

“Not yet. In another twelve hours or so, we’ll find out if he turns into . . . one of those monsters.”

“I’d argue he already is one,” Tessa calls from the couch. It garners a mix of laughs and disappointing looks. Her mother swats her leg, clearly unamused.

“Oww,” Tessa groans in response.

I force a tight smile, finding both the humor and the sadness in the situation. I really don’t know what the odds are either way. Was I one of the lucky ones? Will Blake be just as lucky? Only time will tell. I walk to Elaine, who’s washing dishes at the sink. The color in her face has returned, and she looks so much better.

“How are you doing?” I ask in a low voice.

I haven’t had much of a chance to check in on her after we got back from the hospital run, aside from administering her insulin. There are tears in her eyes, but they’re not sad ones. They’re grateful ones. Elaine wipes her hands on a towel and takes mine in hers, patting the top of it.

“More than fine, sweetie. You saved my life.”

I smile softly, knowing it’s all I ever wanted to do. I wasn’t able to save my own mother’s life, but to save Elaine’s feels restorative in a way—like the guilt I’ve carried for far too long is starting to fade.

“Just returning the favor,” I say, full well meaning it. Elaine was there for me after my mother passed, in ways no one else could be. She might not have saved my life. But she saved me. Elaine smiles and squeezes my hand, knowing exactly what I mean.

My dad clears his throat, addressing the room. “We should get back to work,” he says, his voice deep and commanding. “This place needs to be a fortress, because we can’t survive if we’re not safe.” Dad slowly scans the room, and he’s met with nods all around. Everyone knows what’s at stake.

As much as he’s spent his life and a huge chunk of mine preparing for the end of the world, there are some things you can never truly be ready for. This is one of them.

“Do you think there’s more people out there like the ones that showed up yesterday?” Helen asks. I haven’t seen her since Chris’s funeral. She and her family have kept to themselves, locked away in their cabins, dealing with the grief of losing a husband, a father, a son-in-law.

She hugs her boys, sitting quietly on either side of her, a little tighter. I don’t know her well at all, having only spoken to her a few minutes. But I can see she’s different now that she’s lost her husband. That’s what death does. It changes you.

Dad looks to me and nods, his way of saying Go ahead, speak up . I want to lie to her, especially with her kids in the room and that terrified look plastered on her face. But I can’t. Lying won’t protect her or her children. If anything, it’ll put them in harm’s way. They have to know so they can be prepared.

“There’s more out there just like them. Whether they show up here or not isn’t a question of if. It’s a question of when.”

Helen’s chest deflates as she lets all the air out of her lungs, making room for the answer I gave, which she most definitely didn’t want to hear. But it’s the one she needed to hear.

“We have to prepare for the worst if we want the best outcome,” my dad says. “Any questions?”

Tessa gets to her feet and shakes her head, crossing the room to me. “You all right?” she whispers.

I nod in response. I think the seriousness of my words and flatness in my tone have her worried. But I’m not worried about me. I’m worried about Blake. I let out a small sigh, hoping in twelve hours, he’ll be the same asshole he’s always been.

“I don’t have a question, but I do have an announcement,” Greg says, standing from the couch.

“Okayyyy.” Dad’s voice is full of hesitation as he draws the word out into three syllables. He knows it’s never a good idea to give Greg the floor.

Tessa and I exchange an amused glance, and she bumps her shoulder into me. Whatever this is, it isn’t going to be serious, but maybe that’s what we need right now. A little Greg palate cleanser for the shit show we’re in.

“Molly,” he says, turning to face her. She’s seated in the sofa chair, wearing a scowl, purposefully looking away from him.

“I know you’ve heard some rumors recently from some gossipers”—Greg shoots a glare in my direction—“about me thinking you’re only a one-night stand. And I’ll admit I did think that, but only because I was scared, scared to love someone and scared to let someone into my heart.” He places a hand against his chest. “Yesterday when Blake was savagely bit, I had an epiphany about us. I wasn’t scared to love you, Molly. I was scared to lose you.”

Molly slowly turns her head, his words pulling her to meet his gaze. She’s still wearing the scowl, but it’s fading ever so slightly as her eyes begin to develop a sheen.

“And I realized I’d rather be full of fear with you by my side than the bravest man in the whole world without you. You’re not my one-night stand.” Greg plants one knee on the floor. His hand disappears into the pocket of his jeans, re-emerging a moment later with a massive diamond ring. Pinched between his thumb and finger, he extends it to her. “Molly Ronan, will you be my forever-night stand?”

Aunt Julie gasps, while Tessa and I try to stifle our laughter. JJ doesn’t look impressed, but he grins. Most everyone else is shocked by this odd and very sudden declaration of love.

“There’s no way she says yes to that,” Tessa whispers.

“Absolutely not,” I whisper back.

Molly leaps from her chair, jumping into Greg’s arms. “Yes! Yes! Yes! A thousand times, yes!” she squeals.

He lifts her off the floor, planting kisses on her cheeks and neck. The room erupts in a slow, confused clap as Greg sets her back down and slides the diamond ring, which looks a size too big, onto her slender finger. She admires it for a moment before kissing him. His hands run up and down her body. Hers do the same to his as they suck face, moaning through their sloppy, wet kisses.

“Oh God,” I say, averting my eyes.

“Gross,” Tessa adds.

“Greg, that’s enough!” Aunt Julie yells.

The newly engaged couple separates from one another, panting and out of breath from their make-out session.

“Sorry, Mom. I can’t help myself around my fiancéeee,” Greg says, extending the pronunciation of the word as he double raises his brows at Molly.

“OMG, I’m a fiancée,” she squeals with excitement.

Aunt Julie and Uncle Jimmy peel themselves from their seats to congratulate Greg and Molly.

“And you’re my family,” Molly says as she hugs my aunt and uncle. She and Greg continue making the rounds, embracing each and every person.

“Congrats,” I say when Greg reaches me.

“Thanks. It would have never happened without you, cuz,” he says, patting me on the back.

“I am not taking responsibility for this.”

“Where the hell did you get that rock, Greg?” Tessa chimes in. Her eyes keep darting to Molly’s hand and what has to be a three-carat diamond on her finger. The light seeping through the window catches it, making it glint.

“Found it on a doctor’s corpse at the hospital after I vomited. Couldn’t let it go to waste.”

Shocked, my mouth parts, but it shouldn’t, because nothing Greg does should surprise me. “That’s disgusting,” is all I can say.

“No, Casey. It’s love.” He tilts his head and smirks. “And honestly, it felt meant to be. Kismet, as they say. When I was in that hospital, I couldn’t stop thinking about Molly. Everything reminded me of her.”

“Really?” I arch a brow. “We’re talking about the same hospital? The one full of dead, decaying, maggot-covered bodies and brain-eating biters.”

“That’s right.” He nods. “Everything reminded me of her. That annoying generator noise. Molly. The squeaky wheel on the gurney JJ and I snagged. Molly. The flickering lights in the cafeteria that gave me a splitting headache. Molly. So when I saw that ring, I was like . . . that’s for Molly.”

“Wow,” Tessa says, trying to contain her laughter. “That’s really special.”

“I thought so too. Thanks, Tessa.” Greg doesn’t pick up on her sarcasm.

I feel a tap on my shoulder, and I glance over it to find my dad with his lips pressed firmly together. He holds out his wrist, noting the time and that it’s passing us by.

We don’t need to speak to know what we’re both thinking. We’ve got two countdowns. One ends less than twelve hours from now. That one’s for Blake. The other . . . we have no idea how long that countdown will go on for. Could end tomorrow. Could end a month from now. More burners will come. They want to see the whole world burn. That includes my father’s compound, and the only way to stave off the flames is to be ready for the fire.

I meet Dad’s gaze and nod, confirming that we’re on the exact same page for once.