That’s when Olive saw something emerge from between Rose’s legs. At first the thing looked like Rose’s vagina extroverting into something large and nasty, but then it wasn’t. The large and nasty thing had a face. Before Olive knew what she was doing, she was reaching forward and tugging on the little head that emerged. Rose groaned, her hands digging into Olive’s shoulders painfully.
The head was quickly followed by a torso with arms, and then legs. After that the child was free. Its body covered with a sheen of red grime. A cord connected to Rose still, but that was the only thing.
Rose toppled back onto her butt. “What is it?” The words came from the woman’s mouth in a breathless huff. Olive started giggling. She stared down at the little body that—seconds later—started wailing in mindless abandon. “What’s so funny?”
“It’s a baby!” She said between bouts of laughter, which only seemed to make the child cry harder.
“I know it’s a baby, but is it a boy or a girl?”
Olive hadn’t even thought to look. She had been giggling and staring at the little face that resembled an old man’s, only cuter, with dark eyes like a murky sky. So innocent.
Her gaze met Rose’s and sombered at the smile on the woman’s face. She had never seen Rose smile before, though instantly she knew why Reno had married her. The woman was beautiful when she smiled. Her whole face seemed to light up.
“A girl. It’s a girl.” Olive returned her smile.
Eve stood before the towering wall of metal before her and could have sworn it was a dream. She pinched her arm just in case and was rewarded with a stinging sensation that didn’t awaken her. She was really standing there in the middle of Fenton, Texas, staring at a wall that shielded her from the salvation she had been seeking for four years.
Gage sighed next to her, drawing her attention away from the wall. He was still dirty, his body caked with the grime of their escape from the night before. His broad chest covered with dried mud, and blood from the cuts etched into his skin. Even though it had been more than thirty hours since she’d gotten any sleep, her body reacted to the sight of him with a bloom of heat between her thighs. Neither of them had spoken to the other after the sex in the barn. They’d lain there panting, mud clinging to their naked bodies, for how long, Eve wasn’t sure. The spell had worn off quickly, or at least that’s what Eve equated it to. He’d pulled himself out of her, leaving her body feeling bereft at the loss. Everything inside of her screamed that she pull him back down so they could do it again. She hadn’t known that sex could be like that. Even her wildest fantasies, the ones where Gage was the star, didn’t even begin to compare.
He pulled his clothes on and she mirrored him. A million emotions tugged at her brain. A hundred thousand questions flitted behind her eyes at a speed she couldn’t comprehend and in the end when he offered her his hand she took it, and together they walked into the rising sun. A certain feeling of lightness had taken over Eve’s body as they walked across the countryside that slowly but surely became more populated with broken down homes and businesses. She kept her head on a swivel in search of the jenks that she had no way of protecting herself from. They saw none, and for that, she was grateful. Maybe God really was listening.
“Look at that. They reinforced the metal.” Gage’s gaze stayed focused on the wall before them. “It used to be all half-botched with broken hunks of wrecked cars pieced together. Looks like they got some sort of sheet metal.”
“Who’s out there?”
Eve jumped at the sound of the new voice. She reached behind her to grab her Craftsman, before remembering she didn’t have it. Panic seized her heart.
“Ricky? Is that you? It’s me, Gage!” he called up to the man she now noticed stood on top of the wall before them.
“Well, fuck me running!” The man disappeared on the other side of the wall. She could hear him shouting, but couldn’t make out what he was saying.
“You know him?” The whole concept of knowing someone completely blew Eve’s mind. In the vast world, she knew no one, save for her sister and Gage. She couldn’t just go to the grocery store and run into people that she used to know, at least not unless they had died and come back to life, a greasy, flesh eating version of themselves.
“I do.” He squeezed her hand and smiled. “You’ll like everyone. I know you will.” The enthusiasm in his voice was contagious and she nearly smiled. Nearly. The knowledge that she was about to be greeted by uninfected humans sent prickles of alarm scattering across her skin. In the new world no one could be trusted. It was survival of the fittest, and she’d spent the last four years doing just that, no matter who got in her way. The idea of acting like a normal person—not that she had ever felt normal—seemed surreal and terrifying all at once.
“One in twenty-three people suffer from phobias.”
“What? Phobias?” Eve furrowed her brow and glanced at Gage.
“Yeah, having a fear of something.”
“I don’t…” Eve realized she was squeezing Gage’s hand in a death grip. Her bottom lip throbbed and she realized she had been biting down on it. She cleared her throat. “I’m not afraid.” The lie was a weak one, but she didn’t regret saying it. She saw his words for what they were, an attempt to make her feel better. “Besides, I think your data is outdated these days. Most of the population is dead.” She tried not to smile and failed.
He shrugged. At the same time, a large metal door to their left swung open from the wall. Eve hadn’t even noticed before. It was camouflaged by overgrown bushes.
“You motherfuckers made a door? Well, I’ll be damned!” Gage started to move forward, but Eve’s feet stayed rooted firmly to the ground. Talking about facts may help calm his nerves, but not hers. Not today.
He stopped moving when she didn’t follow, their arms becoming a tight band, rather than a loose rope they’d been before. He turned around, a look on his face that made her want to melt into her shoes—if she still had any. “I’ve got you, okay? There’s nothing to be afraid of.” He squeezed her hand back and leaned in until he was close to her ear. “I’ll never let anything hurt you.”
And just like that, she was following him. His words echoing in her mind making her hot all over. The promise in his eyes made her helpless to refuse him, further enforcing the raw feeling that enveloped her the moments after they had sex. I love him. She had the greatest urge to tell him, to pour her heart out right there in front of the massive metal wall that would lead them to salvation.
“Gage!” A big male body came running toward them from the open door. He tackled Gage in a bear hug, knocking his hand out of her grasp. The loss of his touch brought on a feeling of loneliness she hadn’t experienced in a very long time, not even in the time she had been alone on the road. “I knew you would make it back! I fuckin’ knew it!” The newcomer was big, and not fat by any means, but was built with a thick muscular stature that rivaled Gage’s body. “Where’s Collin?” The man’s gaze swung to focus on her. “And who is this pretty thing?”
Realization hit her like a freight train. Gage had mentioned Noah before when he talked about Eden in passing, but she hadn’t considered that she would be seeing him in the flesh. The guy who had sat sideline to the most humiliating moments in her life and laughed along with the masses. Gage’s best friend. Oh, what a world. He still looked the same. Just an older version of himself. His hair was still somewhere between the color of sand and dirt and his eyes still a light blue.
“He didn’t make it.” Gage stepped in between them, giving her his back. A look of sadness swept across Noah’s features before he hid it.
“And this is…” He prompted Gage again.
Gage hesitated and Eve got the distinct impression that he didn’t want to introduce her. The words of love that were previously bubbling in her throat became heavy as a brick in her stomach.
“This is Eve.”
Noah didn’t react right away, but after several seconds a look of recognition spread across his tan face befo
re it was replaced with one of shock. His gaze flitted over her features and what he could see of her that Gage wasn’t blocking. “Holy shit, it’s really—”
“Shut up, Noah.” Gage snapped the words like a broken branch, shocking Eve. Noah didn’t act surprised by the outburst. A knowing look spread across his face.
“Well, I—”
Noah’s words were cut off by a piercing scream. One so loud that Eve jumped and swiveled her head, double-checking for jenks. When she saw nothing of the like, she looked back to see something she would never forget. The video of the next few moments would be branded into the flesh of her brain forever.
“Honey bun!” Sally McCallister screamed as she barreled out of the large metal door her lithe body eating up the space between her and Gage. Her dark brown hair long and flowing like a river at her back. She threw herself into Gage’s arms, nearly knocking him to the ground. Eve blinked hard at the scene, a vice-like grip piercing her heart as her past, present, and future collided all at once.
Chapter Thirty-Six
The Before
Eve wrung her hands as she made her way to first period. She was late today. The first time in the entire school year, though it wasn’t because of something she did. She was ready even earlier than usual. She hadn’t slept a wink all weekend, her mind constantly going over the time she spent with Gage on Friday night. She evaluated every move he made, every flex of his wrist, the way his eyes looked when he promised her things would be different.
Each time she thought about it, the more excited she would become. The anticipation of seeing him again became overwhelming. She had nearly panicked that morning when she heard her parents arguing. From her room she couldn’t make out what they were saying and when her and Olive went into the kitchen they stopped talking. Her mother informed them that their dad would be taking them to school. A strange request, since they usually took the bus. For a moment she panicked, afraid that he’d found out about her sneaking out on Friday. She was terrified to know what he would do to her this time. Eve sat out in the car with Olive for twenty minutes waiting on him, terrified of what he would do to her. Nothing of the sort had occurred though. He’d driven them each to school, and said nothing on the drive, which was why she was late.
Her legs moved her toward the AP Physics classroom, though they hardly felt like they were a part of her body. If she didn’t know better she would have thought she was floating on a cloud. Eve had almost reached the door when she heard it. On any other day she would have ignored the bubble of laughter that came from just down the hall, in fact the sound of girlish giggles and deep chuckles would have sent her feet scurrying faster to her destination. Not today.
She recognized one of those laughs. Eve turned on her heel and was met with the view of Gage’s glorious broad shoulders covered in his red and gray letterman jacket. He was talking animatedly with his hands. The group around him, laughing and watching him. She could see the awe on their faces. Eve was far from the only person who couldn’t get enough of him. The other kids were hanging on his every word. Eve briefly considered heading into the classroom, but decided against it. “Things are going to change Eve, I promise.” Those words propelled her feet to move across the paper-thin carpet floor toward the raucous group.
Eve absently smoothed her hand over her white shirt, praying it was wrinkle free. She ironed it twice that morning. She was less than twenty feet away when the group fell silent. Noah’s gaze met hers and he said something to the group that had them all turning to look at her. She fought the urge to run in the opposite direction and succeeded. He said things will be different now and he meant it.
“Hi Gage,” she uttered the moment he faced her. She sucked in a deep breath and wondered if she would always feel so breathless at the sight of him. Utter perfection.
“Who is it?” A high-pitched nasally voice pricked at Eve’s ears before Sally appeared out of nowhere. Eve frowned. Sally was standing right next to Gage. Why is she so close to him? Alarm bells went off in Eve’s head, but she ignored them. She took a step forward, with what purpose, she wasn’t sure. That’s when she saw it. Sally’s hand clutching Gage’s at his side. The bitter reality of what exactly was going on smashed into her like a punch to the gut. His perfect, long, dark fingers were intertwined with Sally’s lighter more delicate ones.
“But…you promised.” Eve’s lip trembled. A wave of emotion Eve couldn’t place washed across Gage’s features.
“Who promised?” Sally nasally voice cut through the air like a knife. “Did you promise her something, honey bun?” The use of the pet name made Eve’s insides lurch, threatening to spill her morning oatmeal on the rough blue carpet.
Eve never broke eye contact, even as he spoke the words that changed her life forever. “Promise who? This girl? I don’t even know her name.” His face was blank, expression-free as if he had no idea of the significance of the moment and how he had ripped her heart apart.
She turned and ran.
Eve’s father pulled her out of school later that day. It would be four years before she saw him again.
Chapter Thirty-Seven
I should have warned her. Gage stared at his clean-shaven face in the mirror. He looked different, though he supposed that anyone would after not getting a good look at themselves in over a year. I should have thrown that bitch Sally on the ground where she belonged. He hadn’t though. He’d been too stunned to even comprehend her body climbing his until it was too late. He had forgotten about her. Sally, that is. Her existence had become null and void the second he left Eden. If he was honest with himself, she was part of the reason he was so eager to leave and search for Collin.
Things had ended with them a long time ago. Long before his emotions had darkened to hate when it came to her. That didn’t stop her from trying though. She tried and tried, in the before and after, when she’d stumbled into Eden barely a month into the process of rebuilding. She didn’t have many good qualities aside from what lie between her legs, something she was always willing to give. She hadn’t been able to accept that all he wanted from her was sex. A body to warm his bed was all she had been, until that had even become too much work.
There were some things that a person never forgot and Eve’s face, when he had finally extracted Sally’s long limbs from his, was one of those things. The twisted expression had mirrored that of a dying soul, as if she had been ripped in two.
Gage clutched the white sink, the urge to punch something snaking through his body like a silent command. Things were different with him and Eve, especially after what happened earlier in the morning. He’d taken her body with his there in the mud in the middle of a deserted barn. Never in his life had he come so hard. Never had he felt such an intimate connection to another person. He hadn’t said anything after the sex. He didn’t want her to run from him again. He didn’t want her to push him away like she had at every opportunity. She hadn’t said anything either, but her small hand in his was enough. The brush of her hot skin made him happier than he had been in a very long time.
He had seen the future in her eyes as he spilled his seed into her tight wet sheath. The memory made his cock jump to life inside the clean underwear he’d gotten out of his drawer. He’d wanted her again directly after. He’d wanted to pick her up and slam her perfect body against the metal barn wall and shove his cock back into her. He wanted to show her all of the emotions she made him feel. He wanted her to know that she was his and he was hers. He had known from the moment he sat next to her on that first day of AP Physics.
He didn’t slam her against the wall though. He wanted to get her to Eden. He wanted to get her into a clean warm bed that wasn’t dust covered and rotting away. He wanted to show her that life could be good, that he could make it good for her. But nothing ever seemed to go as he wanted it. He could chalk it up like everyone else and call it life, but he didn’t want to. He didn’t want to her to run from him and hide away behind the shield of the past. But that’s what she had don
e. He tried to touch her, wanting to take her into Eden himself and show her around, but she had refused him. “Don’t you touch me.” The words echoed in his head. He clenched the sink harder, staring into in his reflection, at his gray eyes, and crooked nose.
She’d gone right over to Noah as if he was her salvation and let him lead her into the town that Gage had created…for her. Gage shook his head, jerking himself away from the scene that had played out before him. Noah had looked bewildered, but willingly took her into Eden with the charming smile on his face that he wore for all of the ladies. The sight made his blood boil. He tried to talk to her again, once they had been searched for bites by the wall patrol, but she’d pushed him away again. The look of hate in her eyes devoured him, and turned something inside of his heart sour.
She won’t even give me the chance to explain. And he left her there in the middle of the manicured lawn of the courthouse that was the center of the little world he had worked so hard to build. Many of the residents of Eden had come out to see the newcomers, but Gage didn’t stay. He couldn’t. Not with Eve’s hate emanating like a beacon in waves of disgust and Sally’s hawk-like eyes watching his every move, ready to pounce on him the first chance she got.
And here I am. Standing alone in the little apartment that he had claimed when they first started salvaging the area. He was finally home, and yet he was utterly alone. “I got that money for you.” Eve’s earlier words fluttered into his head bringing with them a wave of sparkling hope. If she got that money for me then that means… Realization hit Gage with shattering force that had him stumbling back from the sink and scrambling into his room to throw clothes on. He grabbed the small item on his wooden nightstand and shoved it into his pocket. He had to see Eve. Now.
Standing under the hot spray of water should have felt like heaven. The rough droplets should have resembled that of soft silk brushing against Eve’s skin, but it didn’t. She couldn’t feel anything, not even the pain that was threatening to eat her from the inside out. Numb. That’s what she was. She hadn’t had a true shower in more than three years and here she was standing under one, unable to enjoy it. She wanted to laugh at the irony, or even cry, but she didn’t do either. Eve just stood under the heated spray, staring at the bleach white wall tiles, still as a statue.
Alive (The Crave) Page 21
