by SM Olivier
Suddenly, I had a feeling I was being watched. I looked up, and my smile dropped. Why was Axel scowling at me from across the parking lot?
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“Why aren’t you going out with them?” BJ cautiously asked after we dropped Reid off. “The boys go to bed at nine, and they’re headed to Joe’s at nine. You don’t have to be on time.”
As expected, Sylvia had immediately filled BJ in on her plans and had attempted to enlist his help on getting me out of the house as well. Almost immediately, her phone began vibrating with text. She continued to read each one aloud.
I shrugged, not wanting to admit there was no way I wanted to run into Corbin. Plus, I wasn’t in the mood to be around all that testosterone. “I’ve had a long week. The idea of going to bed early and sleeping in sounds amazing,” I said instead.
“You're a poor wingman.” Sylvia pouted.
We were almost home and she had already had plans in place for tonight. I honestly didn’t mind, though. Sylvia needed to go out. I liked to decompress in silence. She liked to unwind with excitement.
“I think you’ll be okay.” I stuck my tongue out at her, knowing she really didn’t need me there.
In the past, I would have been there just to make sure she was safe, but as flighty as she could be at times, she had a good head on her shoulders. She would never put herself in a situation she couldn’t get out of. Unlike me. Besides, even though she thought she was sneaky, I knew Wyatt had texted her already, and he would look out for her.
Wyatt had tried to contact me AT as well, but I had lumped him in with Corbin’s pile. I didn’t need anything to get back to the enemy, and Wyatt lived, worked, and was best friends with the enemy. Forget the fact he was my cousin; I knew where his loyalties would always lie.
The JOpS were all centralized in DC. They never had to PCS or TDY. They deployed so often the government had given them that one allowance. For the few that had families, they would never have to move them around. They could set down their roots near or in DC and never have to worry about the other things that came with military life.
Sylvia had informed me that, months ago, Wyatt and Corbin’s team had purchased a home. Well, technically, they had bought a warehouse that had recently been zoned to residential, and they had planned to make it livable. I still thought it was odd that they all chose to live together. Didn’t they ever get sick of each other?
I would never get tired of Sylvia, but, seriously, I needed my “me time” from time to time. I cared for my Tae Kwon Do team, but after a week of being with them, I got frustrated with them real quick.
“Did you get the invite?” BJ asked hesitantly.
I nodded. I didn’t have to ask BJ what invite he was referring to.
Sylvia snorted. “Emery had the audacity to ask Avery to be a bridesmaid,” Sylvia snarled.
BJ looked at me with astonishment. “You’re kidding, right? They asked me to be in the wedding too but…”
“But they didn’t screw you over,” I said bitterly.
BJ frequently steered clear of conversations of Emery and Trevor. He was almost as angry at them as I was. He had chosen my side from the beginning, despite the fact I told him that I didn’t expect him to. They didn’t betray him. They betrayed me, and I wanted to be the “bigger” person. I didn’t expect Dad, BJ, or Steph to choose sides. Emery was still family, and she hadn’t hurt them.
“I told them no,” BJ said, clenching his jaw. “I told them not to expect me at the wedding. You should have seen them at Christmas,” he bit out. “At least Trevor had the decency to look uncomfortable, but Emery was up to her old ways.”
I cringed, only imagining what she could have said or done. I didn’t want to know, honestly. In fact, I never wanted to talk about them. They already took up way too much space in my thoughts.
“What did she do?”Apparently, Sylvia had no such qualms.
BJ looked at me dubiously. I sighed and nodded. Sylvia wouldn’t quit until her curiosity was assuaged. Even if she pried the information from BJ later, I would still hear about it. She had a different approach to healing than I did. She thought if I listened to enough horrid and unpleasant things about Emery and Trevor, I would finally heal and get over my pain.
“She claimed that you always knew she liked Trevor and chose to pursue him first,” BJ stated reluctantly. Sylvia scoffed. BJ continued, “She said that, every time you guys had a break, it was because of your stubborn pride and unwillingness to compromise. She alleged you drove him away. She claims that you left him at his lowest, and she was there to help him as any good friend would, and they didn’t pursue their relationship immediately after that one drunken night.”
Trevor might have been at a low point in his life, but I had been, too. More so. I didn’t care to delve into that right now, though. If I told BJ, he would only hate them more.
Sylvia and I exchanged a look, and I shook my head. She glared back at me.
I sighed, rubbing my forehead. “Okay, maybe in the sixth grade Emery said she liked Trevor, but to be honest, she liked Corbin and a handful of other guys, too. Trevor wasn’t interested in girls back then, and we always hung out more than they ever did. I never intentionally went into a relationship with Trev. We were nearly fourteen before we even had our first kiss. When Emery caught me kissing him, she never said anything. She was after Corbin at the time.”
I shrugged. “Maybe I was the reason we took our two breaks,” I admitted. “But that was only because Trevor was… acting funny. He would get cold. I wouldn’t hear from him for days, and he always claimed he was busy, but he had time to go party with his friends or pledge to this or that fraternity. I never expected much. I didn’t want one hundred percent devotion, but how much time does it take to send a simple text?
“I texted him daily, just to let him know I loved him or was thinking of him. I never demanded he not live his college experience. In fact, I encouraged it. When I asked him if he wanted a break, he gladly took it. Then, a few weeks later, he would come back and make some grand gesture and ask me to come back. And like a fool, I fell for his pretty words. Now,” I said bitterly, “I think he readily agreed to those breaks because it gave him the freedom to hook up without the guilt.”
Shaking my head, the pain smothered me, the emotions too raw. “And it’s rich of her to claim he was in pain. That still doesn’t excuse them for climbing into bed together. Even if they were drunk.”
BJ reached over and squeezed my shoulder. “Everyone knows the truth, and they know Emery always loved playing the victim. Trevor is the blind and stupid one, Avery, knowing the way she is and staying with her anyway.”
I bit my lip. Everyone thought they knew the truth, but they really didn’t. Trevor, Emery, Sylvia, and I were the only ones who knew the whole truth.
I took a shaky breath. Dammit, I was tired of hurting! And so sick of giving them the power to still get to me. Every time.
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“Have you heard about this crazy stuff?” BJ asked as he turned up the radio.
The truck had been silent for the last twenty minutes as I composed myself. BJ had refrained from divulging any more information, and Sylvia seemed to be sucked into her phone as she texted her new friends.
At the mention of hospitals, I began to listen, my sixth sense getting piqued.
“…several hospitals are reporting patients are coming in with extreme temperatures of one hundred and four or more, after which, they exhibit signs of seizures. Doctors have said anywhere between five and thirty minutes later, the patients become violent, frequently biting the person closest to them. Sources tell me to avoid patients after they have a seizure. The moment they make contact with another person is when they seem to be transmitting the infection through their saliva,” a female voice reported.
“Has your attempts to reach the CDC been successful?” a male voice inquired.
“They have refused all our calls,” the woman said in irritation. “With twenty states now reporting these strange occ
urrences, you’d think something would be done or said.”
“Of course not,” BJ scoffed. “If there really were a problem, then they wouldn’t want to cause mass hysteria.”
“It’s just a hoax,” Sylvia added from the back seat. “If it were a problem, the American government wouldn’t keep us in the dark. Fever-seizures aren’t that uncommon.”
“What kind of hysteria would occur?” I asked BJ.
He smiled at me. “You’re only asking because I love post-apocalyptic books. A lot of people will probably try to leave well-populated areas. A significant influx of people would cause the roadways to become gridlocked. For those people that chose to hunker down, they’d realize they don’t have enough food to last them for a sustainable amount of time, not beyond two weeks for the average person. When they run to the grocery stores, they’ll already be wiped out. Most grocery stores don’t have more than three days worth of food for their community on their shelves. Desperate people do desperate things, so then crime will ramp up. In an actual crisis, there aren’t enough law enforcement to respond to everything.”
“Please stop,” Sylvia groaned. “You sound like Nana and Pop-pop.”
“Why’s that?” I asked in confusion.
“Pop-pop believed that something major would happen within the next five to ten years,” BJ said slowly. “He became a prepper or survivalist, of sorts. He started stockpiling guns, ammo, weapons, food with long shelf life, and fortifying the campground to be more self-sufficient.”
“Pop-pop was senile, and Nana was only humoring him.” Sylvia snorted.
I looked between the two of them. I didn’t know what to make of the situation, but something in me was telling me that Sylvia was taking this too lightly, and BJ might be onto something.
“What did Dad have to say about Pop-pop?” I asked with a frown.
It pained me knowing I hadn’t made time to see my grandparents before they died. It was only a six-hour drive from my school. I had plenty of long weekends and could’ve made it work had I wanted to, but I’d been so self-absorbed. I thought I had all the time in the world back then.
Nana begged me to visit them the last Fourth, even promised to keep Trevor and Emery away from me, but I had been wallowing in my pity party. I wished I had seen them just one last time. I wished I could have told them how much I loved them.
“Uncle Scott, Uncle Mitch, and Dad were giving Pop-pop more suggestions,” he suddenly shifted. “You know they inherited the campgrounds, right?”
I nodded, my eyes narrowing on him. He knew something. “Well, there is great fishing and hunting out there.” I shrugged, not seeing the big deal.
“The last time I was home, I was in Dad’s study…” BJ cleared his throat. “He bought over one hundred thousand dollars worth of solar panels.”
I frowned. “For the house? Isn’t that a bit excessive?”
“Not for the house.” BJ shook his head. “When Uncle Mitch got out of the military, he bought a trucking company. He even purchased some warehouses. One of them is approximately fifteen miles away from the campground. That’s where Dad shipped the panels to.”
I was torn between being incredulous and shocked. My dad was more frugal then I was. Why would he have purchased that many solar panels, and why ship it there? Most importantly, how did BJ know all this?
“You hacked your uncles’ and dad's computers?” Sylvia accused, laughing.
BJ ducked his head but smirked. “I fully expected Dad, Uncle Mitch, and Uncle Scott to scoff at Pop-pop, but they didn’t!” he exclaimed. “They started acting funny,” he explained. “You know as well as I do that they are privy to so much more than we could ever dream of. Things they could never tell us without compromising their careers, possibly their lives. What if the government knew something that they didn’t want us to know?”
Sylvia started laughing. “And what if there are still aliens at Area 51?”
BJ mock glared at her. “If something happens, you’re going to have to say BJ is the most handsome, smartest man I know, and no man will ever be as great as him.”
Sylvia continued laughing. “Yeah, okay. If something happens, I’ll even rub your gnarly feet for a week.”
I smirked. Sylvia hated feet. Like, really hated feet. If you even came close to her with them, she freaked. One man had tried to seduce Sylvia by rubbing his foot against the inside of her calf, up to her thighs, and she flipped. She ran right out of the restaurant.
“Shh, listen,” BJ stated as he turned up the radio and another report was being made.
Chapter 4
“Aww, man,” Mikey groaned as we walked up to the doors to Treetop Adventures.
It took me a moment to realize why he was groaning. Right there on the door, it said the place was closed due to inadequate staffing. I imitated Mikey’s groan. I was looking forward to our day trip, too.
“Now what?” BJ frowned as my phone rang.
I pulled out my phone and noticed it was an unknown number. I generally never answered them. I was happy with my medical insurance. My car's extended warranty wasn’t about to expire. So, in short, unknown numbers generally equated to phone scams.
I was about to swipe red, but then at the last second decided I should answer it.
“Hello?” I cynically answered.
“Avery,” Dad said immediately. “Where are you?”
“Well…” I frowned. “BJ, Sylvia, and I decided to take the boys to Treetop Adventures, but they’re closed.”
“Can you put me on speaker?” Dad asked.
I looked at BJ and Sylvia in confusion but did as Dad asked.
“Hey, guys, I need you to meet Stephanie at Costco’s,” Dad said without preamble.
“Um, sure,” I said in confusion. “Now?”
“Does this have anything to do with what’s been going on?” BJ asked shrewdly.
“You’ve always been too smart for your own good, son,” Dad said cryptically. “And don’t think I wasn’t aware of your digging.”
BJ and I exchanged wide-eyed looks. Was this real life? Was Dad saying things might head south? Sylvia still looked skeptical as she gnawed on her thumbnail. It was a habit I’d been trying to break her of for some time.
“Want us to go shopping for Pop-pop?” BJ asked.
“I think you should,” Dad answered, relief in his voice.
“Then what?” I inquired.
“Are you still going fishing?” Dad asked in response.
There was only one place we ever went fishing, and that was at Sanctuary Lake, the campgrounds my grandparents owned. Dad always swore it was the only place he had luck catching anything. Poppop said that was because he stocked the lake, and the other water sources on the property weren’t fished that often.
“That was the plan,” I said in a small voice.
“Good, I gotta go, but I love you, Ave, BJ, Sylv, Mikey, and Miller.” Dad’s voice caught for a moment. “Take care of each other, and I’ll try to be home as soon as I can.”
“Love you,” we all chorused before the phone was cut off. Miller remained tight-lipped. He was still struggling with having a stepdad three years later.
Sylvia looked at us. “Was he saying what I think he was saying?” She seemed afraid suddenly. “You guys didn’t put him up to this, did you?” she asked hopefully.
BJ and I gave her a pointed look, and I saw her shudder out a response.
“Pop-pop’s dead,” Mikey said with a frown to BJ.
“What’s going on?” Miller asked at the same time.
“Didn’t you hear?” I tried to sound upbeat. “We’re going fishing!”
“I don’t like fishing,” Miller grumbled.
BJ, Sylvia, and I all exchanged looks. We couldn’t tell the boys the truth. They didn’t need to know some weird virus was making people violent. We couldn’t tell them that Dad thought things were bad enough that he wanted us to stock up and hunker down for a while until the danger passed.
“Yay!” Mi
key danced around.
Miller and Mikey could pass as twins, but they couldn’t be any more different. Miller was small for his age, where Mikey was big. They were precisely the same height, but Mikey was sturdier and tanner, since he was more active and was outside every chance he got. Both of them had hazel eyes and dark hair. Miller kept his neat and tidy, but it was a feat if Mikey even remembered to comb his.
“Well,” BJ said in an upbeat tone. “After we go fishing, maybe we can work on that new game we’re creating.”
“Really?” Miller asked excitedly.
“Really.” BJ’s smile didn’t reach his eyes as I saw the same worry I was feeling reflecting back at me.
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Sylvia’s phone went off the moment we got back into the truck. She immediately answered.
“Hey!” she said enthusiastically.
I had a feeling it was either Joe or Cal on the line. She hadn’t told me anything about her night last night, but I knew she had accomplished her mission. She had been all smiles and coy looks since she came home this morning, dressed in the same clothing she’d left in.
If the boys hadn’t been in the truck with us now, I’m sure she would have already given me and BJ all the sordid details.
“We’re going shopping—Avery’s. Yeah, yeah, she’s right here.” Sylvia frowned.
I looked at her with a raised brow in the rearview mirror. I was the only other she in the vehicle.
I looked over at BJ, sitting in the passenger seat as he murmured into his phone. “Pull in there.” BJ looked over at me, pointing at the gas station.
My tank was over half full, but I wasn’t going to argue with him, especially not right now. I was sure he had examined everything. His love of post-apocalyptic books, combined with our families' recent behavior, would have made him go into research mode.
“It’s for you, Ave.” Sylvia shoved the phone at me before she hopped out of the truck. “Come on, boys. It sounds like we need to get a lot of snacks!”
Mikey and Miller didn’t need to be told twice as they launched themselves out of the truck.
“Hello?” I said in confusion.
