Twenty-Four
sadie
Ihadn’t been on the rooftop in so long it was almost like seeing it for the first time. The seasons had shifted while I was sick, bringing the cold, the heaviness. Everyone had gathered in coats and hoodies, beanies and scarves.
The wind turned Willow’s hair into a swirling halo of gold, and she waved at Theo as she walked backward on the slow-moving treadmill, still carefree somehow despite everything that had happened.
“Hi again,” Laura said. “Twice in one day.” She sat beside Owen on the couch with a plaid blanket draped over her knees.
Theo had pounded on all their doors before he ran back upstairs and collected me. It took less than ten minutes to assemble everybody.
Ellie threw me a distracted smile and turned on the TV, flinching at the blaring volume before she scrambled to turn it down.
“At least this time there won’t be any blood and guts,” Varesh said, scanning the street over by the boundary wall.
“Unless Dustin shows up,” Tim added, hovering nearby. He shoved his hands into the front pocket of his hoodie and regarded Theo. “How are you doing after the killings?”
“Not bad. Better now.”
Tim’s lips moved in a tight smile. “I'm getting there, too.”
Weight settled on my chest, and I fought to keep it from showing on my face. This felt like the end of something good, not the beginning.
Theo ran his hand over my hair and stepped past me to join the others. He high-fived Willow and rested his elbow on the treadmill’s handrail, just like Dustin used to do when I was on there. Same, but different.
“So, what’s the meeting for, guys?” Owen asked. The stubble on his normally clean-shaven jaw had finally joined up with his moustache, and the patches in the botched fade Willow had given him were filling in now.
“Sadie and I are at a crossroad," Theo said.
Varesh came around the back of the couch and sank into an armchair. I followed his lead and took the chair opposite, resting my crossed arms on my knees. “We want to know who’s leaving,” I said, “and where and when everyone’s going.”
“You originally said you were taking off in a couple of days,” Theo said to Laura. “Is that still on the cards?”
It was Thursday now. The thought of losing four residents by the weekend had a wild desperation tearing through me. I gritted my teeth and kept it in check.
Laura nodded casually, like she wasn’t about to stab me with her words. “Two days at most. We’re taking the girls out tomorrow to learn how to handle the infected, and packing everything we need in the meantime.”
“Still going to your sister’s place?” Tim asked. He wandered through the lounge area and balanced on the arm of Varesh’s chair, crossing one leg over the other.
“That’s the plan,” Owen said, running his hand over his moustache. “Get Ellie and Wills somewhere safer with more space. See Auntie Ro for the first time in over a year. What do you think, girls?”
“And the horses.” Willow almost lost her balance and grabbed Theo’s arm, her eyes wide.
Owen had made it sound like a fun family road trip, but the thought of his family out there with nothing but a car protecting them from the dead already had my hands clenching. “What about you two?” I asked Tim.
“We’re undecided. Laura asked us to go with them. Theo said we could come with you.”
Owen’s mouth ticked up on one side. “But we know you get first dibs on custody of Tim.”
I tried to smile, but every muscle in my body had wound tight.
“The only thing we’re sure of is that we won’t be staying here.” Varesh leaned back and clasped his hands behind his head. “It’s not safe anymore.”
A sudden gust of wind tore through the rooftop and rattled the television on its mount. Ellie moved away from the wall and joined us, squishing in between her parents on the couch.
The air carried the faint smell of rot, and my stomach rolled at the reminder of the man at the entrance door. How many people must have turned for the stench to reach us all the way up here? And how close were they?
When Varesh’s eyes met mine, I knew he could smell it, too.
“I guess the real question is,” Tim said, pinning me with a look, “where are you going?”
My heart slammed against my ribs, and warmth flooded my face.
I didn’t dare to check Theo’s expression.
He’d be hanging onto every word, hoping Tim would be the one to convince me to leave without my sister.
But when I pictured Ava fighting her way through God knows what only to show up here and discover my apartment empty, nothing about it felt right to me.
It would wreck her.
And that image, that thought, immediately made up my mind for me.
“I’m waiting for Ava.” My voice trembled, and I cleared my throat. “She won’t be much longer, then we can drive to the farm and meet up with Theo and his family.”
The air turned thick with apprehension. No one spoke at first, but what could they possibly say?
We’d seen the infected with our own eyes.
We knew how dangerous they were. Everyone thought I was deluded to believe Ava still had a chance of making it home, and their pity settled over me like a too-heavy blanket.
I couldn’t look at anyone, so I fidgeted with a loose thread on my sleeve. “She’s not dead,” I said to no one in particular. “I’d know if something had happened to her.”
“No one’s saying she is, sweetie,” Tim said.
“Maybe not in words, but I can feel your sympathy.” I smiled despite the darkness of the topic, looking up to meet his eyes. “No matter what anyone thinks, I have faith in her. She made it home from another country on her own, and she can make it back here from another state.”
“So, you’re sure about sticking around?” Owen asked.
I nodded, needing no time to think it over. “I’m not going anywhere right now.”
Ava would do the same thing for me. We were family.
And now, in the crumbling world we’d inherited, that mattered more than anything.