Chapter 12
twelve
Eryn
The moon was already high in the sky and shining through our window when Rani finished with me.
I had to admit, we looked kinda hot in our purple biker shorts and tank tops.
We both pulled hunter cards, so purple bandanas were artfully folded and tied around our biceps.
From what I’d heard, zombies wore white bandanas on their heads.
If either of us got “bitten,” we had to return to our team tent, register as infected, and trade in our bandanas.
The last team with their hunters alive won.
“Wait!” Rani called and pulled me back into the chair. “I forgot your eye makeup.”
I obediently sat, but my knee tapped in anticipation of finally getting out of this room and away from my permanent shadow.
“So, what’s up with you and Kai?”
I jerked at the unexpected question, and Rani scolded me for moving.
“No idea,” I grumbled. Was complicated an answer?
“Lies,” she scoffed. “You obviously like him.”
It was on the tip of my tongue to deny it…but I didn’t. Denial wasn’t a land I wanted to be accused of living in. Besides, liking Kaiden wasn’t the problem.
“Okay, I do like him,” I admitted. “I’m just not sure I should get involved with him. It won’t work out.”
“Open.” I blinked up at Rani and then closed my eyes again when she dipped her brush in more eyeshadow. “Why wouldn’t it work?”
I wished there was an easy answer to that.
“He’s…controlling.” To put it mildly.
Rani paused, her hand hovering over my cheek. “In what way?” she asked. “Tie you up and bend you over, or cut you off from family and friends controlling? Because there’s a difference.”
I didn’t know how to respond. Both were true but not for reasons she would understand, and I couldn’t explain. She took my silence as a red flag and put the brush down.
“Has he hurt you? Or is he threatening you? I don’t care how hot he is, I have access to a boat, and can make his body sink to the bottom of the ocean before he can say fish food.”
I smiled at her unquestioning defense of me.
“No, nothing like that.” She relaxed and reached for the makeup once more.
After another minute of silence, I tried again, “He’s always there.
Watching me, touching me, wanting to carry my books and walk me to class like an invalid.
” Okay, that didn’t sound all that bad, but I wasn’t explaining it right.
“He wants more from me than I can give him.”
“Have you told him that?”
So many times.
“Yes.”
“And?” she prompted.
Makeup finished, I got up and paced the small room while Rani cleaned up.
“And he says he’s content to wait until I’m ready to discuss ‘us.’” I grimaced, and Rani laughed, like what I said was adorable.
“Honey,” she said with a soft smile. “If he’s making his intentions known and not pressuring you to fulfill them, then I’d say he’s being downright chivalrous. Has he tried to kiss you? Or touch you in any way that can be seen as more than friendly?”
“Not since…” I blushed, remembering the last time he touched me, in this very room. “Not since our last conversation about it.”
“Then, what’s the problem?”
I groaned and threw my head into my hands.
That was the problem. The more I was around him, the more I wanted to give in.
Was that a bad thing? Normally, I would say no.
But our situation was unique and not one I could share with my human roommate, no matter how badly I wanted her opinion.
I settled on a shrug and hoped that the guilt of lying to my only friend wouldn’t eat me alive.
The party was in full swing when we arrived, but we still had time before the main festivities began.
I followed Rani to the purple tent to sign in.
As the last to arrive, we were assigned to one of the last missions.
That didn’t bother me. I still didn’t quite understand how it all worked yet anyway.
Before being released to mingle and wait our turn, we were outfitted with a Nerf gun and a bag of large marshmallows.
My face must have given away my confusion because the guy behind the table laughed.
“The Nerf gun is for the zombies. Three shots equal a kill or just one to the head.”
“Then what happens?” I asked.
“The zombie has to sit out for fifteen minutes before they can reanimate. Thirty minutes if you hit them with a grenade,” he said, pointing at the marshmallows.
With those strange instructions bouncing around my brain, I followed Rani into the trees.
String lights dangled between branches, giving the whole area a fairytale glow.
With beer. The kegs were hidden out here, but I wasn’t in the mood for alcohol tonight.
My freedom was precious, and I didn’t want to risk it by giving Kaiden an excuse to lecture me about safety.
Speak of the devil, I saw him and his cousin making their rounds.
We made eye contact, and he nodded but didn’t approach.
That was surprising. I thought for sure I’d have to hide in the shadows all night to avoid him.
Smiling, I limped deeper into the crowd with confidence; knowing they were around and willing to protect me went a long way.
A fallen log presented itself as the perfect bench, and I sat on it.
There was no reason to push my ankle past its limits.
“Oh, great spot, girl.” Rani shimmied her way over, beer sloshing out of her cup. “We can watch everyone from here.”
To Rani, everyone meant the hot guys walking past to get to the keg.
None of them appealed to me, and I tried not to think too hard about why that was.
A few returned my roomie’s flirtatious smiles, but only one was brave enough to approach.
He held two juice bottles, swiped when the sister watching the drink table wasn’t looking, I’d bet, and shyly winked as he offered one of them to me.
“Don’t worry, it’s sealed,” he said when I didn’t reach out to take it.
I was thirsty. I accepted the bottle and was relieved to see he wasn’t lying.
“Thanks.” I smiled and took a few sips. “I don’t know if I should be accepting gifts from a rival team though.”
His brows rose in shock. What? Did I do it wrong? Rani made flirting seem so easy. Just when I was about to dig a hole and bury my head in it, he let out a strained laugh.
“You mean because I’m on Team Green?” His white teeth were a little too bright in this light, and it was another strike against him in my opinion. “I don’t mind helping another team win if it has such a beautiful hunter.”
Rani elbowed me when I didn’t answer, but what was I supposed to say to that? I really was bad at the flirting thing. Thankfully, a whistle blew, signaling the next mission, and our number was called. I turned without another word and started my slow limp to the clearing.
“Hold up!” the guy called out. “Aren’t you going to finish your juice?”
I frowned. Was he into saving the earth or something? Maybe he wanted to recycle the bottle. I chugged the rest of it and tossed him the plastic.
“Go nuts,” I told him, then turned to catch up with Rani.
I didn’t know what I expected from the missions, but me sitting in a shopping cart while our group maneuvered across campus wasn’t it.
Granted, my ankle made me the perfect prey, and Rani refused to let me get eaten.
Neither did Kaiden. He and Ezra were magically in our group, not that I thought it a coincidence.
My stomach hurt as we made our way over uneven brick.
Rani pushed me in the cart while the others flanked us with their guns at the ready.
It was a funny sight. I held my bag of marshmallows close, tempted to eat one, but the churning in my gut was growing worse the closer we got to our checkpoint.
The ancient tree was the marker for the center of campus, and an obnoxiously pink hippo pinata hung from its lowest branch.
“Someone grab it and let’s go,” Kaiden ordered.
No one questioned him. It was like they all subconsciously decided he should be in charge.
The sight of the bright pink in my lap was enough to kick-start my nausea.
We needed to finish this mission quickly.
I was obviously coming down with something.
The way back was clear until we passed the liberal arts building.
A giant horde of half-drunk zombies waited for us and charged the second we came into view.
“Shit,” Rani giggled. “They really want that pinata.”
The pinata that I was holding? Great.
We ran for it—well, the others did. I threw marshmallows from the cart and tried not to throw up.
‘Dead’ zombies littered the path, picking at grass until their time out was up.
Half of our group had to remove their bandanas and switch them when we got back to the tent.
Me, Rani, the guys, and a handful of others were the only ones to make it through unscathed.
Us and the hippo. I couldn’t see the clearing, but I heard the music and it wasn’t much further.
Too bad that was still too far for my poor stomach.
“Stop,” I called out. “Stop the cart.”
Rani slowed and leaned over to see what I needed just as I dipped my head over the side to hurl. Cool hands gathered my hair at the base of my neck, and I didn’t need the tingles on my skin to tell me it was Kaiden. Another round nearly toppled the cart, but it stayed on four wheels.
“Are you okay?” Kaiden whispered, anxious eyes scanning my face.
I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand and nodded.
“Maybe it was that fish you had at dinner,” Rani suggested, resuming our trek at a brisk jog.