[Teen and New Adult Zombie Apocalypse Romance]
"If you would've told me the last day of our peaceful existence would be a boring Tuesday in November, I would've called you an idiot."
High school senior, Casey Whitmore, is about to discover her life...
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My gaze drifted over Derek as he stared up at the half moon while making the call. The rugged, untamed look was really working for him, and it was impressive how easily he'd rolled with the onslaught of problems.
Derek had even offered to be the solution. He knew it could lead to incarceration, but he was willing to sacrifice himself. Somewhere in this rough and dangerous guy lurked a responsible protector.
Grant let out a painful groan, pulling me out of my stupor. His face scrunched up as he bent over, clutching his stomach tighter.
Suzie's brow wrinkled as she lightly placed a hand on his shoulder.
When the pain appeared to subside, Grant silently turned and walked back to their truck. Even though I wasn't Grant's biggest fan, I still felt awful for him.
Suzie watched him longingly until he opened the truck door. Then she sadly returned to check on Mom.
I glanced over at the big man who gazed toward his wife and son as he massaged the back of his neck.
"I can't get through." Derek yanked the phone away from his ear and seemingly glared at the screen as he typed. "Let's hope texting works."
Everyone in our small group pulled out their phone to check for service. I still had one bar.
I called my best friend, Maxine, but instead of hearing her voice, a recording answered. "All circuits are busy. Please try your call again later."
Great. And just when I thought things couldn't get any worse.
Who the hell was I kidding? This whole situation was spinning out of control. No one looked up from their phones as they searched for other methods of communication.
"My internet isn't working." The tiny woman sniffed and removed her glasses to wipe tears from her eyes. I wanted to tell her that crying wasn't the solution, but who was I to judge? If her husband and baby looked anything like Mom, she had every right to express her emotions.
"Anybody get anything?" Dad asked.
Everyone shifted in discomfort, but no one answered. Hope was dwindling.
"What about the radio?" Big man rubbed the stubble on his chin.
Dad let out an irritated huff, walked over to our SUV, and ripped open the driver's door.
Trying to remain invisible to Dad, Suzie curled deeper into her seat. She didn't look at any of us. Her lips and chin trembled while tears streamed down her face. My baby sister was terrified. It took all my control to stop myself from going to her and hugging her, but this wasn't the time for comforting. There would be time for that later.
Clenching my folded arms tight to my body, I couldn't stop myself from analyzing Mom. It was so hard to look at her because she didn't resemble my mother at all. The bruises hadn't improved, but the swelling in her cheeks looked like it had deflated a little, which was a good thing. Mom would be okay. She would make it through this.
