I stop as Cara pulls open the door to the stockroom. “Thanks,” I say loudly. The girl doesn’t answer me.
I hope she finds a good gift for JJ.
Jamison
WE PUT SOME DISTANCE BETWEEN US ANDYulee, trying to get through Jacksonville as quickly as we can, just in case that’s the group’s central hub. If it is, they aren’t as methodical as Fort Caroline. The roads are messy and strewn with litter and cars.
Andrew makes several Blake Bortles references—references I actually get. “How do you know who Blake Bortles is? He didn’t even play for the Jaguars anymore when the superflu hit.”
“The Good Place, dude.”
And that one I don’t know, but out of the corner of my eye I see Cara smirk.
The first night we stop to rest at the burned-down shell of a shopping center, where no one will think to look. But Cara freaks out, refusing to go near it. She falls into silent tears and shields her eyes from the shopping center, crouching down in the middle of the parking lot. Her hands are shaking and every time Andrew tries to put a comforting hand on her she bats him away.
“Okay,” Andrew whispers to me. “I’m going to find somewhereelse for us to spend the night. Can you just... stay with her until she’s all right?”
“I’m not letting you go off on your own.” The idea of it racks me with fear and anxiety. Like there’s some zombie version of Harvey Rosewood lurking in the shadows of this town waiting for Andrew to drop his guard.
“I’ll be fine.” He looks past me to where Cara is crouched down beside a parking lot light pole. “It’s her I’m worried about.”
“So you leave her with the one who pulled a gun on her.”
Andrew’s eyes turn serious. “I don’t like that joke.”
My stomach tightens and all the anxiety makes me feel like I’m going to jump out of my skin. Because Andrew’s disappointed in me. I try to formulate an apology but his hand gently squeezes my arm.
“She’ll be fine, she’s just... I know it has to do with her family, but she’ll never give any specifics. So just stay with her. I’ll be back, okay?”
“Yeah.”
Andrew is gone for fifteen minutes before Cara’s cries get a little quieter. I grab my water from my pack and sit down next to her. She doesn’t flinch or turn away from me, so that’s progress. I hold out the water to her.
“You should drink something.”
“I’m fine,” she says in that small voice.
I sigh and put the water bottle on the ground between us. “When I was six, I cried for almost an hour in the parking lot of the King of Prussia Mall because my mom wouldn’t buy me a Godzilla DVD.”
She actually looks up at me. “What?”
“To be fair, it wasKing Kong vs. Godzilla,the old one. I just thoughtthe cover looked cool. It was only five bucks in the bargain bin. But yeah, almost an hour. And she sat there in silence the whole time until I finally started to calm down. Then you know what she did?”
Cara shakes her head and reaches out for the water. I try not to look at her as she drinks.
“She queues up a song on her phone and hits play. And it’s the Rolling Stones. ‘You Can’t Always Get What You Want.’ I cried for another seven minutes while she sang at the top of her lungs.”
Cara laughs and chokes on the water, covering her mouth as she coughs. I try not to smirk, but it’s almost impossible not to find the memory funny.
“But after I calmed down we went back to the mall, and you know what she bought me?”
“The Godzilla DVD?”
“No! Shoes!”
Cara lets out a chuckle and wipes her eyes, drinking more water.
“And school pants.” I shake my head like I still can’t believe it. “Going forward she would always,always, play that damn song when something didn’t go my way. She’d just be dancing around the house telling me that I can’t always get what I want, but if I tried sometimes, I’d get what I need.”Then my eyes start to burn with tears and I let out a sigh. “I really miss her. So, trust me when I say I get it, crying in a parking lot. Especially when you miss someone.”
