I shake my head. “You’re safe here, you don’t need to do that.”
“What about Jamie?” she asks, looking past me for him.
“He went with some others to another settlement.” She doesn’t need to know where he really went.
“Wait,” Rocky Horror says. “Where did he go?” I turn back to Cara, who looks guilty. She must have forgotten to tell him.
“There’s another settlement that was like ours,” Jamar says. “They’re going to stop them. Niki went, too.”
“Stop them how?” Rocky Horror asks. But I don’t answer.
“Is he coming back?” Taylor asks.
“I hope so. But not here—probably to Amy and Henri or to the cabin his mom had in Pennsylvania.”
She nods as if that makes sense. “Okay, I’m coming, too, then.”
“Tay—”
“Screw you, Iwantto do it. Jamie is my family now. Just like Daphne and Liz were.”
“What about the kids?” I ask. “They’re your family, too, aren’t they?”
“Yes, but the kids are fine here, and they have Kelly. I’m coming with you.” She turns to Jamar. “I’m sorry. I can’t stay.”
“Then I’m coming with y’all,” says Jamar.
“No, no, no,” I say. “Niki would hunt us down and murder us.”
“He’s right,” says Taylor. “You have to stay here. She’s your sister. She can’t come back to find you missing.”
Jamar’s eyes start to well up with tears, and Taylor hugs him tight. He sobs quietly as he grips the back of her jacket.
Rocky Horror puts out a hand. “Whoa! Hold on! I agreed to the Mary Poppins fuckery for thetrip. I am not staying here so you can leave me with six kids!”
“You coming, too, RH?” I ask.
He scoffs. “I did not say that.”
I smile. “Then chim chim cher-oo on outta this conversation and go help Hannah and Kelly babysit those kids.”
Rocky Horror groans, looks at the kids on the playground, then back at me. He rolls his eyes and says, “Fine, stop begging, I’ll come, too.”
I open my mouth to tell him I was just kidding, but he holds up a hand. “I was only going to stay ’cause y’all were. I’m still not entirely ready to be done with you yet.” He takes a few steps over to me and lowers his voice. “This place is great, but I’m going to be honest. There’s just something more inviting about being on the road. I feel kind of... stagnant here, if that makes sense.”
Iwantstagnancy, just not yet. Still, I nod.
I ask them all, individually, if they’re sure. They tell me they are. And I do feel a bit better having them on my side. Jamar and Taylor still have tears in their eyes, though. They walk off to say their farewell as we say goodbye to the kids. They’re sad to see us go, but I think they’re happier to have a place to stay now. Especially since after wehug, they run right off to their new Faraway friends.
Except for the Kid. He looks heartbroken.
“It’ll be okay,” I tell him. But he just nods. “You take care of Bobo and Albie, okay?” Again, just a nod. I ask him if I can have a hug, and he nods again but doesn’t hug me back.
With tears in my eyes, I turn away from him. We have our things packed up and ready to go, and Kelly, Jamar, and a couple of the Nomads are there to send us off.
Just as we start to walk away, Jamar calls out to Taylor.
He runs down to her as she turns, and they stop three feet from each other. They just stare, both too afraid to speak or move.
