Nineteen
theo
“Oh, wow. I didn’t know you were out and about.” Laura strolled through the rooftop door two days later, mask in place, Crocs scuffing across the tiles. “How’s Sadie doing?”
Fog hovered above the ground, and the echo of distant shouting bounced down the street. It could have been pouring rain or a record-breaking heatwave for all I cared. The freedom of being outside again eclipsed every other detail.
“Better all the time,” I said, rubbing some warmth into my hands. Laura and Tim had taken turns dropping by to check on Sadie from the hallway, but I hadn’t seen or spoken to anyone else in the week since she got sick.
“I wish the phones were still working so we could text each other.” Laura clicked on the television and crossed her arms, tucking the remote under her elbow. “Has she stopped coughing yet?”
“Just about,” I said as we stood side by side.
“Still in your bed?” She slid me a sideways glance, eyebrows raised. “I’m loving this development, by the way.”
I smiled behind my mask. “Still in my bed, but I’m on the couch, so don’t get too carried away.”
“We’ll see.”
Not that it wasn’t on my mind constantly. How could it not be? She’d trusted me to take care of her at her most vulnerable, laughed with me. Let me in. Just one look from her ignited the spark, but I wouldn’t risk making a move until she agreed to come to my dad’s farm. I thought too much of her to start something that was doomed to failure.
“She’s probably safe for the rest of us to be around by now,” Laura said, eyes locked on the jerky live footage. “Why don’t you bring her up here? Just knock on my door first so I know to come up.”
“I’ll run it by her and see what she thinks.”
She watched the news for a bit, taking in the same stories Sadie and I had been digesting on a loop. “It’s starting to look like we’re hitting the point of no return,” she said. “Owen and I were talking about leaving soon, taking the girls to my sister’s place in Darby Downs. I don’t know if more space is the answer, but it’s gotta be better than this.”
I nodded, my thoughts meandering down the same track as hers. We’d already endured nearly twelve months of having the rooftop as our only safe space outside our homes. I couldn’t picture myself doing another year of it without losing my mind. “You shouldn’t have too much trouble with the roadblocks anymore.”
She hummed her agreement. “Are you any closer to leaving for your dad’s place?”
“Not yet. I’m still waiting.”
“On?”
“Sadie’s sister. She should be touching down in Sydney this morning.”
“About time. It’s been so long.” Laura flicked me a glance, then followed up with a longer look, her eyes taking in every detail above my mask. “Aw, Theo, you little sweetheart. You have feelings for our Sadie.”
“Shh.” I nudged her shoulder with mine.
“Don’t worry.” She nudged me right back. “It’s locked in the vault.”
“Just for now. I’m trying to figure things…” My words trailed off as a reporter’s frantic voice drew my attention.
A helicopter hovered above central Sydney, the camera zooming in on a pack of men trading blows. The group had gathered in the middle of the street, closed businesses on either side and a few cars banked up around them. Some men lay unmoving on the ground, while others were still on their feet, rampaging around them.
I checked my watch. A fight in the street at eight a.m.
My eyes jumped from one detail to the next, taking in their torn clothing, blood, and features twisted with a kind of rage I’d never seen before.
The reporter in the chopper crammed in too much detail, commentating like a race caller on the home stretch, his voice crackling with interference.
“What the hell's going on now?” Laura spared me a glance, eyes wide. “This is next level.”
“It’s escalating. Not just the amount of violence, but—“
“The severity.”
