Tomorrow.
Sadie would be stronger. Ava might be back, and I could corner Dustin and pin him down on his next moves. Fucker was getting too comfortable around here again.
“I need to get in the shower,” I said.
She didn’t move at first, her arms locked around me. Her cheek rubbed my shirt, her body turning restless in subtle ways I might not have picked up on if I hadn’t been so tuned into her. A slight tremble. Quicker breaths that had nothing to do with the stairs anymore.
Out of nowhere, the atmosphere morphed into something heavier, charged with a different type of energy I knew all too well. My fingers tightened and released in her jumper at the back, every nerve ending firing.
“Do you want my help?” Her voice may have been little more than a whisper, but her meaning came across loud and clear.
A jolt moved through me, and images of steam and slippery bodies flooded my mind. “We’re due for a conversation first,” I said as an inner voice screamed at me to shut the hell up. “I don’t want to start anything with you until I know your plans.”
Sadie tilted her head back, her blue eyes locked on me. “You already started something,” she said. “You kissed me, remember?”
A prickle of awareness rushed over me, and my pulse thudded in my ears. “I remember, Sadie.”
She lifted her brows in a dare. “And?”
My gaze dropped to her lips. “I like your mouth,” I said, wishing my hands were clean enough to touch her face. “I want to kiss you again—properly next time.”
A surprised breath left her, and she took a minute to regain her composure. “But you’re not going to, are you?”
“Not before I—” The smell of rotting blood dominated the room, and until I’d cleaned up, I couldn’t give her my full attention. “Just give me ten minutes to shower and change. Then we’ll talk, I promise.”
Sadie lingered, her fingers clinging to my shirt, her cheeks flushed. If she tried anything now, I’d cave. No question.
A tense moment passed. My heart thudded erratically, and part of me wanted her to ignore what I’d just said and dive on me.
Then she blinked, and the mood lifted, leaving me reeling.
“Fine,” she said with a sigh. “I’ll wait for you.”
Do you want my help?
I dropped my head forward as hot water hammered my shoulders and slid down my spine. World’s biggest idiot, right here. Sadie could have been in the shower with me, taking my mind somewhere else, but all I had for company were the humming exhaust fan and my messed up thoughts.
I kept finding blood in new places. Under my fingernails. My left elbow. I picked a few spots off the back of my hand, each discovery a reminder of how much our lives had changed.
The pounding water drowned out some of the images and brought others to the forefront of my mind. I shampooed my hair and stared at the tiles, locking onto one memory that stood out above the others: the concern in Sadie’s eyes when she was watching me from the foyer.
“Theo!”
Her voice cut through the rush of water, more alarmed than frightened. Still, I banged my elbow against the tiles and swore. “What’s up?”
Next time she spoke, she was right outside the door. “Come see before it’s too late.”
Too late? Probably another development on the news, but how much worse could it possibly get? I groaned and ducked under the spray, rinsing my hair. “Be there in a minute.”
I shut off the water and stepped out into the silence, reaching for a towel and wrapping it around my waist. Clearing a spot on the mirror, I took in my reflection and almost recoiled.
Tired eyes, messy hair, and a jaw a few days past needing a shave. Months of lockdown had already taken their toll. Throw zombies into the mix, and I’d started resembling one of them.
I scrubbed my hands down my face and blew out a breath. “Get it together, dickhead.”
I rushed through the process of dressing, then brushed the harsh taste from my mouth. When I emerged from the bathroom in a tee and grey track pants, I felt more human than I had when I walked in there.
I found Sadie standing at the lounge room window with her back to me, her blonde hair darker than usual in the weak morning light. She wore an oversized yellow jumper and black leggings, her arms wrapped around her torso. With the news playing as background noise, I stood for a minute appreciating the view, knowing it could be my last chance before she shattered the peace.
