“What were you gonna ask?” he tries.
“Nothing. Forget it. I’ve been in my head a lot this week, that’s all.”
“You’re not the only one.”
“How do we make it stop?”
“Don’t know that we can.”
“Well, that’s depressing,” she says sarcastically.
“You’re telling me. Guess we live with it.” He pulls out a package of crackers from his bag, offering it to her. “Salty.”
He’s reading about a place they talked about seeing together, and thought ahead to pack the only food she can eat. For now, she has to believe it all means he isn’t completely done with her yet.
* * *
Jeff gives them the address to the house he left behind so they can take the ultrasound machine before departing for an early start.
She worries about that baby and his ability to keep them bothsafe alone. They’ll be okay, she tells herself, watching Samantha bounce in the backpack as they get smaller and smaller.
And then the child cries.
Not a soft sound but a screaming wail. No telling why, but the noise carries.
Jeff stops to soothe her. Taking her out of the pack to bounce on his shoulder, only to get knocked over by a runner.
Then another blows past the treeline.
And another.
They’re a whole parking lot away by now, and Addison watches in horror as a small herd descends on them. She covers Emma’s eyes with one hand, and the other grabs Wyatt by the back of his shirt in a reflexive grip as he moves to help.
“It’s too late,” she hisses, refusing to let the fabric go. “If you go out there, you won’t come back.”
He glares at her, but she’s right, and they both know it. She doesn’t let go until he moves into the building and shuts the door. Even then, she only re-grips to clutch his arm instead.
She pulls Emma against her while Wyatt doubles over, hands on his knees as he tries to process what’s happening. Addison doesn’t let go of him. Might collapse if she does and needs to know he’s still here instead of racing into the fray.
They flinch as a group with every scream and plea for help until all she can do is bury her face in his shoulder to keep from staring at the carnage.
It’s over as quickly as it started, leaving nothing but birds chirping outside the window and the groan of shuffling rotters, as if Jeff and his daughter were never there at all.
* * *
When they reach the house again, Emma is the first one through the door to scoop up the cat and cry into its fur.
“What if…what if the same thing happens to…” she hiccups, her face red and her tears triggering more of Addison’s.
What if this new baby cries and gets them all killed?
What if she never makes it out of childbirth?
What if Emma is left alone with her brother or sister?
“I’ll do everything I can to make sure that doesn’t happen,” Addison says, knowing she can’t promise a damn thing.
Wyatt, however, has no such problem with making promises.
