Page 51 of My Undead Love Life

The store we’d made base in was an old jewelry store on the third floor of the mall. The two king-sized beds we’d brought up sat on the floor behind the back display case. Our weapons were stacked beside diamond necklace cases, and our food was sorted under the counters where engagement rings used to be displayed.

We’d scavenged food and anything else we needed from the first and second floors as we cleared the zombies out, so we had plenty of food stored here. Enough for months, maybe even a year if we were careful. Water was the bigger concern, but we’d found more than expected: bottles, jugs, and cases stacked in employee rooms and the food court. With how many zombies were out there and winter coming, we needed to prepare for the worst.

The big chain-link gate at the front of the store was easy enough to open and lock so we could come and go as we pleased, but when the four of us were here, we always kept it locked. We never wanted to chance a wayward zombie getting in. Or worse, another living person.

“Instant noodles, no way!” Luck gasped and bolted toward the steaming bowl.

Spencer’s lip curved into a pretty smile as she stared at him and shifted her gaze to her own bowl. “We found a lot of water after all.”

“And so many noodles,” Mad chuckled, sitting close to her.

I sat down next to them and took one of the bowls. Steam curled up against my face, carrying chicken seasoning. I shoved a spoonful of noodles into my mouth, and the warmth flooded me. It slid down my throat and into my chest, heating parts of me that had turned cold while I’d been outside.

“It’s so good,” I mumbled before swallowing.

Murmurs of agreement sounded from the others as we ate.

Spencer held her bowl close with both hands, letting the steam warm her face before every bite.

Luck ate too fast and hissed when he burned his tongue. “Shit.”

“Careful. Nobody’s taking it from you.” Mad gave him a look.

Luck gave him one right back. “Worth the pain.”

This was the best meal I’d had in all my life, and that included all the fancy bullshit I grew up on.

10

SPENCER

Afull month had slipped by since I lost the love of my life, and nothing would ever be the same again.

I’d gone a month without Keith’s voice, his touch, and the familiar weight of his body beside mine at night. It didn’t feel right, but it was my new reality. I had to accept it if I were to survive through the end of the world.

My reunion with Tori and everyone else would bring another kind of heartbreak because they would see me coming home without him. They would look behind me, wait for Keith to appear, and I would have to explain that he never would.

I knew hoping Keith had made it out of the subway wasn’t realistic, but I loved him. I had to believe it for a little while. Until I could accept the truth.

That he’d given his life for mine.

There weren’t many ways to distract myself while we waited for the horde to move, so I found myself in a dusty, forgotten bookstore. The tragic woman’s fiction I’d picked up was a terrible choice. I’d hoped losing myself in someone else’s problems would make mine feel less suffocating.

Instead, the hero had just sacrificed himself for the woman he loved.

I snapped the book shut hard enough to sting my palms and hurled it across the abandoned store. It struck a display with a sharp crack before falling into a crooked pile of other forgotten stories.

Hot tears spilled down my cheeks. My chest burned with a pain I knew would never go away, no matter how many days passed or how many times I told myself that Keith had saved me. He had made that choice, and I couldn’t argue with it. Not then and not now.

“Whoa!” Luck’s voice echoed through the abandoned bookstore. “What did that book ever do to you?”

I turned toward him. My face felt hot and swollen, and tears clung to my eyelashes. They hadn’t seen me fall apart like this since we’d made it to the mall. I’d cried quietly at night, muffling the sound beneath the blankets, but I’d always managed to pull myself together before morning.

The humor vanished from Luck’s face.

“Spencer, what’s wrong?” His green and blue mismatched eyes widened with worry as he hurried toward me. “Did something happen? Are you hurt?”

I shook my head but made no attempt to stop the tears. There wasn’t much point now that he’d caught me. “Nothing new.” My voice cracked, and I wiped my cheek with the heel of my hand. “Just a tragic ending to a whirlwind romance. It felt a little too much like my life.”