Dead Endz (20 page)

I’d tried not to think about losing other members of my family and now that she’d brought it up, I felt the too familiar gnawing ache of loss. I nodded. “Yeah, of course I wonder.”

“Then come back to Minnesota with me. We’ll see if my dad made it and look for the rest of your family.”

I let out a ragged breath. “It’s just so dangerous, though. I can’t put Allie through a trip like that.”

“Leave her here.”

“She’d never agree to that.”

“Don’t tell her. Leave her a note and let her know we’ll be back.”

I was so torn. I loved my grandparents dearly and if they were alive, they probably needed us as much as we needed them. I was just afraid of leaving Allie now, especially with her fragile state of mind.

“Let me think about it.”

“I’m leaving, early tomorrow morning. Whether you’re coming or not.”

I sighed. “What about Billie?”

Her eyes narrowed. “What
about
Billie?”

“I know you guys are… friends.”

“Actually, I mentioned that I might be going back to Minnesota and he flipped out.”

“I can’t imagine why…” I answered with a wry smile.

She rubbed her forehead. “He thinks it’s too dangerous, too. Billie said the odds of me finding my dad was pretty astronomical.”

I tended to agree. Once her dad found his mother’s house empty, if he made it, he’d probably move on. Even if he was in Minnesota, the chance of them meeting up
was
astronomical.

“I still have to think about it,” I said.

“Tell you what,” she said, heading towards the door. “Meet me right here at seven o’clock tomorrow morning if you’re coming. If you’re not here, then I’ll take off by myself.”

Chapter Thirty-Four

I went upstairs to our suite, my head swimming with horrifying images of my grandparents fending off zombies. The thought of them being mauled by the undead or dealing with thieves was terrifying.

Don’t think about it, don’t think about it, don’t think about it….

I groaned; now I couldn’t
stop
thinking about it. Were any of them alive? Were they struggling to survive while I was currently living in a swanky hotel with a luxury mattress and a working generator? We had food, water, and weapons. Did they even have a safe place to sleep, anymore?

“Hey pup,” I smiled when Goldie jumped up to my knees as I entered the room. I bent down and stroked behind her ears while she seemed to smile back at me.

“Cassie!” shrieked Allie, coming out of her bedroom followed by Kylie and Luke.

Luke?!

A teenaged boy in her room!
We definitely needed to talk
…

“Guess what? You have a package!”

Good grief, I hadn’t seen this much emotion in her face forever. I guess she was definitely feeling better. “A package?”

“It’s from Bryce,” said Kylie.

There was a large white box labeled “Macy’s” with a purple bow sitting on my mattress when I entered my bedroom. I pulled off the top of the box and smiled; a short black and silver cocktail dress with a pair of high heels. When I saw the designer names and the correct sizes, I smiled. Paige must have had a hand in this.

“Oh my God!” gushed my sister, who’d followed me. “It’s gorgeous! He must really have the hots for you!”

I laughed. “It’s my birthday and we’re having dinner tonight.”

Allie’s face fell. “Oh, God… I totally didn’t even realize it was your birthday. I don’t have anything to give you.”

I put my arm around her and looked into her blue eyes. “You’ve already given me my present,” I said. “The fact that you’re dealing with mom and dad’s death is the best gift ever.”

Her eyes filled with tears. “But I’m not really dealing with it,” she said. “I’m just trying to not think about it.”

“That’s okay for now,” I said. “Just don’t block it out completely.”

She nodded.

“I wonder how Bryce knew it was my birthday,” I said, holding the dress up.

“Paige, probably,” said Allie. Paige’s birthday and mine were only four days apart. She’d just had hers four days before and we’d shared a bottle of champagne in her room. We’d snuck it, only because we didn’t know how Kristie would have reacted. Neither of us had anticipated the wicked headaches afterward.

“That would explain the clothes, too,” I said.

“Um, is it okay if Kylie stays overnight in our suite?” asked Allie.

“As long as it’s
jus
t Kylie.”

Her eyes narrowed. “Who else would it be?”

“Listen,” I said. “I know things are crazy right now but it’s not cool having any boys in your bedroom.”

“Oh, you mean Luke?” she said.

“Oh…that would be the one,” I replied sarcastically.

“He’s just a friend.”

“He’s also going on fifteen and you look like you’re the same age,” I said. “I don’t want him getting any ideas.”

It was true, Allie had developed early and she’d earned many interested looks from boys much older than her. It used to drive our dad c
razy
.

“Whatever,” she replied. “You don’t have to worry about me.”

“I hope not,” I muttered.             

The truth of the matter was that I didn’t know if I could handle being her guardian. She was a handful, even for my parents. Headstrong and very independent for someone so young. Another reason to have my grandparents around. She always listened to them.

“Sit down,” I said, patting my comforter. “I want to talk to you about something.”

She rolled her eyes. “I already know about the birds and the bees. Don’t even go there.”

I smiled. “No. Listen, Nora is going back to Minnesota to find her dad and I was thinking about trying to find our grandparents.”

Her eyes opened wide. “Do you think they’re alive?”

“Truthfully, I have no idea. But I think it might be worth a shot to find out.”

“I’m going, too,” she said.

I shook my head. “No, way! It’s too dangerous. I’m even having a hard time talking myself into taking this trip.”

“But you can’t leave me behind!” she shrieked.

“Shush…” I said. “It’s a secret. If anyone finds out, they won’t let me go.”

“You’re eighteen now.”

“Tell that to Bryce.
He’d
never let me go. He’d try and talk me out of it.”

“Maybe he’d go with?”

“Maybe, if he didn’t have Bobby. But Bobby really needs him and if anything ever happened to Bryce, I’d never forgive myself. Bobby doesn’t have anyone else.”

“What if something happens to you?” she whined. “You expect me to let you go alone? Well, I have nobody else now either, do I? You can’t leave me.”

I was afraid of that. She’d feel abandoned and I didn’t want to just disappear without talking to her first.

“Well, we wouldn’t leave for a few days, anyway,” I lied.

She grabbed my arm. “You are
not
going to leave me behind,” she said. “Promise me.”

“I’m not promising anything,” I said. “There’s no way you’re going to take that trip. It’s much too dangerous. I mean, come on Allie! I’ve been trained in the marital arts and can fire a gun. You’d just be someone I’d have to keep worrying about. You’re better off waiting here, with Kylie and her family. They’d take great care of you and you’d be safe.”

“Don’t you dare go without me,” she snapped, ignoring everything I’d just said. “I mean it.”

“Let’s just talk about this another time. Bryce is going to be coming by in less than an hour and I have to get ready.”

Allie stared at me for a minute and then stormed out of my room. There was no way she was going to allow me to leave without her. That’s why she could never know about tomorrow morning and the fact that I’d already made up my mind.

Chapter Thirty-Five

I went downstairs to a little store in the hotel and located a new razor, vanilla scented shower gel, and makeup. Since it was my birthday and the last time I’d be seeing Bryce for a while, I wanted to look extra special.

“Fancy meeting you here,” said Billie, entering the store.

“Oh, I’m just picking up some things.”

He looked at my pile of beauty supplies in the basket and raised his eyebrows. “Big night?”

I laughed. “Well, it’s my birthday.”

His jaw dropped. “It’s your birthday? Seriously?”

I nodded. “Yeah.”

He smiled. “What are you twenty-one, now?”

Billie knew how old I was. We’d discussed it on our road trip awhile back. “I feel seventy-one.”

He lowered his voice. “Watch how loud you say that. Old Henry might hear and ask you for a date.”

“Henry doesn’t date anyone over sixty,” I laughed.

He chuckled. “True.”

“What are you doing here?”

He smiled. “Well, you had your chance with me Wild but you lost out. I hate to break this to you, but I’m totally crushing on someone else now. And you know what? I can honestly say that I haven’t felt like this for in a long time.”

“Oh, I already know all about it,” I said.

He raised his eyebrows. “How? I just figured it out myself.”

“Come on, I saw the way you and Nora have been flirting with each other. Or rather how you’ve been flirting and she’s been kicking your ass.”

He burst out laughing. “Kicking my ass? Hell, that’s only because I let her!”

“Yeah, right.”

“Seriously though, I am totally digging her and I guess…she scares the hell out of me.”

“Well, she scares a lot of people.”

He nodded. “She’s pretty intense. I just don’t know how she feels about me.”

“Personally, I think she likes you. If I were you, though, I’d tell her your feelings.”

He scratched his head. “That might be dangerous.”

“Oh, I think you can handle it. By the way, I’m seriously happy for you.”

“Thanks. Well, I’d better get what I came for. How about a happy birthday hug?”

I nodded and he pulled me into his arms. “Thanks again for coming to our rescue,” I murmured.

He pulled back slightly and smiled. “You’re welcome. I’m glad we made it in time.”

“Oh, sorry,” muttered Nora from the entrance of the store. “I had no idea you two were alone in here.”

I groaned inside. Billie still had his arms around me and it must have looked a little intimate. We separated.

“Billie was just giving me a birthday hug.”

She snorted. “Hey, don’t get all weirded out because of me. It’s none of my business if you guys have something going.”

My jaw dropped. “Are you kidding?’

Billie walked over to Nora, whose eyes blazed with betrayal. “Nora, nothing else was going on in here.”

“Seriously,” I said.

She shrugged. “You know what? It’s none of my business, anyway. Listen, I have to fly,” she said backing away. She then turned and ran off.

“You’d better go and talk to her,” I said.

He released a heavy sigh. “Yeah, looks that way. Catch you later.”

When I got back to the suite, Allie, Kylie, Paige, and Kristie were all waiting for me with different expressions.

“What’s going on here?” I asked.

“Well I heard a rumor that you’re thinking about taking a little trip,” said Kristie with a stern look.

My jaw dropped. “Allie? What did you go and blab it to everyone?”

“No, just these guys,” she said looking a little hurt.

“You can’t be serious about going back to Minnesota?” asked Kristie. “That’s crazy.”

I sighed. “Nora’s going to look for her father and wanted to know If I’d come with. I mean, our grandparents might be alive and suffering by themselves back there.”

“It’s suicide to go back there,” said Kristie. “Especially a couple of young girls.”

“We can take care of ourselves.”

“Normally, yeah. But not when there are zombies and thieves lurking in the streets. You can’t possibly do this.”

“Well, I haven’t made up my mind,” I said.

“If you’re going,” said Paige with a triumphant smile, “I’m coming with.”

“The hell you are!” hollered Kristie. “Jesus, what’s gotten into everyone?”

“Cassie’s my best friend and she saved my ass from Marcus and those other fools. I’m not letting her do this alone. Besides, I’m eighteen now. I can do what I want.”

Kristie sighed and ran her hands over her face. “This is ridiculous.”

“Listen,” I said, looking at the clock. “I have a date in less than forty minutes. I need to take a shower and get ready. Can we just talk about this tomorrow?” Plus I’d be long gone. I wasn’t about to risk Paige’s life either.

“Oh, we will,” said Kristie. “You can count on it.”

“Don’t worry, Cassie,” said Paige, squeezing my shoulder. “I’ve been practicing my karate kicks and strikes. I also got myself a new bat. We’ll kick some zombie ass all the way back to the Midwest! It’ll be so much….fun!” She giggled. “Road trip!!!”

“Lord, help me,” mumbled Kristie. “I’m going to have a real nervous breakdown this time.”

“Let’s talk about it tomorrow,” I repeated. Or they could discuss it when I was long gone. 

“Just don’t make any foolish decisions until we talk about it,” said Kristie.

“I hear you.”

“And don’t do anything I wouldn’t do on that date of yours,” said Kristie with a little grin.

“That’s opening up a world of possibilities, mom,” said Paige, dryly.

Chapter Thirty-Six

I studied myself in the mirror and smiled. I didn’t look half bad, especially with Allie’s help. She’d applied most of my makeup and teased my hair into a wavy loose up-do. I actually felt like I was going to the prom.

“You look so pretty,” gushed my sister. “And I love that dress on you. You
have
to let me borrow it, someday.”

“When you’re eighteen,” I said. “It’s a little over the top for a twelve year old.”

“I’m almost thirteen,” she reminded me for the umpteenth time.

“Oh, pardon me.”

It
was
a sexy dress. It fit me like a glove and shimmered when I walked. Allie had actually made me twirl for her a half dozen times. When I almost fell over wearing the heels, both of us had burst out laughing.