Find Me (Life After the Outbreak, Book 2) (5 page)

I stepped in front of the group and took a deep breath, knowing that was as good a time as any. "I agree, and I was wrong. The other day, I let my anger and frustration get in the way of my judgment, and I lashed out against one of my group members. It was wrong, and I'm sorry, both to Donna, and to the whole group. I disrespected you all with my behavior, and I hope that I can, in time, make up for how I acted."

"That was very mature of you, Andi. I hope all of you can accept her apology and demonstrate the same level of maturity going forward. Now grab your shit and break into pairs. Andi, can I have a word before we begin?"

She pulled me away from the group by my arm. "That better not have been sarcasm, I swear to --“

"Chill, Janet. It wasn't. I meant every word." I shot her my best innocent puppy dog look.

She shook her head and held back a laugh. "Where on Earth did you come up with that bullshit?"

"You like that? I practiced it like fifty times. I thought about saying it with a proper British accent, but I wasn't sure I could pull it off without laughing."

"You really are the bane of my existence, Andi Sheppard. You know that, don't you?"

"I love you too, Janet."

After dinner, Nurse Sue taught me how to administer injections, start an iv, and do basic wound care. The needles weren't too bad, but green, puss-filled wounds that stunk like rotting flesh, because, well, they were, was a bit more than my stomach could handle. After puking twice, she lost patience with me and had me mop the floors instead.
 

I had an easier day training-wise, but by the time I finished up at the clinic and made it back to my building, I was exhausted. I barely had the energy to climb the stairs to my room.
 

I stuck my key into the lock and pushed the door open just enough to find something blocking the way. For a moment, confusion took over. I peered into the small opening to see what was in the way.

My eyes adjusted as my brain fought to catch up. Will stood in the middle of the room, pulling a shirt over his head, his junk on the floor blocking the door.

"Uh, what’s going on?" I used my new found strength from training to push a large duffle bag and oversized crate out of the way, allowing me entrance into our room.

As soon as his head cleared the opening of the shirt and saw me, one corner of his mouth came up into a crooked smile. He took the two steps toward me and pulled me into his arms, lifting me off the ground. "How was your day?”

He tried to kiss me, but I pulled my head back, suspicious. “Are you going somewhere?”

Will loosened his grip and set my feet back down. “I’m sorry babe. I just got orders. It will be quick. I promise.”

“Can’t someone else go? You’ve been gone more than anyone in your squad.”

“That’s because I have more training and experience than most of the guys in my squad.”

I sighed. Long before I met Will, he had been part of a military group similar to the one we were in. Except that they were crazy and tried to turn children into baby assassins.
 

“I don’t want you to go.”

“I know you don’t. You think I wanna leave you?”

“Maybe.” I pouted.
 

He pulled me back against him and paused, his lips so close to mine that I could feel his breath against them. “If it were up to me, you’d never be out of my sight.” His voice was low and deep. Something about the sound sent my pulse racing and kicked the temperature up a few notches.
 

I had trouble finding my voice, and it came out as a whisper. “How long do you have?”

His eyes traveled over me with excruciating slowness. When they reached my mouth, he stopped and licked over his bottom lip to moisten it. After a pause, his eyes finished their journey and found mine. “Not long enough.”

Nearly every cell in my body screamed out in protest and wanted more. The only part not in agreement was a tiny bit of my brain that was afraid and worried that I wasn’t quite ready for the next step. At least for the time being, the choice was out of my hands. He didn’t have long, and when it did happen, neither of us wanted to rush.

“When’s your guy due back?” Jack laid down his cards and leaned his head back against the wall.

My stomach jumped. I hated to think about it. “Two days ago.”

“Any word?”

“Yesterday morning. They sent word back that it was going to take longer, but that’s it.”

“So that’s why your game is shit tonight.”

I rolled my eyes at the old man. “I won the last hand.”

“I let you. Figured we could use a change up.”

I lifted up his cards and sure enough, he let me win. By a lot. “Sorry. I’m not used to all this worry. It just … consumes me.”

“Yeah.” He closed his eyes for a long moment then opened them again. “Why don’t you take on a full time position here at the infirmary? Skip that military nonsense. Stay where
you
will be safe.”

I really would much rather be there, helping the sick and injured, than outside kicking zombie ass, but I needed to be with Will. “Aww, you gonna miss me when I’m gone?”

“You’re assuming I won’t be gone before you are.”

“According to Nurse Sue, yes. I’ll be done here in a few days. You, on the other hand, still have some time to put in.”

Jack waved his hand through the air between us. “Bah! That crotchety old bitch would keep me in here until I rotted if she could. One of these days, I’m gonna make a break for it when she is in there absorbed in one of her love books.”

I couldn’t help but laugh. Jack wasn’t like anyone I’d ever met. Even through his pessimism, sarcasm, and general negative outlook on life, he brightened my day. I was actually starting to enjoy going over there and helping out. Even more, I liked hanging out with him. Sure, he was a seventy-five year old, one-legged, grumpass, but I couldn’t help but love the old bastard.

Nurse Sue peered around the corner from her office hideaway. “Isn’t it time you left for the evening and let everyone get some rest?”

Everyone but Jack was already asleep, and if he wanted me gone, he had no trouble saying so, but I wasn’t going to argue with her. She enjoyed having me there to help out so she could have some free time, but I knew she didn’t especially like me. I put away the cards and said goodnight to Jack. I wasn’t exactly eager to get back to my room alone, but really, I had nowhere else to go.

I’d gotten used to Will’s warm body next to me at night. Knowing he was there always made me sleep better, although Janet’s insane training schedule helped as well. When he wasn’t there, I tossed and turned all night. It was one thing when he was on night shift, but when he was out on a mission, I worried. Even in my sleep.
 

The bitch gang was on the landing again, and there was no shortage of snickers as I squeezed past the lot of them. They knew they had me. I might be able to kick their asses in a fight, but if I wanted to have more time with Will, I needed to stay out of trouble and finish my training. That meant ignoring them, at least until I graduated the program.

I walked past Hadley’s door and thought about stopping in. She was certainly on the weird side, but she was nice to me and I didn’t have the luxury to be picky about friends. Her light was out, so I decided against it.
 

I used to take for granted that my friends would always be around. Even in the early days of the outbreak, my best friends were there, hidden away safely in my basement. It never even occurred to me then that there would come a time when they’d be gone forever. I had Will and Janet, but it wasn’t the same. I missed having friends.
 

I got maybe two hours of sleep, but I couldn’t wait to get out of bed and do something to keep my mind off Will not being back. I was suddenly grateful for Janet’s grueling, six day a week schedule, and I was up, dressed, and down there, before any of the other girls even finished breakfast.

“Did you knock out another girl?” Janet eyed me with suspicion.

“Of course not. Why?”

“Because most days, you’re the last one to arrive and you act like you’re asleep the first half hour of the session. What’s up?”

“Nothing, geez. Can’t a girl just be excited to get to work?”

Janet raised an eyebrow. “Not when that girl is you.”

One of the military guys that was always hanging around, Derek, called over a quick hi, and Janet turned to wave. Her whole demeanor changed, and she actually smiled a real, genuine smile.

“What’s with that?”

“What?” She was back to her usual self, the smile wiped from existence.

“You like him.” I couldn’t hold back a smile, even though it elicited a death glare from Janet.

“It’s none of your business.”

“Oh. You more than like him. You two are seeing each other.” A mix of happiness for Janet and amusement over her embarrassment bubbled over into a smile that she couldn’t have punched from my face, even though her expression told me she’d like to try.
 

“Seriously, mind your own business.”

“What’s the big deal? Is it a secret?”

Janet dropped her bag and let the air out of her lungs hard. “No. It’s not a secret. It’s just … I don’t know … new. I’m not sure what it is. But yes, if you must know, we’ve been spending time together for a few weeks.”

I had a hard time imagining Janet being a normal girl in a relationship. “How much time?”

Janet tried to hide a hint of a smile but was failing. “Maybe a lot.”

“Does Will know?”

She shrugged. “I don’t know. We don’t really talk about that stuff.”

I glanced back over at Derek, who was still looking in our direction. “You wanna go over and give him a big sloppy kiss or something?”

Janet rolled her eyes. “Are you ever going to grow up?”

“Probably not. It’s one of my endearing qualities.”

“It isn’t.” Janet turned to look at Derek, then back to me.
 

“Maybe he wants something? Ya’ know, in addition to that kiss.”

“I’ll be right back.” Janet huffed and jogged down the hill to talk to Derek.

He wasn’t half bad. Tall, blonde buzz cut, crystal blue eyes, a chest the size of a tank. Even Janet couldn’t ignore how hot the guy was, and from the looks of her, she wasn’t trying. She was looking up at him with big doe eyes and laughing at something he said. Somehow, the idea of Janet talking to a boy and acting like a girl was stranger to me than a virus that left rotting corpses hobbling around eating anything with a pulse.
 

Janet smiled the whole way back over. She didn’t even try to hide it even though I was giving her a goofy smirk.

“I see you got your big sloppy kiss.”

“There’s nothing sloppy about the way he kisses.” Janet tossed a duffle bag at me and composed herself.
 

The other girls were on their way up the hill for training. She might be starting to warm up to the idea of letting her guard down with me a tiny bit, but she was never going to let the other girls in her squad see that side of her. She shot me a look that told me I better not open my mouth in front of the group. I pretended to turn a key in front of my lips to let her know I’d keep quiet. Not that any of those girls were going to strike up a conversation with me anyway.

After training, Janet asked me to stay behind and help her with the equipment. The other girls made their usual comments under their breath, but honestly, they were getting easier to ignore. Sure, I wanted some friends, but if those immature bitches were my only options, I’d rather be alone.

“Maybe you should have asked your boyfriend to help. Derek probably could have carried all this junk with one arm.”

Janet half-smiled. “I’m sure he could have. I figured you could use a little separation with those girls. After the crap they were giving you, I didn’t want you walking down with them.”

“It’s nothing new, Janet. I have to go past them every night when I come home from the infirmary.”

Janet thought for a moment. “How long has this been going on?”

“Oh, about as long as I’ve been here.”

“How come you never mentioned it?”

I shrugged. “I figured you knew. They give me shit through every session. Plus, what are you even going to do about it? You can’t say anything or you’ll make it worse. Like you love to point out, I’m not a kid anymore. I can handle it.”