Surge (75 page)

“Jared, open this fucking door right the fuck now!” Cory shouts.

I jolt out of a sound sleep at the sound of the asshole’s raised voice. Olivia sits up quickly, and immediately winces as her neck protests the movement. She breathes through the pain, but motions for me to get the door. I slide out of the bed and stomp to the door. Flipping the lock, I swing it open and scowl at the bastard on the other side. Make that
bastards
, since he isn’t alone. I up my scowl to encompass Cory, Akio and Whitney. Further down the hallway, I see several more pairs of eyes peering from the stairs, so I flip them off.

“Well?” My voice is still scratchy from sleep, but I can tell they heard it, since I see Cory’s furious expression harden even more. “What the fuck do you want?”

“To check on Olivia,” Cory hisses through his teeth.

“She was fine until you woke her up, you asshole,” I say. Cory clenches his fists.

“I wouldn’t have had to wake her, if you let Akio do his fucking job, you prick,” he retorts. “Instead, you decided to secret her away when she wasn’t even cleared. Do you know that her lungs could be filled with blood right now?” My breath freezes in my throat and Cory nods. “That’s right, since you’re an impatient douchebag, Olivia’s lungs could be collapsing as we speak, so get the fuck out of the way,
now
.”

My feet are already moving before his growl finishes the warning. I grab Akio’s arm and literally drag him over to the bed. Olivia witnesses my mistreatment of her doctor, so she scowls and motions out chastisements at me, but I barely pay attention to them. Instead, I take a page from Carlos’s book and point at Olivia.

“Fix Olivia now.”

Akio ignores me, as he very deliberately snaps his gloves in place, then his stethoscope. I’m just about to tackle him for being a spiteful bastard, when he turns to Olivia.

“Any pain?” Akio asks. Olivia makes a so-so motion, to which he nods. “And your breathing? Does it feel congested like you’re going to cough something up as you would with a cold?”

Olivia shakes her head as Akio lifts the chest piece and places it on her back. He makes those
‘um-hm’
noises that can be good, or could be a sign that he doesn’t like whatever he’s hearing. Akio moves the chest piece around and listens to both her back and chest in various places, before standing upright. Tilting her chin, he runs his fingers along my patch job and feels under her jaw. Nodding, he steps back and turns to address the tense room.

“Her lungs sound fine,” he announces and there’s a collective sigh of relief. “Tell me immediately if she’s struggling to take a breath, or if she starts choking.”

Akio says the last bit with a pointed look at me. I nod, but it’s not necessary. If Olivia does either of those things, I’m kicking in the Doc’s door; regardless of the time of day, to hand deliver her to his care. Akio and Whitney leave, but not Cory.

Oh no, big brother has instilled himself in
my
spot on the bed. After experiencing this same treatment multiple times over the past few days, I know how to deal with it. Instead of forcibly removing him, I take up my position on her other side to make an Olivia sandwich. Ignoring Cory’s glare, I snatch hold of Olivia’s hand and lace the tiny fingers with my own.

“You don’t have to stay,” Cory says casually. As with before, I know how to handle this too.

“No, I don’t
have
to,” I agree. “I
want
to, but if you feel duty bound to stay here, feel free to leave. I’ve got it covered.” His glare turns even icier if that were possible, but I couldn’t care less. I’m not here to argue with him, I’m here to make sure Olivia’s alright, so I turn my attention away from him, and to her. “Do you want to try some more water?”

Olivia nods her head slightly, so I reach onto the nightstand to grab her bottle. Handing it to her, she takes a good half dozen of small sips before wincing and giving it back to me. Cory eyes her like a hawk, seeing each grimace as she swallows, he glares at them as if his fierce countenance will frighten them into submission. Olivia catches him scowling, so she rubs his arm and leans over to coddle him as if he were the one going through pain. Tucking the giant Vet into her chest, she pats his hair back and kisses his brow. This is what I was talking about, her comforting people when she’s the one who should be comforted.

“Do you need anything else, Olivia?” I ask. She shakes her head and motions for me to go eat, so I give her a head shake of my own. “Not until you do.” Olivia points at her mouth, and waves a finger to say she isn’t hungry. “You have to be hungry, you haven’t eaten anything in days.” I point at her gaunt cheeks that have sunken in.

“She will,” Cory insists. His voice is slightly muffled from laying on Olivia’s comfy chest, but his tone brooks no arguments. “Why don’t you head downstairs and whip something up for her? That soup you made the other night wasn’t half bad, but just give her the broth. I don’t think she could handle solids yet.”

I glance at Cory’s form sprawled on top of Olivia. I know that he’s more than capable of tending to her needs while I go cook, but his eyes are closed, and he looks like he might slack on his duties and nap instead.

“Alright,” I agree. “But you better not fall asleep on her, or I’ll kick your ass.”

“As if, King Kong,” he retorts. Cory’s been switching back and forth between calling me
‘Freddy Krueger’
and ‘
King Kong’
since my panic attack, so I’m used to it by now. Besides, he’s still Betty Crocker regardless of his sucky baking skills. “I can take care of my sister just fine, thank you very much, and you couldn’t kick my ass even if I tied my hands behind my back.”

“Fine, GI Joe, you stay here and watch after my second best friend,” I tell Cory and see Olivia smile. “While I go cook her something simple with a ton of calories, before she withers away.”

Seeing Cory’s nod, I lean over him to kiss Olivia’s forehead, ignoring the pinch the bastard gives me on my stomach for squishing him. Tough shit, if he didn’t want to be squeezed, then he shouldn’t have gotten between Olivia and me. Leaving the bed, I grab my backpack on the way out since I might as well sneak a shower in while I’m gone so I don’t have to leave Olivia’s bedside again. Continuing down the hallway, I see Tommy’s door is still closed on the end. I make note to visit him today, since I don’t think Olivia will be up for it, and jog down the stairs.

<~~~<~~~
~~~>~~~
>

“She okay?” John asks from the living room.

I stop in to answer him, finding that the room is filled with a majority of the others, all of which are looking to me for a status on Olivia’s condition. Sarah’s hand is frozen mid pat on Morris’s back, which he’s peeved about, but she doesn’t notice since she’s busy staring at me. Danny’s sitting on the opposite side of her with a similar expression, as are the twins from their position on the floor near John. The three of them are centered around the strewn supplies on the floor, varying from weapons, to first aid, tools, ammo, and suspiciously; a great deal of food.

“Where’d the food come from?” I ask and point at the stack. Three male faces blank, as if that doesn’t wave a red flag. “Okay, you obviously made a supply run.” Slight nods confirm my obvious statement. “What else have you been up to behind my back? Building moats, digging underground tunnels, experiments in the basement?”

“No to all of the above,” Oscar answers.

“But we did implement Tommy’s idea with the van’s windows,” Carlos adds.

“And clean the inside,” John says. “It looks brand new and doesn’t smell like blood or decay anymore.”

“And the supplies came from where?” I repeat the question, because I know that they’re stalling in hopes that I’ll forget. Yeah, no way that’s happening. They not only left me behind, they purposely left me out of the loop entirely. And it ticks me off since wherever it is that they went, must have been close, or I would have noticed their prolonged absence; and I could have definitely handled a quick supply run.

“There’s a town up the road,” Danny replies this time, so I turn to face him.

“You went too?” I ask and he nods. “When the fuck did the four of you sneak out together? And how the hell did I miss it?”

“We didn’t go together,” John says. “We went hunting in pairs, and just so happened to stumble upon the town down the road, and we somehow managed to squeeze in a trip or two to grab some supplies. So, really, we just killed two birds with one stone.” Sarcastic prick.

“Okay, so you deliberately misguided me, and left me out of the loop, why exactly?” I demand as I cross my arms. In response, their eyes all travel to my burns.

“We didn’t want you hurt anymore,” Sarah says quietly. My eyes flash to meet hers.

“You mean to tell me, that you went with them?” My voice is quiet, but can’t be taken as anything other than furious. Sarah’s hazel eyes widen, as she shakes her head rapidly.

“No, I didn’t go anywhere besides the backyard with Whitney,” she replies. “And only then so we could hang clean clothes on the line, and always with one of the boys keeping watch.”

“We wouldn’t have taken her with us,” John hisses at me. “Jesus Christ, Jared, how could you even think that I would put Sarah in danger again? She may not be related by blood, but she’s my sister just as well as yours!” John’s heaving out angry breaths, and glaring at me by the end. Obviously, he took offense, and rightly so. He’d never willingly put Sarah in a dangerous position, especially after the loss of his girls. I hold out my hands to show that I didn’t mean it; he waves it away and balls his fists.

“I didn’t mean to offend you,” I begin carefully. “I’m just a tad stressed as it is, and wasn’t thinking. I know you wouldn’t do anything that could harm Sarah.” John nods, but his body’s still tense. “And I’ve been preoccupied with Olivia, so I’m sorry, and I’ll try to do better.”

“You’re doing fine,” John huffs out. The twins, Danny and Sarah nod their agreement.

“I want to do better,” I insist. “This isn’t a monarchy, if you have suggestions, say them. I never asked to be head honcho, but somehow I am. So, could you please help me out by sharing your schemes, and keep me informed from now on?”

“Fine,” they agree in unison.

“But you can start,” Carlos says.

“How’s Olivia, and don’t give us some bull shit answer,” Oscar orders.

“Her tube caused some bleeding, so we have to monitor her for a couple of days,” I say, giving it to them straight. “Akio thinks she’ll be fine, but I doubt he’ll tell you anything, since he’s still wound up in that damn Hippo law.”

“And you?” Sarah asks. “Will you be alright?”

Seeing her worried frown tears me up inside, so I crouch down in front of her and take hold of her hand. It’s bigger than Olivia’s, and pisses me off that I haven’t done this before. I usually left John to deal with comforting her, but she’s my sister too, and I should have manned up and been there for more than just a courtesy check.

“I’m fine, Rah-rah,” I say and see her give me a watery smile at the childhood nickname our Dad gave her. Usually, I just call her PITA, so I make note to use the silly name more often, since she seems to like it more. Not to mention if our parents were still alive, she would still be their little princess
‘Rah-rah.’

“Really?” Sarah asks uncertainly.

In response, I pull her in for a bear hug. I’ve hugged Sarah a handful of times in the past few months, before supply runs, after the raid, when she punched Kelly, but I can’t remember a single time where I hugged her just because. And before the infestation, I only recall forced hugs between us on holidays for pictures.

I know, I suck at being a big brother. But I’m learning, the thanks belonging to Olivia. Me wanting to be a better man for her, makes a better man for all, especially to my baby sister. Like now I know that there’s more to taking care of Sarah than making sure she’s safe, clothed and fed. She has to be happy, and I’ll be making sure that she is from now on. And if Danny does, I might begrudge the gangly bastard a spot our family circle. Maybe.

Pulling back from Sarah, I give a noogie to her curly head to show that I’m not completely soft. Sure, I can be more sensitive to her feelings, but I still am an older sibling, so teasing comes with the territory. And she knows it, since Sarah gives me a mock scowl, but can’t bite back the smile that breaks through.

Standing upright, I see Danny watching me suspiciously, like I’m a wolf in sheep’s clothing. Can’t really blame the kid, since I mostly snap at him, and I did break his nose just a few weeks back. You can even see that it’s now slightly crooked on the bridge, and instead of feeling masculine pride at the evidence, I feel disgusted with myself for losing my temper over a mistake and punching a minor. Remembering my earlier promise to apologize, I choose now to make good on it. I stick my hand out to Danny, and want to punch myself in the face when he flinches. I leave it out there, but he just stares at it.

“I’m sorry,” I say. Danny looks even more startled by that, so I explain my baffling actions. “I’m sorry for punching you, if there were a jail still operating, I’d throw myself in it. You’re just a kid and you made a mistake, but I lost my temper, and even that’s no excuse for my childish actions. I’m sorry for every name that I might have called you, I would name them, but I don’t think that I can recall them all.” That earns a few chuckles from behind me, but I ignore them in favor of continuing my long overdue conversation with the young man in front of me. “And I want to thank you for taking care of Sarah. I know I’ve been asshole to you, but I’ve noticed that you don’t let that affect how you treat her. You’ve comforted and protected her, sometimes even more than I have, so thanks.”