The Last Legacy (Season 1): Episodes 1-10 (15 page)

Jim lunged around me towards Scarlet with his arm cocked back in a fist. His shoulder hit mine, making me stumble. He took two fast steps, but I grabbed his elbow, tugging him backwards.

“Touch her again, and I’ll kill you,” he seethed through his clenched teeth.
 

 
Tears brimmed at the corners of my eyes.
 

“She left me here to find
you
. She’s a fucking idiot, leaving me here with no protection. I told you he’d be back. So much for having each others backs, huh?” She pointedly looked around Jim and at me. Her eyes lit with fury as her nostrils flared. Her lips set in a straight line as her hands curled and uncurled. The disappointment she had in me ate at me.

“I’m sorry,” I told her sincerely.

“Good.” She nodded and walked to the bed she had made in the aisles. I watched her in silence as she pulled her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms around herself. She didn’t say a thing, just laid there.

“Are you okay?” Jim faced me.
 

“Fine,” I said before he could touch me. Our gazes clashed for the briefest moment—his full of regret. I turned my back to him, not wanting a single bit of it. I knew he wanted to leave. I knew it was his plan.
 

I didn’t want to drag him down. He said he’d stay with me, but how could I believe him? He was gone for at least an hour tonight, had no marks on him, and wasn’t sweaty at all. He planned to leave me. And truthfully, I understood his motives.
 

It didn’t mean I was okay with him. Hell. It fucking tore me apart. Without Jim I’d be dead, or worse. No matter how much self-preservation I had, I couldn’t shake the feeling of guilt that sat like a rock in my stomach. I’d probably die if he left me, but at least I wouldn’t be killing him, too.
 

“Lana, I’m sorry, okay?” His hand grazed the back of my shoulder, and I flinched. I still couldn’t see him.

“It’s fine. I don’t care.” I shook my head, fighting my emotions from surfacing. Something was wrong with me. Why was I letting these stupid feelings get the best of me? It was all too much. I stepped away from him, but he pulled me back.

“I know that you do care,” he said as he spun me around. I refused to look up at him, so I fiddled with my jacket zipper, staring at it like it was the most interesting thing ever.

“Let’s just pretend I don’t.” I crossed my arms over my chest and sighed, now staring at Jim’s untied boots.

“Give me a chance to explain myself, at least.” He placed his hand on my shoulder. His touch was soft and gentle, and I let it stay this time.

“There’s nothing to explain, Jim.” I looked up at him, trying to keep my emotions from showing. I bit my tongue to stop the tears from dropping. I was exhausted; that must have been why I was so emotional. “You don’t want to be here, and I don’t want to force you. So go. Live alone like you want.”
 

“I’m not leaving.”
 

My stomach fluttered. It’s not like I wanted him to go, but at the same time, I didn’t want to force him to stay. I was confused. Nothing would make this right. None of this was right.
 

I couldn’t figure out what exactly he wanted. One minute he sat there kissing me, protecting me, promising me that he’d keep me safe. The next he ran, trying to get free, or telling me to shut up since I made living hard on him. I constantly experienced mental whiplash.

I didn’t know how to make this fair, and it frustrated me beyond belief. I could always get myself out of trouble, coming up with some way to fix everything, even if that meant starting fresh. But this—this I didn’t know how to control.
 

“Well, then.” I paused, licking my lower, cracked lip. “I’m going to take a nap.” I broke our connection, his hand falling off my shoulder. I didn’t mean to, but I looked back and saw his face fall. He pinched the bridge of his nose, his forehead wrinkling.

I walked towards the chip section and pulled the moveable rack so that it blocked the end of the aisle near the broken window. I grabbed my bag of goodies and shoved it under my head, using it as a makeshift pillow.

I shut my eyes, but tension radiated through my system. Thoughts of Jim kept me awake, forcing my mind to spin. I still didn’t want him to leave Scarlet and me. And not just because he could protect us. I felt safer with him, but also like I had a meaning. I trusted him. There was a future with him by my side. It didn’t make sense, but I wasn’t going to deny my feelings.

My thoughts consumed me until I felt his body behind me. I peeked open one of my eyes and just barely saw him crouch. I froze. He laid beside me and wrapped one arm over my midsection, his fingers dangling dangerously close to the hem of my tee.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered.
 

I didn’t respond at first. “Where did you go?” I asked him. His body tensed behind mine.
 

“I was outside. I did get stuck in the library but I snuck out down the side street. I just stood outside this station, debating what to do. I walked down the road. I only made it a few minutes before I started to second-guess myself.”

“You were leaving.” I shook my head as tears fell.
 

He nodded. “But I came back. I couldn’t do it. If something happened to you because of me, I don’t think I could live with it. So I ran back here and stood outside the doors for a little while.”

“Is it because I’m not as strong as you?” I whispered.

“No, Lana,” he said. His arms twisted me around so our foreheads nearly touched. I bent my knees and tucked my hands under my head. “I just don’t do well with people. Even before. I like being alone, relying only on myself. It’s just me.”

“I’ll try really hard to keep up better. I promise.”

“Lana,” Jim cut me off. “It’s not you, at all. Trust me. It’s me. If it really was you, I’d have been gone by now.” His hand ran across my forehead, brushing the fallen, sweaty hair back.
 

“Are you really staying now? You won’t leave?”

“I’m not leaving,” he said, his eyes connecting with mine. I nodded, believing what he said. I turned back around, my back to his front. His hands stilled around my waist.
 

I grabbed his hands and laced my fingers with his, reveling in his warmth. For the first time since the bombings, I slept deeply. Jim’s body guarded my mind, keeping my nightmares at bay. No red eyes haunted me. No eaters invaded my dreams.
 

“I totally knew you two were hooking up.”
 

I groaned as Scarlet’s whiney voice echoed in the otherwise quiet room. I squinted my eyes against the soft yellow light of the morning, and there she was, standing over me, her shadow hiding me.

“Shut it, will you?” I hushed my voice so Jim wouldn’t wake. I carefully unwounded myself from his constricting arms and rolled over on my side. He groaned and reached for me, but I army-crawled away, maneuvering around the moving rack.
 

“So, what’s the deal?” Scarlet whispered as I stood up at the end of the aisle. My entire body spasmed with even the most subtle movements. It was pure misery.

“First, you hit me in the fucking face last night,” I growled as I pressed my hand against my sore cheek. It probably had a nice red mark over my cheek bone. I wouldn’t just let it go, no matter if she had reason or not. Plus, everything hurt and I had so much anger pent up inside me, I had to unleash it.
 

“You deserved it. I know you don’t know me, but you left me to die in here. You promised you’d have my back.” She put her hands on her hips and glared.
 

“Well, I expect an apology.” I mimicked her stance.
 

“Fine,” she grunted, rolling her eyes at me. “Sorry for hitting you, even though you totally deserved it and didn’t listen to what I said. But I shouldn’t have hit you. So, sorry.”

I let it go. “Thanks.”

“We good?” she asked with a cock of her head.

I nodded.

“I hate being a third wheel, by the way.” She pointed at Jim. He lay surrounded by bags of chips, his mouth wide open.
 

“We’re not anything.” I shook my head.

“He held onto you like he wanted some of that Lana cake.”

I twisted my hair into a tight bun on the top of my head. I wiped my eyes with the heel of my hand, getting the crust out. I didn’t want to address her accusations. Truth was, it made me uncomfortable, because I had nothing to say back.

“I can’t deal with you this early.”
 

“Well, maybe you should. Did you forget that I have the car?” She lifted up a single key on a ring and twirled it on her middle finger. I did forget. I smiled as I watched her spin the ring around and around.
 

“Where is it?” I asked as I reached onto the bottom shelf and grabbed a bag of sour cream and onion chips. I threw two into my mouth, savoring the salt, but almost instantly, my tongue dried. I needed a drink.
 

“Hold on,” I said as I placed the chips on the rack. I had to go to the bathroom, bad. I ran near the back of the cash register and found the bathroom door. My heart thumped loud at the shut door like a warning.

I quietly turned the handle and pulled the door open just a crack, peeking inside. The mini room that could barely hold a person was empty. I gagged as the wretched smell from the room assaulted me. I slammed the door shut fast and caught my breath.
 

Shit. I pulled my shirt up and over my nose and held my breath as I ran into the bathroom and squatted over the used toilet. Luckily, there a roll of toilet paper sat on the sink. Not that it made me feel any cleaner. Nothing worked anymore.
 

Still holding my breath, I shut the lid. My eyes glassed over with tears brought on by the smell. I ran out of the room and shut the door, gasping for air as I pressed my back to it.
 

Scarlet laughed as I walked back to my chips. I shoved a few in my mouth, urging her to continue with what we were talking about. I shook my head and sniffed the bag of chips. They smelled much better than the bathroom.

She nodded towards the front window. “My car’s at the front of the lot.”

“Does it still work?” I asked with a mouthful.

“I think so.” But then she pursed her lips. “We should check.”
 

I looked out the front window. There weren’t any eaters out there, only the dead carcasses of the ones Jim and I had to kill yesterday when we found the gas station.
 

“Let me get the gun,” I said. I finished off the bag of chips—discarding it to the floor—and then tiptoed over to my sleeping nook. Jim still laid on my bag, so I tried not to move him. I grabbed the handgun which was luckily on the top and followed Scarlet out the back door.
 

Since there weren’t any eaters out there, and all we were doing was checking out the car, I figured we didn’t need Jim. I could handle it. Plus, he deserved to sleep a little since once we left, he’d be back in control.
 

Scarlet cracked the door open and looked out, then stepped outside, holding the door for me. We walked around the side of the building. I fingered the trigger of the gun, ready to use it at the first sign of danger.

“There it is,” she said as she pointed to a cherry red Nissan Xterra. With a glance around the parking lot again, I saw we were completely alone. I nodded to her, and we ran to the truck, our steps in unison with each other.
 

“Do it as quiet as possible,” I said as we stopped near the driver’s side door.
 

“It’s an engine. Kind of impossible.” She rolled her eyes and smiled at me. We needed a lookout so I walked towards the back of the car and sat on the bumper, looking up and down the road to make sure we wouldn’t get surprised.

Some eaters in the distance walked towards the library. In the yellowish lighting, I couldn’t see all the way down the road. Another grouping of eaters shuffled outside of a building closer to us.
 

 
“This is probably a bad time…” Scarlet muttered from inside of the car. “But did I mention I have a sister?”

“No,” I said. I could hear the motive behind her words. She had to have had some sort of angle or else there’d be no purpose to her telling me this. I turned and looked at her through the back tinted window. “Why?”

“Well, there’s a condition to you guys using my car.”

“I would have never guessed.” I shook my head and leaned against the back door of the car. A throb began to vibrate from my temples.

“I just want to go to her house and get her. I promise, it’s not even far. Like a thirty minute drive. Tops.”

“I hate to break it to you, but she’s probably not there anymore.” I felt bad for the hard tone in my voice, but it was true. If she had been at her house, I doubted she just stayed. Although, that had been my plan before I knew how bad the world was becoming. I could find Jean if we moved south.

“I spoke to her the day we got attacked. She said she’d wait for me there and wouldn’t leave. I’m not kidding. Please. Do you have siblings?”