Page 55

I’d let myself care about something that was never meant to last.

Ava stirred, her fingers spreading out where they rested against my stomach. Her breath caught, and she burrowed closer.

A long moment passed before she seemed to remember where she was, then her hand went still. She dragged it out from my hoodie and leaned back, like it had never been there at all.

The blanket dropped into my lap, and the cold flooded in to take its place. I pulled my arm from around her shoulder, missing the closeness before she’d fully moved away from me.

“Morning.” She rubbed her eyes, her voice rough with sleep.

“Morning.”

Across the room, Kirby rolled onto her back and launched into a full-body stretch, throwing in a yawn that bordered on obnoxious.

Ava pushed her braid over her shoulder and smiled. “And so the day begins.”

I flexed my fingers to bring some movement back into them. “Power’s out, too, just to really make your day.”

Her eyes lifted to mine, a little coy, but gaining strength by the second. “At least I got one hot shower.”

Kirby pushed herself upright and repositioned her beanie, taking in Ava’s proximity to me. If she noticed anything about how we’d slept, she kept her thoughts to herself.

“Let’s hit the road early,” she said, yawning again. “I can’t wait to see my māma and bàba today.”

Her voice changed on the last part, but I didn’t comment. I couldn’t even look at Ava and say out loud what we were thinking.

Ava shoved the blanket aside and reached for her shoes. “I just need a minute to make myself feel human again.”

With a groan, I rose to my feet and rolled the stiffness from my shoulders, tipping my head forward, then back.

By the time I’d pulled on the boots I’d picked up in the department store yesterday, Ava and Kirby were already packing away the last of our things. We brushed our teeth, picked up our rubbish, and left the house in the same condition we’d found it.

When we gathered by the back door with our supplies, Ava was holding her axe.

“See ya,” Kirby said to the house.

I followed them outside, and the morning air hit like a wall of ice, colouring Ava’s cheeks pink.

After we’d packed up the car, I headed out to the street and checked for infected. The numbers had risen overnight, just as I’d been expecting. More than a dozen stumbled along the street now, with three or four heading in our direction.

Before I turned away, I stared at the curtains in the house we’d seen yesterday, waiting for them to move again. If the woman appeared in the window, I could give her a nod of thanks.

But the curtain didn’t shift, and we needed to go.

I steeled myself for the next leg of the journey and headed back to the garage.

Fifteen

ava

“Just under four hours from Greensborough.” I sent Kirby a smile. “More than halfway there.”

One minute we were weaving through the main roads in Bellmere, and the next we’d hit open road again.

Paddocks were spread out on either side of us, broken up by fences and clusters of massive trees. Alpacas roamed to the left, and black Angus cows dotted the landscape on the right.

“With the detours and roadblocks, we should be there in…” Kirby paused and checked her invisible watch. “About twelve hours.”

Luke’s grin came and went so fast that I barely caught it. “Appreciate the faith in my driving.”