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I sat up with a start and looked around. I was disoriented for a moment and had to catch my bearings. Ella and Nadia were perched on the end of the bed, and Jemmy and Rachel were in my doorway. Everyone looked too…well, awake.
I looked down at my watch and groaned. It was only eleven. I hadn’t fallen asleep until nine. We had to process all the teens, and I wanted to ensure that the few people that got injured were mending before I went to bed.
When I returned to the apartment, I immediately crashed into bed with Jace. I reached back to touch him but was surprised to find his spot empty beside me.
“He’s already up and gone,” Jemmy stated smugly. “Get up, get dressed, let’s bounce. We got shopping to do.”
“I’m hungry,” Ella said plaintively.
“Me too!” Nadia exclaimed loudly.
“I need a shower,” I groaned, smelling the faint smell of smoke on me. “Can you give me thirty minutes? Go grab a snack from the DFAC, and I’ll meet you there.”
“We can find a snack here,” Jemmy said with a shrug.
“No, you can’t,” I stood up stretching. “We’re pretty much wiped out of everything in both apartments. Between Kade, Micah, and Patrick, all the food disappears. We need to go grocery shopping.”
“We need to go real shopping. Christmas is less than one month away, and we have a large shopping list,” Rachel demanded with exaggeration.
“The boys can go tomorrow when they go shopping,” Jemmy volunteered.
“We can squeeze in grocery shopping today,” I said with a feigned eyeroll. “Has anyone even thought about the logistics of Christmas shopping? We have no room to put everything as it is.”
“My Dad’s taken care of that,” Victoria said quietly as she stepped forward.
I was surprised to see the teen behind Jemmy and Rachel.
“Her Dad was called back to Washington,” Rachel said. “And her caretaker won’t be hear until Monday. My Dad volunteered to watch her until her people were in place. But let’s be real,” Rachel scoffed. “No teenage girl wants to hang out with my Dad and brother if they can go out shopping.”
“Awesome,” I said genuinely. I could understand her angst. I could see how she could struggle with this. I wanted her to feel more comfortable here. “What’s your Dad working on?” I asked Victoria.
“He’s insisting that the family units get more room. Did you know that there are floors below us that are completely empty? Did you know that there’s a passage that connects to the adjoining mountain that is completely empty? It’s identical to this facility. Originally when they built this, it was supposed to house close to fifteen hundred people, and we’re only at twenty percent of the room utilized,” Victoria explained, and I realized after one day, the boys had already helped her shed some of her prickly shell.
I was aware that there were plenty of floors not being utilized. I just hadn’t realized to what magnitude. The boys had already found those levels but were disappointed to find them all empty. With the exception of the ground floor, nothing else was used. I was completely unaware of an additional passage to another mountain, though.
“Well, that will be nice,” Jemmy said enthusiastically. “I think Sierra and I finally got Gavin to commit to moving in as a…family.”
“Oh yeah?” I said with a smile. “That’s awesome for you guys!”
Jemmy nodded, a small shadow crossing her face. “It’s a step in the right direction.”
“Well, if you want to get some shopping done, maybe you should let me get in that shower,” I said reluctantly as I looked longingly at the bed again.
“Can we get some food?” Ella whined.
“Yes, you little heathen,” Rachel joked. “Let’s get some food. Thirty minutes and we’ll be back.” Rachel ushered the girls out of the room and out of the apartment.
“Thanks,” I yawned loudly as I padded over to the hallway closet.
I grabbed my clothing and threw it into Noah and Jaxson’s room. I fully expected to see Jaxson still asleep. They were already gone too. I shook my head and peered into Drake and Troy’s room. They weren’t there either. We had all returned back to the apartment together with the exception of Noah. I wondered why they didn’t wake me. Knowing them, they probably assumed I needed my sleep more. Truth be told, that wasn’t the only thing I needed.
I stepped into the shower and groaned as the warm water hit my skin. It felt delightful and much needed. There was no way I could have taken one last night. Scratch that—this morning.
After several minutes of standing under the water, I knew I had to get out or the girls were going to hunt me down. I reluctantly turned off the water and grabbed my towel. I exited the bathroom and entered Jaxson and Noah’s room. I was surprised to see Noah shedding off his clothing. He looked more tired than I felt.
“Hey,” I said in surprise. “Are you just now coming home?”
Noah sighed. “Yeah. That new healer needs a little more practice honing her skills. She misdiagnosed some of her patients. Some of the people that we rescued from the fire almost succumbed to their injuries.”
