Page 77 of Stalked by His Ex

He nods in my direction, taking a bite of his own.

“Tank you.” Azami gives him a big smile. I’m in shock. She never attempts to speak with people, always hiding instead. She’s comfortable with him.

“What’s your name?” He watches Azami curiously.

Pushing off my lap to sit on the floor in front of me, she points at herself and says, “Az.” She then pats my leg and says, “Momma.”

The boy pops another bite into his mouth and looks up at me for clarification.

“My name is Lillian, but people call me Lil, or Lillie. This here is Azami, or Az for short. Azami is kind of a mouthful for her right now.” I laugh, looking down at her. “What’s your name?”

“My name is James. It’s nice to meet you, Az and Lillie.” His attention continues drifting to Az, excited to have another kid around, even if she is only two.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you too and see that you’ve made it here on your own. It’s impressive. Listen, I don’t mean to pry, but would you mind if I ask you a few questions?”

“Sure. Fire away,” James replies, as if we’re old friends. He sits his bowl down in the dirt next to him and scoots closer to Azami.

“I’m interested in everything. Where you were before the Flash? What your family was like? How did you survive after the Flash, and how you came to be here? Can you just start at the beginning and go until now? I haven’t talked to anyone in so long. It would be nice to hear your story. I don’t have anywhere to be anytime soon.” A friendly smile stretches across my lips at my lame attempt at breaking the ice.

“Sure. Some of it’s not that pleasant, though.” He ducks his head and averts his eyes.

“Well, if any part of your journey is too difficult to share, just skip that part.”

He nods his approval and tells me his history, while Azami draws in the dirt. “I was eleven when the Flash lit the sky. I lived with my mother, Sonia, and my brother, Ian. She worked as a nurse and my brother was attending college.

“It was a normal day. My mom had gotten off work and picked me up from my babysitter’s house. On our way home is when it happened. The light was so intense that my mom slammed on the brakes and skidded to a stop. I heard the cars around us smashing into one another, metal screeching against metal, glass being shattered…” He takes in a shaky breath and continues. “The light went away, but I still couldn’t see. It blinded me for what seemed like hours. My surroundings grew so silent that my ears started ringing. My mom was behind the steering wheel, motionless. I called for her over and over, and when she didn’t answer, I climbed into the front seat to find her dead. I cried for the longest time. I didn’t leave the car for an entire day. When I finally thought about leaving, I realized I heard no one else cry or scream. I looked around and understood why. I was the only one left. All the people in the surrounding cars were dead, just like my mom. I walked back home, hoping my brother would come to look for me, but he never did.

“When I got to the house, I locked myself inside. I turned on the TV on the first night, where a news anchor spoke about a chemical weapon and how everyone died except the people who are Immune. He looked weird. I understand now that he was in the early stages of infection. He said that if you weren’t Immune, you would get them too. I remember crying, scared to death that I was going to look like that too. I grabbed all the food we had in the house and made a pile, shoving it into the ventilation system, knowing I would have to save what I could. After about a week, people started coming through the houses. I could see them in my head before they would come inside, giving me time to hide.”

“Wait a minute. Yousawthem in your head?” I ask, confused.

He nods again. “Since the Flash, I’ve been able to see things that happen. I saw you two coming. I’m happy to have someone here. We’re going to be great friends.” His smile is contagious. “Where was I? Oh, yeah. So, too many people were coming into the apartment. Some of them looked normal, and others had those big blisters all over them. I always hid in the ventilation system with the food because no one ever thinks to look there. They scrounged for food and took water from the sink. After I saw a clear path in my head, I found another home. I walked to lots of places. I even drove across a couple of towns. That was fun. But now, I’m here. I was fortunate not to have to deal with many Infected or people on the way. Mysight—that’s what I call it—helps me avoid them.”

“Well, thank you. I’m glad you wanted to meet us.” In all honesty, I’m still trying to process hisextra talent.

“I haven’t had anyone to play with in forever.” Az smiles at him when he saysplay.

“I can’t believe how young you were when this all happened. I was fifteen. Which reminds me, today is my birthday. I’m nineteen.”

“How do you know for sure?” He sits up straighter, interest playing in his eyes.

My smile stretches wider. Bringing my backpack around to the front of my body, I pull out the calendar I found and my handmade calendar, handing them both to him for inspection.

James’s eyes light up like it’s Christmas morning. “Wow! Where did you get this? What’s today?” He looks at me expectantly.

“Today is June 20th. I know for sure because each day I counted a mark on this paper.” I point and show him the consecutive lines on the page. “I marked each day after the Flash so I would never forget. I sat down yesterday morning and added it up. I’m positive that’s today’s date. When’s your birthday?”

He pauses before answering, still looking at the calendar. “My birthday is September 6th. I’ll be fifteen in three months. I never thought I’d make it this far,” he chuckles sadly.

After more conversation, we decide it’s time to sleep. Azami has long since passed out in my lap, causing my legs to go numb. James offers to share his mattress with us, saying we’ll be as close as family. I liked the sound of that, as I’ve had no family, other than Azami. This is a pleasant change from the lonely nights we’ve had over the last few years. The night ends on a pleasant note for once. I’m comfortable, and I can lay my daughter down to sleep knowing we’re safe.

“Goodnight, James,” I whisper in the dark while stroking Azami’s hair.

“Goodnight, Lillie. Thanks for coming.”

I smile and pat his arm, drifting off in the company of my newly extended family.

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