Save Me (19 page)

Janet and Dan returned together from their search shortly after Will agreed to stay. Janet seemed relieved to see I was back in one piece, but irritated that Will seemed so forgiving over my dangerous stunt. She had very little to say about it though as if she wasn't quite as angry as she would like me to believe. Dan however, was a completely different story. As soon as it registered in his brain that it was me standing there, he ran over, scooping me into his arms and spinning me around excitedly.

"My God! It's good to see you sweetheart!" Dan beamed, planting a big kiss right on my lips.

I looked to Will, expecting the death glare but he just shook his head and gave Dan a half smile. Whoa, what happened here?

If looks could kill, yesterday Will would have impaled Dan with a thousand poisoned arrows, pulled them out one by one, and did it again, and that was just for winking at me. Now, he picks me up and
kisses
me, and he
smiles
? I was starting to think that maybe I never made it back to Zach's house last night. Maybe the horde got me and I'm really dead right now. Yeah, that had to be it.

"How about some dinner?" Janet asked, directing her question at me.

Okay, now I know I must be either dead or dreaming. Not only was Janet not ignoring me, but she was almost being nice.

"Uh, sure."

I couldn't be convinced it wasn't some sort of trick. I felt bad being suspicious after she had risked her life to look for me, but I just couldn't help it. I stood there wanting to ask what was going on.

"Will, can I see you in the other room first?" Janet asked, pulling Will along before he could answer, or protest.

The two disappeared into the hall leaving Dan and I alone in the kitchen.

"You gave us quite a scare sweetheart," Dan spoke, his accent causing flutters in my belly.

He hopped up on the table, pulling me to stand in front of him. I felt a little uneasy standing there so close to him, knowing Will would be back at any time. I didn't want to give him anything else to misinterpret. I backed away out of Dan's reach and leaned against the sink.

"Yeah, sorry about that. I didn't mean to."

"Well, I'm glad you're alright."

His smile was amazing. That couldn't be denied. I could understand why Will thought there was something going on between Dan and me. Dan was hot. There was no denying the physical attraction I felt between us, but that's all it was. Maybe in another world I would have fallen head over heels for Dan. In a world that Will didn't exist in, that is.

"Hey!" Dan said, leaning over and pulling me closer to him and into a bear hug. "Happy Birthday!"

I had completely forgotten it was my birthday. That was the last thing on my mind.

Janet and Will walked back into the kitchen. Janet's expression told me she was not happy about whatever happened in the other room. I wasn't going to worry about that right now. I was too happy that Will had agreed to stay and I didn't want to do anything that would change that. I squeezed myself out of Dan's arms and leaned back against the sink.

"That's right, it's your nineteenth birthday." Will smiled, walking over to stand in front of me, forcing Dan to move off the table or be uncomfortably up against Will's back.

"Yeah she's all grown up now." Janet rolled her eyes, sarcasm dripping from her voice.

I guess the nice Janet couldn't have lasted long. Will snapped his head around to Janet, flashing her a warning. For some strange reason, it seemed to do the trick. She let out a sigh, turned and started hunting through the cabinets for something to prepare for dinner. I still didn't know what was going on with those two but it was nice to see Will actually notice her bitchery.

"I see you found my present." Will pointed to his shirt I was wearing.

"Yeah." I smiled, looking down at the pink pony on my chest.

"It looks much better on you anyway," Will said, pulling the fabric down slightly to smooth out the wrinkles.

"Uh dude, you wore that?" Dan asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah, it's a long story." Will laughed.

I watched the boys skeptically, still wondering what had happened to bring on this new found tolerance.

"Well, I'm gonna jump in the shower before dinner. I'm pretty sure I have zombie guts in my hair." Will kissed the top of my head and said, "Happy Birthday," before turning to head for the bathroom.

"Need any help?" I asked Janet, trying to give her a chance and be nice.

"No. It's your birthday. I got this."She flashed me a quick smile.

Damn, she really was trying to be nice. I just didn't know why all of a sudden she would bother, especially after having to go out looking for me and then having to deal with a horde. Will had been furious when he saw me. She didn't look happy, but she was certainly taking this better than I expected. Probably better than I deserved.

I decided I wouldn't push my luck. I left Janet to do her thing and went into my room, trying to stay out of her way. I sat on my bed, the place where hours earlier I thought I never wanted to leave because Will had walked out of my life. Now he said he would stay. I didn't know what would happen from here but I knew whatever it was, it couldn't be as bad as having him leave.

Dan knocked and stuck his head into my room. He had a small package in his hand wrapped in silver foil and tied with a small red ribbon.

"I was so excited to see you still breathing that I forgot to give you this," he said, handing me the small box. "Happy Birthday sweetheart."

I took the box, trying to remember the last time someone gave me a gift. It was my seventeenth birthday, before the outbreak began. A time when my life seemed so perfect and had so much potential.

"Thanks Dan," I said, leaning up to kiss his cheek.

I untied the ribbon and peeled back the foil exposing a fancy box that looked like the ring boxes from the overpriced jewelry store in town. The looters had hit that place the first week of the outbreak. I don't know, maybe it's just me, but robbing a jewelry store seems like it should be low on the list of priorities during a zombie apocalypse.

Looking inside the box, I was speechless. Sitting on top of red velvet was the pendant with my name that Dan found in Zach's pocket, attached to a beautiful silver rope chain. I didn't even realize the pendant was gone. I shoved it in my pocket after Dan handed it to me and forgot all about it. After fighting with Will, the pendant was the last thing on my mind.

"You like it?" Dan asked, looking hopeful he had chosen the right gift.

"It's beautiful and really thoughtful. Thank you so much." I pulled Dan against me for a hug to thank him. I could hear his heartbeat pick up against my ear.

It really was beautiful. I didn't bother to ask where he got the necklace. We all knew where such things usually came from these days. I didn't want to think that I was walking around with the stolen jewelry of a dead woman.

"Here, let me help you," Dan said, taking the necklace and helping me clasp it around my neck.

I slid my finger over the pendant around my neck. I had no clue where Zach would have gotten something like that or how long he had been keeping it a surprise. It wasn't far until my eighteenth birthday when Zach was killed so it was likely a birthday gift. I guess a year late is better than never.

"Beautiful."

"Yeah, it really is. Thanks again, Dan. You didn't have to give me a present."

"I meant you."

It took me a minute to register the comment. I could be a little slow sometimes.

"Dan, I—"

"I know sweetheart. Will and I had a long talk while you were gone and I already knew how you feel about him."

Wait. What?

"What did you talk about?"

Could this be why Will wasn't giving Dan the death glares anymore?

Dan laughed and sat down on the edge of my bed, motioning for me to sit as well. I sat, curious as to what they might have discussed.

"Well, not much at first." Dan rubbed over his jaw a few times. I could see a faint bruise and guessed that Will had hit him. I wasn't surprised, not really.

"I think he needed to get it out of his system before he was able to really listen to me, ya know?"

I nodded. Boys really were strange creatures. Sure, I wanted to slap Janet around on more than one occasion, but I never would have done it, which was probably a good idea, since I was no match for Janet. Dan continued.

"I told him what an idiot he was and explained there was nothing between us, that there couldn't be, because you are into him."

Great. I could feel the warmth of a blush threatening my cheeks. I wanted Will to know how I felt, but this wasn't how I wanted him to find out.

"He wasn't buying it at first. He really did think you wanted him to leave. Kept saying, 'that's what she wants for her birthday'."

"Oh."

I was ashamed of myself for saying that to Will. It was the most hurtful thing I had ever said to anyone and I didn't even mean it.

"That is definitely not what I wanted for my birthday."

"Then what did you want for your birthday?" Will asked, peeking his head into my room.

I jumped up off the bed, not wanting to give him the wrong idea about Dan and me yet again. I tripped over the sneakers I kicked off earlier and face planted the floor. Will laughed, extending me a hand in assistance.

"That, my dear, is karma."

He was referring to the day we met of course, when he fell in the road and I laughed at him. It was karma. I was just hoping that was all karma had in store for me today.

Dan left us there, mumbling something about helping Janet in the kitchen. Will and I stood in the middle of the room, his hand still holding mine from helping me up. He smelled of soap and natural goodness. The scent of him that was on the t-shirt he left for me hovered just below the surface of the soap. It was the kind of scent that made you want to inhale deeply, soaking him up.

"So?" He asked, taking a step closer, only inches in the gap between us.

His scent intoxicated me enough to momentarily lose my rational thinking ability.

"Huh?"

He brushed his knuckles over my cheek, sending shivers down to my toes.

"What did you want for your birthday, Andi?"

A couple of days ago I would have answered this question very differently. The truth was, having Will forgive me and knowing he was going to stay was all I really needed. After the things I said to him, I certainly didn't deserve it, but I was so grateful nonetheless. Standing here with him so close though, I was having a hard time even taking a breath, much less giving him an answer.

"What's the matter, cat got your tongue?"

With his free hand, Will reached up, sliding his hand behind my head, tilting it up to his. He leaned down to whisper into my ear.
"Tell me what you want, Andi."

His breath was hot in my ear and it took my breath away. I could feel my heart pounding in my chest so hard I thought surely he must feel it too.

"Breathe, Andi."

Will chuckled before moving back a few inches. I hadn't even realized I was holding my breath. Will's amusement snapped me back to a state of minor brain functioning and I realized I must have looked like a complete idiot. I felt that now familiar heat spread across my cheeks. I pulled my hands from his and turned away to save myself the tiniest bit of dignity I had left.

"Dinner's ready," Janet said from outside the door.

Finally, that woman actually had something helpful to say. I practically ran past Will and to the kitchen.

I don't know how she managed it, but Janet came up with some sort of casserole for dinner made with canned chicken, peas, corn, and some pasta. It wasn't going to win her the title of next great chef, but it was good to have something that resembled something Mom would have cooked. After dinner, Janet pulled out the closest thing I'd seen to a cake in ages. It had a crushed graham cracker crust with pudding and graham crumbs on top. There was a single candle in the middle, the kind that sing happy birthday. Its battery was nearly drained and it sounded awful but the sentiment brought tears to my eyes. Janet, Will and Dan all sang Happy Birthday to me.

"Make a wish sweetheart," Dan said, snapping a photo with my camera.

A wish.

Here in this moment, I wasn't sure I deserved anything better than this. I couldn't believe I was lucky enough to have Will forgive me. Even Janet was being nicer. Still, there was something I was kind of hoping for. At nineteen, it was about time.

"The candle is going to be gone before you decide," Janet said, irritated.

I closed my eyes, hoping I hadn't asked too much of the universe already, and blew out the candle.

The pudding was warm and really needed some whipped cream, but it was still one of the best things I'd tasted in longer than I could remember. Mom used to make cakes in the beginning while she was cooking something in the oven. It took a long time for the gas to cut off, so we were really lucky. She had gone through an extreme couponing phase for awhile before the outbreak and had so many boxes of cake mix and frosting down here that I thought we could have lived off it for the next ten years.