Page 68 of Dealing With Drak

There isn’t a hint of judgment in her voice—only caring and curiosity.

Still, I keep my guard up and reply simply. “I did.”

I can feel her soft smile without even looking at her. “And Drak’s chest, that’s for you?”

“Yes,” I answer more firmly.

She hums happily. “It’s going well, yes?”

I’d threaten to drop her if I thought she was inquiring for any reason other than to wish us well. Brooke doesn’t have a mean bone in her body, let alone one that would have her looking at someone else’s mate. She’s the sweetest one of us all.

“Yes.”

Softly, she wraps her fingers around my wrist. “I’m so happy for you.”

“Thanks,” I murmur.

If I were better at this whole sharing thing, I’d ask her if Terum finally mucked up the courage to make a move on her. I don’t know if anyone else has seen it, but the big alien daddy of the group has had moon eyes for her since day one. I know they’re friendly and that he helps her with her daily tasks more than anyone else. At least when I was here, they were only friendly.

I have far too many thoughts jumbling around in my head to gossip, though. My brother is dead—never mind the obvious trauma I have surrounding our dad. Landon is gone, and I don’t have a clue how to start mourning him. Caleb probably already has, so it’s not like I’m going to ask him for advice. No reason to bring him down with me to stew in these awful emotions.

But maybe at a less overwhelming time, I’ll try and chat with Brooke about Terum. Or about anything, really. I could benefit from letting these girls in eventually, and Brooke seems like a good place to start. Sarah and Stevie were always the closest friends out of the group, I think. Cayte, Megan, and Brooke have always been friends to all of us in different ways. I guess now that we don’t have to worry about fighting to survive every day, I’ll have time to work on my trust issues.

Something to look forward to, I think.

Cayte approaches less discreetly, joining the group of us while giving me a wary look. She almost looks angry, which, I guess, is fitting. Cayte hates anything that doesn’t go according to plan, and me leaving them without much warning likely threw her off of her carefully curated schedule.

“You’re back,” she says tersely.

“Missed me?” I snark.

Her lips twitch. Seems she isn’t that mad.

I try not to frown. Why are they all so much better at friendship than I am?

“I’m just glad we can leave now.”

My heart beats in a strange way. “You guys could have left already.”

“We couldn’t leave without you and Drak,” she grumbles.

She wouldn’t, she means.

The Aprixians have more than enough tech to leave us here and come back or leave us a way to find our way to Aprix on our own. She just didn’t want to separate the group, I imagine. It likely made her anxious just considering it. She has always been a big proprietor of all of us surviving this together. She would be devastated if after all this time, one or more of us didn’t make it through.

“We’re all packed, we want to leave as soon as possible. There’s a lot we’re missing out on on Aprix. Do you need anything else here, or are you good to go?”

My gut twists with nerves. “What’s the rush?”

Cayte scoffs. “There’s nothing here for us anymore, Anna.”

“Earth is dying,” Brooke adds softly. “The Aprixians say even if they killed all of the zombies here, the remaining population wouldn’t be able to sustain itself. There’s too much destruction. We’re just eager to start our futures, you know?”

I chew on my bottom lip and nod. I understand what she’s saying, I’m just not sure why it feels terrifying to hear. I love Drak, and Caleb is safe, so why the hell do I feel like I want to run up to my room, slam the door, and never come out?

“We’re leaving Harold in the garden so he can eat the plants, but Terum doesn’t think he’ll live much longer,” Brooke notes, a hint of sadness in her tone.

“Drak said the same,” I mutter in return, unsure of what else to say.

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