Page 76 of Glass Rose
Bodies and betrayals and blood on my hands that won’twash off. My chest constricts, making it hard to breathe properly. I can’t?—
“I need air.” I wrench myself away from the counter, stumbling toward the door. “Just—I need a minute.”
Outside, the night is quiet save for the distant rustle of leaves. I lean against the SUV, tilting my face up to the sky, and fiddle with my mother’s necklace.
No city glow obscures the stars. One small, terrible gift of the apocalypse. The Milky Way sprawls across the heavens, a river of light that makes me feel infinitesimally small.
The crunch of gravel announces Gavin’s approach. He doesn’t speak, just settles beside me against the vehicle, his shoulder a whisper away from mine.
“You should stay with John,” I say.
“He’s stable. You’re not.”
I wipe at my eyes with the back of my hand. “I’m fine.”
“You can be honest with me.”
“What do you want me to say?” I face him. “That I’m falling apart? That I keep seeing Marcus’s face when he turned? That I’m scared for Min-Ji? That I keep wondering who’s next?”
He just weighs me with his eyes, silent and steady.
“It’s in all of us.” I tap my chest. “The virus. Right now. And when we die—There’s no peace. No rest. Just… becoming one of those things.”
“We knew the virus was bad.”
“Not like this.” I shake my head. “This changes everything.”
“Does it?”
“How can you ask that? We’re all walking time bombs.”
“We were always going to die.” He echoes my words from earlier. “This just changes what happens after.”
“Don’t throw my words back at me.”
He reaches out with his hand, hesitates, then drops it back to his side. “What do you need?”
“I need—” What? A cure? My parents back? A world that makes sense? “I don’t know.”
“Then let me tell you whatIknow.” His voice drops lower. “I know we’re getting to that island. I know we’ll figure out how to survive this. I know you’re stronger than you think.”
I almost laugh. “You have that much faith in me?”
“I have that much evidence.” His eyes hold mine. “I’ve watched you. Since the facility. Since your parents’ house. You keep going.”
“Because what’s the alternative? Giving up?”
“Exactly.” A bitter but hopeful smile touches his mouth. “So don’t start now.”
I step close enough to feel his warmth. “I’m scared.”
“Good.” He cups my face, thumb brushing my cheek “Fear keeps you sharp.”
“Is that what they taught you in the military?”
“No.” His fingers thread through my hair. “That’s what I learned in a cell.”
I melt into his touch, eyes drifting shut. Just for a moment. Just one fucking moment of comfort in this nightmare.
