Page 54 of Dating After the End of the World
I tighten my eyes, staring back at her. I don’t understand where this is coming from, but it feels like betrayal. Is she trying to play devil’s advocate or, better yet, Blake’s advocate? I may have been wrong about the apocalypse, but I’m not wrong about him.
“Whose side are you on, Tessa?” I purse my lips.
“Yours, Casey. I’m always on your side, but I’m just saying.”
“Well, don’t,” I warn.
Tessa puts her hand up, palm facing out. “Okay, okay, sorry.” She lowers it and fiddles with her fingernails.
“I’m going to shower,” I say, getting to my feet. I can’t do this conversation. First my dad is defending Blake, and now Tessa. Am I living in the Twilight Zone, or am I the only one who can see him for who he really is? An asshole. And Tessa literally called him that the other day, so I don’t understand where she’s coming from.
“Are we good?” Tessa asks as I start to walk away.
I look back and nod. “Yeah, we’re good.” I don’t want to fight with her.
We are good, but I’m not. I really don’t know what I am. Confused? Angry? Upset? All the above? Him kissing me last night brought up so many unresolved feelings, ones I thought I had dealt with. But maybe I hadn’t. It seems they’ve been simmering under the surface, waiting to be stirred back up. This world, or what’s left of it, is hard enough to live in as it is. So I just need to forget about Blake and focus on surviving.
Inside the house, I kick off my shoes and have started to head upstairs when a loud crash in the house stops me in my tracks. I sprint to where the sound came from, the first-floor bathroom, and rap my knuckles against the door.
“Is everything all right in there?” I call out, unsure of who I’m even asking.
There’s no response. I knock several more times and then listen for movement, but there is none. I reach for the knob and turn it. Thankfully, it’s unlocked.
“It’s me, Casey. I’m coming in,” I say before pushing open the door.
My eyes go wide at the sight of her lying unconscious on the tile floor, a small amount of blood pooling around her head. I scream for help as I rush to her side.
Chapter 23
“How did no one know Elaine is diabetic?” I ask the table.
JJ, Blake, Dad, Uncle Jimmy, and Greg exchange looks with one another, searching for a sign that one of them knew. Someone should have, but it appears no one did.
“She never said anything, ever. You know how Elaine is. She doesn’t complain because she never wants to burden anyone,” Dad says.
He’s not wrong, but still she should have told us, because the situation is far worse now that we’re behind it rather than in front of it. She’s been rationing her insulin more than is medically safe to do, and she’s probably been doing it for a while. Even with the rationing, she’ll be out soon.
“We have to get her insulin. If we don’t, she’ll die,” I say, emphasizing the final two words. It isn’t for dramatic effect but rather to have it sink into people’s minds that if we aren’t willing to put our lives on the line for what Elaine needs, then she’ll lose hers.
“We’ve checked all the pharmacies in the area. They were the first places we hit early on, but there’s nothing left,” Blake says.
“It’s true,” JJ adds. “In fact, most all of the prescription drugs were already picked clean by the time we scavenged them.”
Blake lowers his head and shakes it, appearing disappointed in his inability to protect one of his own.
“What about hospitals?” I ask.
“We haven’t searched those,” JJ says.
“Hospitals keep tons of prescription meds. They have their own pharmacies. That’s our next move,” I say confidently, leaving no room for argument.
But that doesn’t mean one doesn’t come.
My father sighs heavily, and I know he’s about to disagree with me. “Casey, the hospitals are crawling with biters. It’s far too dangerous, and we just can’t take that risk.”
“Dad, did you not hear me? If we don’t get her insulin, she’s going to die.”
“And how many people might end up dying trying to get it for her?”
