Page 13 of Dating After the End of the World
“Casey?” His voice cracks like he can barely say it.
“Hi, Dad.”
Chapter 7
In stunned disbelief, my father bounds toward me, arms spread, ready for an embrace. He nearly tackles me off my feet and squeezes tight, like he’s afraid I’ll slip away again. I inhale his familiar scent, a mix of sawdust from his woodwork and earth from spending too much time outdoors. It smells like home.
“I thought I lost you,” he whispers, the tears from his eyes transferring to my neck, where he has pressed his face deeply into the side of mine.
“Dad, I can’t breathe.” I barely push out the words.
“Oh, sorry,” he says, setting me back down on solid ground.
I inhale the cool night air, refilling my lungs.
Dad grips my shoulders, looking down at me and studying my face. It’s as though he’s trying to make sure it’s really me and that his eyes aren’t playing tricks on him. “I can’t believe you’re here. I ... I looked everywhere for you.”
“I know. JJ told me.” I can see the pain I caused him. It’s written all over his face, clear as day. But does that make me the bad guy? Or are we closer now to even, at least in my book?
My cousin clears his throat. “I’m gonna get back to patrolling, Uncle Dale, so you two can talk. Glad you’re here, Casey.” He tosses me a smile.
Dad drops his hands from my shoulders. “Thanks, JJ.” He nods, sending him back off into the night before his gaze returns to me. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah, Dad. I’m fine.”
He folds his arms across his chest. It’s that typical Dad stance, which I know will be followed by a slew of questions.
“How’d you make it here?”
“I drove.” I slide the combat knife from the sheath secured to my thigh and hold it up, the blade glimmering from the spotlight. “But this helped.” I smirk.
His face brightens, and he grins proudly. “Hate to say I told you so.”
“No, you don’t,” I say, returning the knife to its sheath.
Dad smiles. “Is anyone with you?”
I let out a small sigh and shake my head. It’s the truth, because no one is with me, but I won’t tell him about Nate. A gust of wind sends a shiver down my spine, chilling me to the bone, and I reflexively jolt.
Dad notices and puts his arm around me, pulling me into him. “Let’s get you inside,” he says, guiding me up the steps of the porch. Before we enter the house, he pauses and places a finger against his lips. “Everyone’s asleep.”
“Who’severyone?” I whisper.
“Well, you saw JJ. Uncle Jimmy and Aunt Julie are here too, as well as your cousin Greg. He brought a girl with him, Molly. Elaine’s here too.”
I smile. “Elaine made it?”
“Of course. I made sure I got to her first.”
Elaine lives a mile down the road, our closest neighbor, and she’s been there since I can remember. She was like a mother to me ... I mean, a much older mother. But she did her best to fill in the large hole in my heart. As I reflect back on all the moments she was there for me, I realize now, in my spite toward my father, I deprived Elaine of things I had no right to. A sadness wells up in me like a backed-up drain, because like my father, I haven’t seen her in a long time either.
“Anyone else?” I ask, quickly trying to swallow the sadness brought on by my own guilt.
“Tessa and her mom, Meredith. They made it here too.”
“Tessa’s here?!” I blurt out before remembering the time of night.
He nods.
