We made it a few blocks in silence before Madison finally spoke. “Did you hear about Xavier Campos? He went to the hospital last night. He was already covered in sores, but I guess his mom didn’t want to take him. His dad snuck him out in the middle of the night.”
“Oh god,” I said, feeling sick. Xavier sat behind me in Algebra II, and I had known him since kindergarten. “How on earth did you find this out?”
“Victoria,” Madison said, referring to Xavier’s girlfriend. “She texted him this morning and his brother told her. He’s sick as well, but not as bad.”
“Oh god,” I repeated. “No one tell my dad. He really wants me to stay home.”
“I don’t know, Zoey,” Madison said, looking worried as we slushed through the gray puddles along the sidewalk. It was already turning into a gloomy winter. “Maybe it’s not such a bad idea. People are getting sick everywhere.”
“Not you too,” I groaned, stopping for a moment to pull up one of my knee socks. “We aren’t getting sick. There’s no need for everyone to get so panicky.”
“If you get sick, Z, I could take care of you.”
I jumped, looking over my shoulder at Ash. “Geez. You’re still here?”
“We do attend the same school,” he pointed out, a big grin on his face. His hair was windswept, and his cheeks had turned red from the cold, making his blue eyes stand out even more. “And take the same subway.”
“Go away, Ash,” I said, giving him a withering look before turning back around.
As usual, he ignored me. He fell into step next to me, forcing Madison to walk in front of us. She tossed an amused look over her shoulder but kept walking. Ash was Brody’s best friend, and Madison had been convinced for months, years even, that Ash and I would work out and the four of us would live happily ever after. Not likely. Not in this world.
“I would take care of you if you were sick. I’d fluff your pillows and tuck you in and make you chicken soup and read you a bedtime story.” He grabbed my hand held it to his chest. I tried very hard to ignore the hard muscles I could feel even through his coat. “Maybe, if you’re lucky, I’ll even give you a sponge bath.”
“You’re disgusting,” I answered, trying to pull my hand back. He held fast, grinning at me.
“Ash!”
The two of us turned and saw Heather Carr, Ash’s girlfriend, standing over at the entrance to the subway, their usual meeting spot. She had her arms folded tight across her chest, looking angry. Ash dropped my hand like it was on fire and strode over to her, where she immediately started speaking heatedly to him.
Madison came back to stand next to me, looking at the couple arguing. Heather looked angry, her posture tense, while Ash had his hands shoved in his pockets, unconcerned and bored. “Can you please just make out with him already? The tension is too much for even me to handle.”
“Really, Madison? I’m not putting my mouth anywhere near his. Especially since it’s been on hers,” I said, nodding my head in Heather’s direction.
“Just think, Zoey,” she said, as we snuck past them and down the stairs. “If you dated Ash, you could totally be prom queen.”
“I thought you wanted to be prom queen,” I said, raising my eyebrow at her.
She thought about it for a moment, her nose wrinkled in concentration. “Okay, maybe just the prom court then.” I laughed, and she smiled mischievously at me.
I COULDN’T SLEEP.
It was hot in my room, stifling. I tossed and turned for hours before finally pushing the covers aside and walking across my room to my window. I pushed it open, letting the air fill my room. Bandit looked up from his corner of the room with one sleepy eye open. Once he had determined that I was okay and safe, he closed his eye again, and his soft dog snores filled the room.
I took a deep breath and sat on my window seat for a moment, enjoying the breeze on my sweat covered body. I realized how dry my throat was, and I made my way downstairs to get something to drink.
I had barely opened a bottle of water when I heard a crash upstairs. I shrieked, and water went everywhere, including down my shirt. I waited, and heard more movement upstairs. The clock on the oven read 2:52, and I furrowed my brow, confused. What on earth was my dad doing up at this time?
I waited for a few moments at the bottom of the stairs before calling out, “Dad?”
He came rushing down the stairs, his shirt on inside out. He looked frazzled and stressed out; he hadn’t even bothered to comb his hair. “Zoey? Why aren’t you in bed?”
“I couldn’t sleep,” I said. “What’s going on? Why aren’t you in bed?”
“There’s been a homicide down at the morgue,” he said, rushing past me to grab his coat and scarf from the closet.
“At the morgue?” I asked, confused. “But isn’t everyone there already…” I didn’t finish the thought.
“Dead? Mostly. They brought in a bunch of doctors from the CDC to examine the bodies of those dying from the virus. They’re dying too fast to be tested while alive.”
“Okay…” I said, unsure of why he was telling me this or how this could possibly be important.