until the very end

part 6

I was walking along the beach, lost in thought. There was barely any food left in the supermarket. All the food there was, came from the fields and the sea. It wasn’t much, but it was something. I had visited my brother earlier and he seemed different. I had gotten him food, but he looked like he had not eaten in days.
“I’m sure there’s other kids who need it more than I do,” he had said. “Kids who can’t be missed.” He went silent for a few moments, before continueing: “Kids who actually do want to be alive.”
That one sentence kept replaying in my head.
Ofcourse, I couldn’t force him to stay alive if he didn’t want to be. My brother had been like this since our father died, and when my mom decided to follow in his footsteps, things had gotten even worse. Maybe there really wasn’t an other way out for him.

He thought so, at least. His suicide attempt confirmed that.
But wasn’t it my responsibility as his sister to at least help him look for a way out?
The truth was that I had no idea how to make his life any less miserable either. Not if he wasn’t open to it. Even before the FAYZ, the boy never wanted to leave his room, let alone seek therapy. And now, there was no help available, even if I somehow could convince him to get some. There were no therapists in the FAYZ.
My thoughts were interrupted when I passed by someone sleeping in front of me, on the abandoned beach. A muscular back, without a shirt. A long, blood red tentacle for an arm.
I felt a smirk creep around my lips. Drake Merwin.

Just at that moment, Drake started to wake up. He groaned and looked around.
“Where the hell… is my shirt…” he mumbled.
“What do you need a shirt for when you look like that?” I bit my lip as I flashed a smile.

The infamous psychopath got up slowly. “Did you take my shirt?!”
“What would you do if I did?” I raised an eyebrow provocatively. His cold eyes flashed dangerously towards me. It kind of turned me on.
“Are you alone?” he asked, taking a threatening step towards me.
“What if I was?” I asked softly, licking my suddenly dry lips.
He started to grin slowly, rolling off his whip.

Damn. I should probably run… Why did I always seem to have a thing for dangerous psychopaths?
“Why did you take my shirt?” he asked, his voice a low growl.
“Maybe I just like you better this way.” I smiled sweetly, knowing I was putting myself in a very inconvenient position.
“You do?” He blinked his eyes, looking confused.

Ofcourse. The poor boy wasn’t used to girls being interested in him, only to them running from him. I wondered how serious his ‘thing’ with Skyler actually was.
“Well… what do you like?” he asked, biting his lip. “About me?”
“You’re sexy. You’re interesting.” I realised his sudden awkwardness kind of made me lose my interest.
“You think so?” He winked. “I could say the same about you.”
“Ofcourse you could.” I flashed a smile. “Well, as much as I wished I did, I didn’t take your shirt, sweetheart.”

“FUCK!” We both jumped as someone fell out of the large tree next to us. A flash of a tall, dark-haired boy, stumbling up as he he held his goggles.
I sighed. “Nice to see you too, Carl.”
Carl arranged the goggles on his head, shooting a suspicious look towards Drake. “Is everything alright?”
Drake tentatively took a step back, rolling off his whip as he glared at Carl. “Do you know him, Gwen?”
“Afraid so.” I crossed my arms.
“I’m her boyfriend.” Carl raised his eyebrows at Drake, who was still not wearing a shirt. I mouthed ‘NO’ behind Carl’s back. “Aren’t you the… person that got a whip for an arm by the Gaiaphage, after Sam shot you in the arm and then Diana cut it off?”
“That’s me,” Drake said coldly, narrowing his eyes. “Something both Diana and Sam are going to pay for, by the way.” He looked between the two of us.

I sighed, sensing the awkward tension. “Guys, this has been fun, but you know what? I have to go do some grocery shopping for fish and melons, so if you’ll excuse me…”
“I want to go with you.” Carl hesitated before awkwardly kissing me on the cheek.