Sorrow's Gift

Chapter Fifty: Parrish

Parrish woke up the next morning with a new lease on life. She and Noah had spent hours on the roof, talking about the visions that had passed through their minds as they kissed for the first time. She still wasn't sure what it all meant, but she knew that it was real.

Even facing whatever may come their way on this trip to the hospital, she wasn't afraid. As long as they were together, they could face anything.

Her visions of past lives with Noah also made her realize that she'd been right about her dream.

It wasn't just a dream. It was a memory of something she'd done in the past. Something she'd done with her four best friends. And one of them was missing.

Where was the fifth?

The girl who had joined their group didn't belong, and Parrish eyed her as they all got dressed for the day. What was she doing with them? What was her story? And what the hell did she have planned for them today?

Because Parrish knew she had something up her sleeve. Another ambush by super-zombies? Worse?

Whatever it was, they would face it together, and when the time came, they would confront Lily and make her tell them the truth.

Parrish rummaged through the bags of clothes she'd gotten from the mall across the street and smiled. When she'd left her house, she hadn't exactly brought her favorite things along with her. She'd been trudging around in jeans and boots, but when she picked through the clothing at the mall, she'd chosen things that made her feel like the best version of herself. Strange how a simple change of attire could make you feel like a complete badass.

She pulled on a pair of opaque black tights, tall black socks that were thick enough to cover the lower half of her legs and provide some protection from biting teeth, a pair of tight black shorts, and a black tank top with a white infinity sign on the front. She couldn't believe her luck when she'd found it.

She covered the tank top with a black leather jacket. Despite the heat, she wanted something she could pull over her arms as protection when things got real inside that hospital today.

The final piece of the outfit was the perfect pair of tall black leather boots that buckled all the way up to her knee.

She stared at her reflection in the mirror of the shared bathroom and smiled. She felt more like herself than she had in a long time, and she was ready to face whatever came her way.

When she popped back into the bedroom, most of the others were ready to go. She emptied her backpack, reloaded it with essentials like extra bottles of water, ammo, and all the cherry suckers she had left.

She unwrapped one of the suckers, pulled the backpack onto her back, and secured her sword in the makeshift holster she'd created.

Noah's eyes caught hers and he made a show of looking her up and down, before raising an appreciative eyebrow. She popped the candy into her mouth and smiled. Knowing he had her back—that he'd had her back for centuries—gave her an extra boost of adrenaline. Who needed sleep when you had a guy like that for a boyfriend?

"Who's ready to kick some zombie ass?" she asked and headed toward the door. She prayed it wouldn't be long before they'd be back here, a lot of their questions answered once and for all.