[Teen and New Adult Zombie Apocalypse Romance]
"If you would've told me the last day of our peaceful existence would be a boring Tuesday in November, I would've called you an idiot."
High school senior, Casey Whitmore, is about to discover her life...
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"Thomas, dude, you're here." Derek's relief was obvious as he fist-bumped Thomas. He must've been lying earlier and wasn't sure if Thomas would be here. "Is Mitch inside?"
"Yeah, but keep it down. He's passed out in back. Said he was feeling under the weather." Thomas ran a hand through his light brown crew cut as his eyes slid from Derek to me. "Dude, you're rude as hell, aren't you gonna introduce me to this vixen?"
Derek's eyes flicked to mine. I could see the apprehension all over him. Under the weather. We'd both heard the same thing. Mitch had an illness, and from all we'd seen tonight, it could be assumed Mitch was sick with the same thing as everyone else.
"Damn dude. Staring at the beautiful girl isn't an introduction. Show some respect." Without grabbing a jacket or shoes, Thomas jogged down the four steps and walked toward me, his muscles taunting me. Thomas was ripped. He held out his hand. "I'm real sorry about Derek. He's known for his moronic tendencies from time to time. I'm Thomas—" Shock filled his eyes. "Holy shit. What happened to your face?"
I closed my eyes and let out a sigh. I'd forgotten about my face. I could only imagine how bad it looked. I needed to clean it up as soon as possible. "Um... it's a long story, but I'm Casey."
His hand remained outstretched. I don't know why, but I didn't take it.
"It's okay. I don't have cooties or anything." Thomas shrugged and laughed nervously, revealing a white smile. I bet his girlfriend was sitting inside. She probably wanted to get back to whatever it was they were doing because the idea of this gorgeous guy ever being single was just, well, irrational.
"It's not you." I frowned. "Do you have a bathroom? Or a first aid kit?"
Thomas let his hand fall as his smile melted. "Tough crowd tonight. What am I missing?"
"I'm just... well, let's just say I've had a long night." My gaze fell to the dirt.
What could I say? I didn't want to tell Thomas everything. He was a stranger. I glanced over to Derek for help. Compassion filled his expression. I really just wanted to get cleaned up and get a move on. Mom's life was in limbo. This guy was Derek's friend. It was his job to be the bearer of bad news.
"What the fuck happened?" The sharp note in Thomas's voice startled me.
When I couldn't find the words to answer, he started toward Derek.
"What the hell happened to her?" Thomas's tone was laced with rage.
"She was attacked." Derek's forehead wrinkled sympathetically as he looked at my cheek, causing my wound to feel like it was on fire all the sudden.
Thomas seemed to grow another two inches as his muscles turned to stone. "I want some motherfucking answers now."
Before I could say anything, Thomas was in front of Derek clenching his collar, nearly lifting him off the ground. Thomas had about four inches on Derek. This got ugly fast. Thomas was frigging crazy town.
