[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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Casey
Watching my relieved father walk into the house pierced a hole through my heart.
I had to face the truth. Mom wasn't going to be okay.
Swallowing back the ache in my throat, I approached Derek. "We need to be prepared for what might happen next. I mean, if the medication doesn't work."
Derek's gaze swept over my face before he glanced over my shoulder at Matt, then down at my sister. "Don't worry. We'll deal with whatever happens, okay?"
Suzie moved to my side, grabbing my hand. It'd been years since Suzie had been so wanting of my attention. With Mom sick and Dad losing his mind to worry, I could only imagine what my sister was going through. She'd also mentioned Grant was getting worse. I squeezed her hand and didn't let go. Suzie was going through a lot. She needed me, and I wouldn't leave her again.
"What're you guys talking about?" My sister glanced between us as she wiped her eyes.
Thomas looped his arm around Derek's neck. "No worries, little sis. Your own personal Special Ops team just arrived. We got everything under—"
"Casey!"
I spun to find Matt stalking toward me. Matt's face was stiff and calculating as he took in our small crowd.
I still couldn't figure out why he was here. It was late, and he'd shown up out of the blue. What I really couldn't figure out was why he was so angry.
Normal Matt was forgetful and easygoing. We'd broken up because of it. He'd forgotten about me and his promises countless times. I'd loved Matt, but his personal issues and his friends got in the way, which always put me at the back of the line.
Not to mention, the fact he cheated on me with Celia Steiner. I couldn't look at him anymore without picturing them together. From what he told me it had happened only the one time, but that was up for debate.
On the bright side, breaking up with him had freed me. Since we'd been together for so long, I never realized I'd been so suffocated by Matt and his needs. For the past two months, it was nice to live my life without Matt trying to make me into what he needed me to be.
"What's going on here?" Matt lifted his lip in a sneer.
I touched his arm. "Matt, what I do with my time is my business. You can't just show up making demands and acting like an ass to my friends."
Matt glared at Derek and Thomas, but when his eyes landed on me, Matt's eyes were gentle as he examined my cheek. He closed the distance between us, lightly turning my chin to see it from a better angle. His voice was soft when he said, "What happened, Case?"
I hate that Matt's touch made me remember so many wonderful times we had together. Matt knew he could turn me to putty with just one touch, but now that control was dead to me. I jerked my chin out of his hand and moved away from him.
