[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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"Will you stay with me? With us?" Derek gently ran his thumb over my cheek before he pressed Mom and Dad's keepsakes into my hand. They were warm from his grip.
As I put them in my pocket, I looked into Derek's glassy eyes. His black eye had healed entirely, but his lip still had a small white mark from where it had broken open by the maniac squad jerks.
The corner of his mouth tipped up as he waited for my answer.
I pressed my forehead to his as I continued to gaze into his eyes. "I'm so sorry."
Derek ran a hand down my back. "I know."
"I was such a bitch." I closed my eyes as my breathing grew shallow. "Are you sure you want me to stay?"
When I reopened my eyes, Derek's grin grew into a smile. "I don't know if I can be away from you. I almost lost you. You're lucky to be alive."
I released a breathy chuckle. "I am lucky. I just wish my parents—"
Derek shook his head slightly against mine. "You can't think like that. You still have Suzie. You still have... all of us. Matt came by two days after... everything. I know Matt isn't your favorite person, but he could still be alive. His mom..."
"She's gone isn't she?" I pulled my head back to study the darkness lingering behind Derek's eyes. I knew the answer, but I needed to hear him say it.
Derek nodded slowly. "She tried to kill Matt. He locked her in her one of their bathrooms. He couldn't kill her. Truth is, Case, I don't blame him. I had to kill my mom because she was dangerous to everyone here, but it broke my heart to do it. My asshole dad was too drunk to do anything when it all happened. He nearly beat the shit out of me the next morning when he found out what I did. Thank God Thomas was here to stop him."
I winced. The thought of Derek having to kill his own mother and tell his family must've been absolutely horrible. Killing Mom, hell, seeing Mom like that would be unbearable. Suzie had seen her, and Mom had killed Dad and nearly killed Suzie.
My skin grew hot. Suzie had to be in so much pain, and I'd been cruel to her.
Careful not to hurt Derek, I climbed off his lap. "I need to talk to Suzie."
Derek stood and nodded. He glanced behind me and jogged to pick up the bag I'd left in the middle of my yard.
I didn't look at the burn pit. I couldn't go there. Not again.
"Thanks," I said when he returned.
The smallest of grins crossed his lips just as he extended his free hand to me. When I took it, he laced his fingers through mine. My cheeks warmed as tiny sparks of desire washed through me. I didn't want to get my hopes up, but I could only assume something was building between us. It was still too soon to put a label on it, but I trusted Derek and my trust wasn't something easily earned.
