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I’m coming home, Zoey.
25
GRIFFIN
My heart pounds the entire way to the highway where I lead us. We left Gregory behind, but he’s with his people, so he’ll be fine. I only hope that he waits until we’re far enough away before telling them we killed his friends. Well, I guess they weren’t really his friends, but still. Would the other people there even try to do anything about it?
The two guards out front suspected nothing when we ran by them. They only hollered after us to watch our asses out here. I don’t know how much they’ll risk getting payback for him when he wouldn’t join them in the first place, since they do nothing for free, but I can’t risk it. We need speed on our side to guarantee our safety right now.
Emily runs with fervency. It’s not until we reach the highway that I pull out the small cooler bag I’d grabbed along with the insulin for her to keep the vials cool on her way back to her friend. “Oh, thank you. I was worried about how I could transport these without them going bad before I get there. The only plan I had was to travel fast.” She excitedly unloads the vials from her pockets and places them inside the cooler, and we all do the same with ours until it’s stuffed full to the max. There’s barely enough space left to include the small ice pack I’d snatched. I can’t tell how many we all collectively grabbed, but I’m glad nobody counted. Then Emily zips it shut and frowns at the side of the bag.
“What is it?” I ask, worrying that something might be wrong with the bag. Maybe I was wrong, and it’s not a cooling bag like I’d thought. If it’s not, then I’ll find her one. I’ll go back inside that place and figure out how to get one from them.
She shakes her head and slings the bag over her shoulder. “Nothing. I don’t know.”
“That’s not convincing, princess.” My voice turns hard. Something is wrong here and I need to know what it is so I can fix it.
Her fingers pick at the strap before falling to her sides. “Something seems familiar about the bag, but then again, I’ve scavenged so much that I’ve probably seen the logo somewhere else. And it’s not like it’s the only bag with this logo to exist in the entire world. That would be crazy to think. I just had a weird moment, is all. Let’s get going. I’m too wired from this accomplishment to stay still.”
Good, there isn’t anything wrong with the bag after all. Name brand logos are common. Now, with that out of the way, I need to tell her something before we head to wherever she tells us to and then disappears. I need to do it now.
“Emily,” I say, clearing my throat. She turns her bright amber eyes on me. Max and William step in close, sensing how serious this is about to be. “I know we can’t go with you and whatever reason you have for that must be a good one, but I want you to know that we won’t join their colony here. Not if they can’t accept Zoey without using her health against her.”
“You won’t?”
I shake my head. Of course not. “I know damn well what it’s like to be denied acceptance because of something out of my control. That’s not something I would ever allow to happen to someone else if I could help it.”
She reaches up and touches my scar, and I push against her hand, letting her feel every raised spot. Every time she touches it, it feels even better. As though all it takes to heal is her touch alone.
Emotion fills her eyes. I can’t tell exactly what emotion, but it’s raw, and she throws her arms around my neck. My arms wrap around her waist and I lift her into a hug. Holding onto her like this, I never want to let her go. It’s going to be pretty damn hard to watch her drive away, but it’ll be worth it as long as it helps her and Zoey. I set her down before I can allow myself to have second thoughts and reach for the handcuffs. Regret is already consuming me.
“We should get going, princess,” I rasp into her ear when she lowers to her feet.
“Thank you, Griffin. You deserve so much more than you’ll ever know.” She unwraps her arms, sliding one finger up to trace the scar once more before turning away so I can’t see her face.
“Come on, let’s see if the car is still in one piece,” I say, heading toward our abandoned car. I grab Emily’s hand and lace my fingers through hers. We never got to have our moment earlier before we were rudely interrupted. I want to fix that.
“It’s likely in two pieces if we never got the new tire on,” Max says, and I roll my eyes.
“Shouldn’t take long to fix,” William adds, and he’s right. When we reach the car, it doesn’t take very long to find the right tire, even in the dark, now that we’re able to work undisturbed without a herd of rotters roaming through and interrupting us. There’s even enough light in the nighttime sky to work under. It’s like the world has lit up for us.
I give her a piece of paper where I’d written the directions back to the city where we found her. If she won’t take us with her, then at least she’ll be able to get home.
William is attaching the new tire onto the car while Max watches him, but I only watch Emily. There’s something different about her. She seems to be avoiding us somehow, but I can’t understand why. Unless it’s because she’s not very good with goodbyes.
I shove my hands into my pockets to make sure I gave her every vial of insulin I grabbed, when my fingers brush against something I forgot I had and I pull it free to study in the moonlight.
Mere hours ago I finished carving the rose I’d been working on, inspired by the new pot of flowers we have waiting for us back in the town. I even found some purple paint to match the deep lavender roses she’d found. I don’t know if she’ll want to go back to the town first and take the flowers with her before she heads out, but I can at least give her this. She brought back my love of woodcarving, so it’s only fitting that she takes it if she wants it.
“Emily,” I start, my voice thick with what I’m about to do. My tongue feels so heavy in my mouth.
She looks up at me, worry and indecision etched across her face, and I pull out the key to the car, pressing it into her palm. Her mouth forms an oh.
“Take the car and whatever supplies are in it you want. Get back safely to your friend. And someday, if you want to, you’ll know where to find us. You’ll always have a place here in our little colony. You’ll never have to be on your own, like we’ve all been for two hundred and seventy-five days.”
Her eyes water and I worry I said something wrong. I gently grab her wrist and hold her hand palm up, closing her fingers around the small wooden figurine next. “But if you choose not to, take this to remember me by.”
She looks down into her hand and gasps. “Did you…”
