“Hey, come on. You zoned out. Let’s go get a drink. Remember, Henry brought back that stash of booze.” I shrugged my shoulders.
“Okay. I guess I could go for a couple of drinks. I should really chat with Nick some. I am sure he is feeling awful, like the rest of us.”
“Yeah, he is,” Claire mumbled.
“Have you talked to him about everything, including Jenna?” I felt like I missed something.
“When you were out earlier, we chatted some.” She paused and I could tell she was holding in her emotions. “He cried, Elaina. It was awful to see him that way. I did my best to comfort him, and held him until he calmed. I didn’t know what else to do for him.”
“I’ve been a horrible sister. I haven’t been there for him at all. He really needs me, doesn’t he? I’m probably the only family he has left.” I had been trying to come to terms with the fact that we would probably never find my mother. Claire didn’t respond, but I think she was thinking the same thing. I got up and headed out to the kitchen so I could be with Nick.
Henry was sitting at the breakfast bar, clutching yet another near empty bottle of whiskey and eating while staring off into space. The lit candle near his face made him glow. My heart skipped as I stared at his beauty. I told myself to cut the shit. I was supposed to be angry with him.
I startled him when I appeared through the darkness, but then he said in a soft, drunken voice, “I’ll go in the other room.” He began to stand up.
“Wait. You can stay. It’s your home.”
Then he looked at me with dead eyes. “It’s not a home without you.” His words cut through me. We locked eyes and my breath hitched, but I made myself snap out of it. I lifted my chin, pretending that I was strong.
“We were just grabbing a bottle of booze, and I was going to chat with Nick.” I looked past him, but Nick wasn’t in the usual place on the couch. I turned and looked around. “Where is he?” Henry was looking down, picking apart the napkin he was using. “Henry, where is Nick?” He didn’t answer. Panic hit me. “Claire, go check and see if he’s in the other bedroom or bathroom.”
“Don’t bother,” mumbled Henry, before he poured the rest of the whiskey down his throat.
“What?”
“He isn’t here.” Again with the mumbling.
“Where is…Wait, Nate is gone, too! Oh, my god. Henry, did you send them out at night?”
“No. Sophie needed to go out, and I told her to take them. Shit. Yeah, I guess I did send them out.” He put his hand on his forehead to shade his guilt-ridden eyes.
I stormed up to him, twisted his shirt in my fist, and pulled him right to my face. “You motherfucker! You risked my brother’s life for Sophie?”
“What do you mean needed?” Claire had a knack for listening, unlike me. I missed the “needed” part. I let go of him, and waited for his response.
“I…um…I didn’t mean needed. Okay, maybe I did. Bloody hell.” He scrubbed his tired, drunken face with his hands. I saw the sparkle of my ring on his pinky.
“Now is your chance! Fucking tell me! Spill it!” I was so angry that I was shaking. Henry looked into my eyes and his were full of sadness. They were already swollen from all of his crying earlier. When he blinked, a tear silently trickled down his cheek.
Chapter 12
S
o, where are we going?” Nick was frustrated. Nate sat silent in the back of the Tahoe. Sophie’s nerves were buzzing with excitement.
“To hell and back, darling.”
Nate sighed. “Can we stop with the games?” He was beyond irritated. “You people are a bunch of damn loons.”
“Ha! You are a silly one, Nate. Such a tosser.” She chuckled.
“I don’t understand what is so funny! We are driving around at night, looking for god-knows-what and, at any moment, we could be eaten by one of those things!” Nate pointed out the side window.
“Detour!” Sophie slammed on the brakes, whipped the truck around to the left, and floored it. Everyone tilted, feeling like they were inside a pinball machine.
“Sophie! What the fuck…?” They slammed right into an undead. The body split in two. His upper torso flew up the hood and smashed against the windshield, causing it to crack. The bottom half went under them and the truck rocked as the body got caught under the wheels. There was blood and gore everywhere.
“Oh, god.” Nick felt his stomach churn. That was a little too much for him.
“Woo hoo! Take that, you nasty bugger!”
Nick was disgusted by how proud Sophie was of her achievement. “Oh, my god. You really are mental, aren’t you? You do understand that was a person at one time, right?”