I raised my eyebrows. “Oh, really?”
Eva’s smile was smug. “Yes,” she said, putting her arm through his possessively. “He has such an amazing touch.”
Shame and humiliation twisted inside of me as I saw them standing together, both of them so damn good-looking. I turned around and left quickly.
“Cassie,” said Bryce, following me up the stairs. “Can you just wait a moment?”
“Listen,” I said turning to him. “You don’t have to explain anything to me, okay? Even if she was coming on to you, there’s nothing going on between us. You’re free to do whatever you want.”
Bryce grabbed my hand and pulled me towards him. His eyes searched mine. “Really? If I’m free to do whatever I want, then this is it.” His lips came down on mine before I could protest and then the world stopped moving. I felt myself go limp in his arms and as he pulled me in closer, I couldn’t help but kiss him back. A rush of desire swept through me as he held me against the hardness of his body. He moved his tongue into my mouth, caressing and exploring with an urgency that made my head spin. I slid my hands up behind his neck, into his hair and he groaned against my mouth, lighting flames inside of me that I hadn’t known even existed.
“Excuse me?!”
Kristie and Hannah stood at the top of the stairs scowling at us. We were in the entryway of the split-level, our hands all over each other. I’d never been so embarrassed in my life.
“Um, sorry,” I replied as we broke away from each other. My heart was still pounding madly in my chest.
“You don’t look very sorry,” Kristie said with her hands on her hips. “And you,” she pointed to Bryce, “You definitely don’t look sorry. And please put on a damn T-shirt!”
Bryce smiled and rubbed the back of his neck.
“Since your parents aren’t around, I’m appointing myself as your personal watchdog, young lady. You both better behave yourselves and control your…raging hormones,” she said with a smirk. I knew Kristie though, she wasn’t being totally serious. Although, if she caught us doing anything more than this, she’d have a conniption.
“Whew!” she said, turning towards Hannah and fanning herself with her hand. “After witnessing part of that little interlude, I think I need a cigarette!”
Hannah chuckled and they both walked into the kitchen.
I glanced at Bryce and the look in his eyes made me blush.
He grabbed my arm. “Hey, this thing between us, it isn’t over,” he said softly.
“Um…I have to…get something to drink,” I said, turning away.
He smiled then released my arm. “I’ll go check on Bobby.
Chapter Twenty
Eva strolled into the kitchen as I finished drinking my water. I tried to ignore her but she started talking.
“So, I spoke to my mom,” she said, twirling her hair around her finger.
I turned to her, genuinely happy for her. “That’s great! Where is she?”
“She’s at a Crisis Unit that’s been set up at the St. James Hospital. She’s going to send someone for me as soon as they have things under control.”
St. James is the closest hospital to our home. My mom would’ve taken the injured soldier to that hospital.
“Did she mention if there are there many survivors there?” I asked.
“She said there were less than a hundred right now, but more keep arriving. They’ve set up a security force to hold off all the zombies, but they keep coming as well.”
I grabbed her arm. “Can you call her back?” I had to find out if my mother was there.
Eva sighed. “No, she called me using someone else’s phone. I didn’t even get a chance to talk to her very long.”
“I have to get ahold of someone at St. James. Can you hit redial, and then we can call whoever’s phone she used last? They might be able to tell me if my mom ever made it to the hospital.”
Eva shook her head. “Sorry, it’s not working anymore. I tried texting one of my friends after talking to my mom, and the battery completely died.”
The fact that there were living people at the hospital rekindled my hope. It was possible that my mother was still alive at the hospital.
“Okay, once Sara wakes up, we’re leaving to check on Kevin. Then I’m going to St. James to find my mother.”
Eva shook her head. “Listen, my mom said there are hundreds of zombies surrounding the hospital. They believe the zombies are drawn to the Crisis Unit because the scent of blood is so strong. It’s going to be next to impossible to get through.”
“It’s only going to get worse; it’s now or never. If the zombies are running out of food on the streets, many more will show up at the hospital.”