Noah sighed. “I didn’t want to say. It… it puts you in a dangerous position.”
Kirsty shrugged. “Don’t have many better options right now. Shoot.”
Noah told Kirsty about the virus. About him and Iqrah. About their experiences so far. He’d never intended to be so frank about it, so open about it. But he couldn’t hold back, especially now he’d started.
“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner,” Noah said. “Just… just figuring out whether I could trust you, I guess.”
“And can you?”
Noah narrowed his eyes. “Still figuring that out.”
Kirsty half-smiled at Noah. Her bright blue eyes shimmering in the fading light. “I get it. Really. At least we’ve got all that on the table now. Drink?”
Noah frowned. “What you suggesting?”
Kirsty walked to the side of the counter and pulled out a dusty old bottle of gin. “Oh, I’m not feeling all that fussy. Usually drink my gin with tonic water, but right now, I think it’ll help me sleep if you finish this bottle neat with me.”
“Probably not the most sensible idea,” Noah said.
Kirsty shrugged. “Well, if you don’t help me finish it, I’ll just have to finish it myself. You think that’s such a sensible idea?”
She raised her eyebrows.
Noah sighed. Nodded. “Alright. But I’m not having half a bottle. Just a bit.”
Kirsty punched him on the arm. “That’s the spirit. Get it?”
Noah rolled his eyes.
They sat at the other side of the gas station, over by the door, which they’d boarded up with one of the shelves for the night. Figured if anyone came knocking, at least they had plenty of time to get themselves away from here.
Noah sipped the gin from the bottle. The alcohol burned his tongue, the back of his throat.
“Jeez,” Kirsty said. “Such a lightweight.”
“It’s been a while since I’ve had the luxury of getting pissed on cheap gin.”
“You should do it more often. Definitely need to loosen up a bit.”
Noah sipped a bit more gin. “Loosening up is hard when you’re one of the two most important people in the country right now.”
“Well, at least you’re modest, I guess.”
Noah smiled. Puffed out his lips. “To be honest, I’ve not quite accepted it myself yet.”
“Accepted what?”
“My ‘responsibility’. Like. Of all the people for the virus to choose to be its golden boy, it chooses me. An anxious sad boy who spent his twenties depressed and lost.”
“They always say it’s the sad boys who end up the heroes.”
“Who says that?”
“I dunno. I think I just made that up. Maybe the gin’s getting to me already.”
She laughed. And Noah laughed, too. And for a moment, he felt something, staring into Kirsty’s eyes. He felt something he hadn’t felt since Jasmine. A warmth inside. A safety inside.
Like they were meant to be here, right now, and nowhere else in the world.
Kirsty looked away. So too did Noah.
“So,” she said.
“So.”
“Your life.”
“What?”
“Before all this. Tell me more about the anxious sad boy you are.”
Noah puffed out his lips. “Where should I start? Working in a coffee shop.”
“High-flyer, you.”
“Well. Technically fired from a coffee shop for insulting the psycho manager.”
“Bad boy.”
“Lost in life. Living with my best friend, who was even more of a loser than me.”
“What happened to him?”
He looked at Kirsty. He didn’t have to say anything else. She just nodded, too. Sipped her gin. “Same way they all go,” she said. “Any girlfriends?”
That question came out of the blue, caught him off guard. “Not exactly.”
“Which means there was somebody.”
“I don’t really want to talk about it.”
Kirsty opened her mouth. Went to say something. Then she closed it. Sighed. “Well, I’ll tell you my story. I was about to get married on the day of the outbreak.”
“Really? Shit. That’s… that’s really shitty luck.”
“Yeah. Staring into the love of your life’s eyes and watching him turn into a monster before your eyes while the rest of the wedding party descends into violent chaos? Not exactly the way I envisaged my special day.”
“I’m… I’m so sorry. That’s fucking awful.”
“It’s okay. Really. I’ve cried my tears. Still hurts like a bitch to this day. Miss him like mad. Just like I miss my… my boy. But we move on. We have to. It’s what he would’ve wanted, anyway. Wouldn’t yours?”
He looked into Kirsty’s eyes again and felt that warmth. Even when he’d slept with Jane, he hadn’t felt like this. She was nice. But it was only ever a fling. Something weirdly paternal about their relationship.
But this…
Fuck. Probably just the gin.
Definitely just the gin.
“Right,” Noah said, handing the bottle back to Kirsty. “You should rest. I’ll stand guard an hour or so.”
Kirsty tutted. “Rubbish. You’re way more pissed than me.”
“I’m pore missed than you?”
“‘Pore missed’? I rest my case.”
Noah laughed. Kirsty laughed too. It was nice to laugh like this. Nice to have a break from the seriousness.
But it scared him. Because it felt so fleeting. So dangerous.
“You get some rest first,” Kirsty said. “And don’t worry. If I need a man with superpowers to bail me out, I’ll give you a shout.”
“That rhymes.”
“See,” Kirsty said, rolling her eyes. “Definitely pissed.”
She sat there and stared into Noah’s eyes. And he was so tempted to lean over. So tempted to peck her on the lips.
But before he did, he stood up.
Walked down the aisle of the gas station, over to Iqrah’s side, where he’d laid down another blanket.
He lay down beside her, Bruno tucking in between them, and he looked down the aisle of the gas station towards Kirsty.
Saw her staring back at him. Smile on her face. Wide eyes.
He looked at her a few seconds and then turned over and closed his eyes.
He didn’t want her to see it, and he knew it was totally inappropriate in the circumstances.
But Noah felt a smile creep up his cheeks.
Chapter Twenty
Colin Hendrickson stared at the scene of fallen infected surrounding him and sighed.
It was late. He was exhausted. Walking all damned day and with no luck. Or at
