“Tryna make me blush and it ain’t even noon,” he said, wrapping an arm around her waist to hold her close. “Gonna get me in trouble, darlin’.”
“After the day I had, I figured I’d take advantage.”
When his hand drifted lower, gripping her ass appreciatively, Caitlin hummed against his bottom lip.
Maybe a quickie, maybe if they didn’t take all their clothes off…
“Hey Booker, I found you a better ax for—” Max faltered, finally seeing them fully. “Oh, sorry! I didn’t mean to—”
“’S alright, Max,” Booker said with a smirk. “Y’can leave it by the wood pile.”
Saluting him with two fingers, Max strode over to set the tool down.
Caitlin took it as a sign, withdrawing a bit from Booker.
As she stepped around him, he reached for her arm, just barely hitting her bite hidden beneath her clothes.
“Where y’runnin’ off to?”
She smiled and kissed his cheek. “Just going to check on Desi.”
Caitlin wanted to spend as much time with the girl as possible while she still could.
Walking back towards the group, she recounted the symptoms Carolina had as she faded.
Fever, delirium, vomiting…
Once the whites of her eyes were completely bloodshot and her gums darkened, it wasn’t long after that.
Hours. That was all she had left.
She wanted to enjoy them to the fullest.
* * * * * * *
Dusk drifted peacefully into night, and despite the cold, Caitlin and a few others lingered by the fire, sipping watered down fruit punch and telling stories.
The tensions that had built up since the school fire had dissipated, hurt feelings put aside now that the culprit had met his end.
Sandwiched between Nicole and Booker, Caitlin watched the group laugh and carry on with a watery smile curling her lips. She even found herself locking eyes with Nathaniel as Brooke dozed off on his shoulder and giving an approving smile and nod.
They were a good couple. Maybe not exactly who she pictured him with, but they were kind to each other and solid. Really what more could a person ask for in a world like theirs?
As Scott told one of his classic ER stories, Booker leaned closer and whispered, “This ain’t gonna end with somethin’ gettin’ lodged in a fella’s ass, is it?”
Caitlin laughed. “Why? Not your brand of body humor?”
“If I got a choice, no,” he said with a lopsided grin.
“Don’t worry, I’ve heard it before,” she said. “They get the LEGOS out.”
Booker cringed and cursed under his breath, making Caitlin giggle.
Normally she would have swallowed her glee down, but she couldn’t deprive herself.
Not anymore.
“Well don’t spoil it, Caitlin,” Scott teased.
It only made her laugh harder. “Sorry, sorry.”
After a moment she felt Nicole watching her and Caitlin turned to look.
“Can we talk?” Nicole asked, jerking her head towards hers and Scott’s trailer.
It sobered Caitlin immediately.
“Uh, sure,” she said, handing Booker her plastic cup. “We’ll be right back,” she told him.
Once inside the single-wide, Nicole closed the door behind her and crossed her arms.
“Let me see it,” she said.
Caitlin blinked. “See what?”
Nicole’s stare was level but stern. “The bite you got.”
For the second time that day, the bottom fell out from under her.
Only this time, she didn’t fall ten feet to the ground below.
Caitlin swayed a little, reaching out to grab the kitchenette counter edge for support.
“I saw your coat sleeve,” Nicole continued. “Noticed how you refused to tell anyone what happened, or even look at it. And you changed immediately after—”
“I was just—”
“Getting rid of evidence,” Nicole cut in. “Making it even less suspicious so no one would ask.”
“Nicole, it’s not what you think,” Caitlin urged.
“Really? ‘Cause right now I’m thinking my best friend lied to me—to everyone—and is a walking timebomb.”
Caitlin sucked in a deep breath.
“I just wanted to spend my last night with as much normalcy as possible,” she explained. “I didn’t want to see people sad or afraid of me. I didn’t want anyone to panic or try to save me.” She glanced to the window where she could see the firepit and the silhouettes of her loved ones. “I wanted to drink watered down Capri Sun and listen to Scott tell the same story for the fiftieth time. And I wanted hug everyone and tell them I loved them, and then…”
The tears she thought would never come finally welled, spilling down her cheeks.
“And then what, Caitlin?”
She sniffed, trying to hold herself together.
“I thought I’d do it near the grain silo,” she whispered. “The field is pretty, and you can see the stars for miles…”
Nicole scowled. “You want to kill yourself?”
“It’s better than wasting away and having one of you put a knife in the back of my skull once I turn.”
Stepping forward, Nicole shook her head. “Caitlin what about Booker? And Desi? And… all of us? Were we just supposed to wake up tomorrow to find you missing? Go looking for you only to find your body in some cow pasture?”
“I already made Booker promise,” she muttered, unable to hold her friend’s stare.
“Made him promise what?”
“That I’d get to die while I was still me,” she said. “That he wouldn’t let me become one of those things, even for a second. He’ll understand why I did it this way.”
“Like hell he will,” Nicole snapped. “Caitlin, it’ll kill him.”
“It’s not like this is easy for me,” she shouted. “Do you think this is how I wanted to end up? How I wanted my story to end? Of course not! But I didn’t get a say in getting bit, so I’m getting a say in how I die.”
Nicole glowered. “You have to tell him.”
“I will not let the last memory I have of my
