“You’ll be safe here,” Erik said. “If your dad comes poking around, we won’t let him in.”
Dorian covered a nervous laugh. “He’ll just knock the door down laughing the whole time.”
“Then he can meet the end of my shotgun,” Sam said.
“Who are you?” Dorian said, turning to her.
“Maybe I should show you guys how to actually use that,” Erik said.
I crossed my arms. “Knowing how to use it and using it on a person are two different things.”
“If you need to, you will,” Erik said.
Sam cleared her throat. “Bet you wish you would have had one when Elijah—”
“Do we need to bring up Elijah every two hours?” I asked sharply. “Like I just want to forget all about him and forget that people like him even exist.”
“My dad locked me in a closet when I was ten,” Dorian blurted out.
Sam cocked her head to the side. “You wanna talk about it?”
“I guess not,” Dorian said, his forehead wrinkling. “I did steal ten bucks from him.”
I cleared my throat. “So, do you think we need to worry about these guys?”
“Maybe,” Dorian said.
“We need to worry about everyone,” Erik replied at the same time.
I slumped down on the couch, flopping my head back against the cushion. “When do we get a break?”
Sam sat down next to me. “It’s probably going to be even worse on the road.”
I nodded. If there was one thing I knew for sure, it was that I wouldn’t make it on the road.
“You plan to leave soon?” Erik asked, mostly looking at me.
Sam rubbed her hands together. “Soon. We’ll have to pack up and try to find a vehicle, but yeah, we can’t just sit here forever waiting for help that isn’t coming.”
“I really think the both of you should stay as long as possible,” Erik said. “Safer for all involved.”
Sam stood, placing her hands on her hips. I couldn’t see her scowl, but I knew it was there.
“You clearly don’t have children. Or even someone you love,” Sam threw her hands in the air and charged up the stairs, shaking her head.
Erik pressed his palm over his mouth and rubbed the stubble that had grown over the last day. “I never say the right thing with her.”
“She misses her daughter,” I said, unable to stop frowning.
“Yeah, but she isn’t going to do her daughter any good if she’s dead.” Erik looked at the coffee table where the knife Sam had taken from my house still rested. “I can’t give you my guns.”
I waved my hands. “Oh, no! Never! We wouldn’t have ever asked for such a favor.”
Erik grimaced. “I know. But I don’t know how I can let either of you leave with a knife and a bat.”
“Maybe you should tell her what you said.” I crossed my arms.
Erik’s eyes narrowed.
Dorian walked over to the window and looked out between the curtains. He didn’t want to have any part of the conversation.
“Tell her what you think about us not surviving the trip. Because you’re absolutely right. I won’t make it without my medicine, and Sam is everything to Dott.” I sniffed so hard my brain hurt.
My shoulders started shaking. I covered my face to hide the tears I couldn’t stop from falling out of the corners of my eyes.
I was exhausted. Frustrated. Overwhelmed.
“Dorian?” Erik said.
“Yeah?” Dorian didn’t look away from the window.
Erik slicked his hair back. The long pieces messily flopped back to the front.
He looked into my eyes. “Could you give Mel and me a minute? I need to talk to her.”
22
Dorian left the room. I could hear his feet pounding against the stairs as he descended into the basement.
Erik gestured to the couch. “Let’s sit.”
“Am I in trouble?” I asked with an awkward smile. I wanted to lighten the seemingly tense mood.
“No,” he said, squinting his eyes at me. He was clearly missing the humor. “I know we don’t know each other well—”
“Or kind of at all, really,” I said.
Erik's jaw dropped slightly, as if my words stung. I held up my hands, shaking them as though I were casting a spell that would erase my words.
“That came out wrong,” I said.
“Yeah, ouch,” Erik said, offering me a half-smile. “It’s just that, while we don’t know each other, I don’t want anything bad to happen to you.” He hesitated a moment. “Or Sam.”
I met his eyes, and my pulse started to quicken. Why did the air suddenly feel so thick?
“Which is why if you leave, I think I have to go with you,” Erik said.
“Well, what about Dorian?”
Erik’s face contorted. “Dorian can do whatever he likes.”
“Erik,” I said, placing my hand on his knee. A jolt of electricity shot through my body, and I pulled it back. “You can’t come with us.”
“I can,” he said. “And I think I know where I can find a vehicle.”
“Okay, tell me where.”
Erik laughed. “I’ll do that when we go get it to leave for Massachusetts. You know, I hear it’s lovely this time of year.”
It was my turn to look at him as if he had two heads.
“Only you can try to be funny, huh?”
“Keyword is try, right?”
Erik smirked. “For both of us.”
He exhaled before getting up. He quickly moved around the room, lighting all the candles.
If the world outside wouldn’t have been falling apart, it would have been nice. I needed to spend more time with him, but Erik seemed like a really good guy. The kind I could spend a few months with. The kind that wouldn’t torture me and make my life a living
