haven’t found Zack yet…and we’ve actually looked.”
Now it ’s my turn to offer a reassuring smile. “I found him. He’s fine.” Well, mostly fine, but I won’t get into that now.
“ Savannah! That’s amazing! Best news ever!” She bounces up and down on her heels, exuding energy. “Why don’t you go get Alex and Pierce? It would be such an awesome surprise. Then you can tell them the good news yourself.”
For half a second, I let myself forget that not all the news I ’ve brought with me is good and grin ear to ear.
Promising to meet back at the house where she lives with her dad in ten minutes, I t ake off at a jog toward the opposite end of the row, where Belle told me I can find Alex and his mom. I’m not sure if our reunion will be awkward, so I leave Liam in Belle’s capable hands, certain she’ll talk his ear off and keep him from wondering where I’ve wandered off to.
Patrick must not be the only new face that Paulson has adopted into his community, because their group now has enough people to take up nearly half of the complex of townhouses. Belle told me where to find Alex and Pierce, and for now, that’s all I need to know. Once we get every single person out of here, there will be plenty of time to catch up with everyone else.
Unit number fifty-two. I see it as soon as I turn the corner. There ’s no one watching for me from this window, but my skin is practically buzzing from knowing that my friends, my family, are this close. One by one, I take the steps up to the front door.
This is it. Taking one final shuddering breath, I rap my knuckles against the door. It ’s an agonizing thirty seconds before I hear someone clomp down the stairs inside, coming to find out who’s at their door.
Anxious to see who it is that ’ll open the door, I bite my lip. Mrs. Park, Alex… Marybeth? Maybe even Pierce. I imagine he spends most of his time here, but who knows what his life is like now? The possibilities roll through my mind right up until the second that the door swings open.
Alex. It ’s Alex. I swallow hard and then force a grin onto my face as shock registers onto his. “Miss me?”
“ Savannah.” He blinks. I blink. “Holy shit. It’s really you.”
“ In the flesh. The intact, completely alive flesh. Are you going to invite me in or what?”
Alex turns his head and hollers up the stairs, “ Beth! Pierce! Get your asses down here,” still blocking my entrance to his new house with his body. It’s less than a minute before they fly down the stairs, weapons in hand. As soon as Pierce sees me, the hammer he was holding clatters to the ground.
“ Savvy!” Pierce hops off the last step and shoulders past Alex to wrap me up in a tight hug, forcing a smile onto my face. Marybeth stays back, hovering on the stairs, but even she looks happy to see me.
“ I’m thrilled to see you too, dude,” I say, laughing as he pulls away.
“ What are you doing here?” he asks in his ever-formal British accent. His dark eyes are shining with excitement, and just like that, my own smile falters. I didn’t come here for a reunion, and we can’t afford to stand around and hug it out.
“ It’s a long story, but there’s something headed your way.” I step into the small foyer and let the door swing shut behind me. “I should probably wait until we’re all in one place. I’m supposed to meet with Paulson in a few minutes, but I wanted you guys to be there.”
“ That doesn’t sound good,” Alex says, worry already furrowing his forehead.
“ It’s not. Where’s your mom? She should probably be there too.”
“ Down the street, I think,” Marybeth offers. “Tilly Mason was bitten two days ago. She’s starting to run a fever, but Grace is keeping her comfortable for as long as she can so her family has time to say goodbye.”
When I first met Marybeth and Alex, a statement like this one would have had her in tears —an eight-year-old girl fated to die slowly before
Now it ’s my turn to offer a reassuring smile. “I found him. He’s fine.” Well, mostly fine, but I won’t get into that now.
“ Savannah! That’s amazing! Best news ever!” She bounces up and down on her heels, exuding energy. “Why don’t you go get Alex and Pierce? It would be such an awesome surprise. Then you can tell them the good news yourself.”
For half a second, I let myself forget that not all the news I ’ve brought with me is good and grin ear to ear.
Promising to meet back at the house where she lives with her dad in ten minutes, I t ake off at a jog toward the opposite end of the row, where Belle told me I can find Alex and his mom. I’m not sure if our reunion will be awkward, so I leave Liam in Belle’s capable hands, certain she’ll talk his ear off and keep him from wondering where I’ve wandered off to.
Patrick must not be the only new face that Paulson has adopted into his community, because their group now has enough people to take up nearly half of the complex of townhouses. Belle told me where to find Alex and Pierce, and for now, that’s all I need to know. Once we get every single person out of here, there will be plenty of time to catch up with everyone else.
Unit number fifty-two. I see it as soon as I turn the corner. There ’s no one watching for me from this window, but my skin is practically buzzing from knowing that my friends, my family, are this close. One by one, I take the steps up to the front door.
This is it. Taking one final shuddering breath, I rap my knuckles against the door. It ’s an agonizing thirty seconds before I hear someone clomp down the stairs inside, coming to find out who’s at their door.
Anxious to see who it is that ’ll open the door, I bite my lip. Mrs. Park, Alex… Marybeth? Maybe even Pierce. I imagine he spends most of his time here, but who knows what his life is like now? The possibilities roll through my mind right up until the second that the door swings open.
Alex. It ’s Alex. I swallow hard and then force a grin onto my face as shock registers onto his. “Miss me?”
“ Savannah.” He blinks. I blink. “Holy shit. It’s really you.”
“ In the flesh. The intact, completely alive flesh. Are you going to invite me in or what?”
Alex turns his head and hollers up the stairs, “ Beth! Pierce! Get your asses down here,” still blocking my entrance to his new house with his body. It’s less than a minute before they fly down the stairs, weapons in hand. As soon as Pierce sees me, the hammer he was holding clatters to the ground.
“ Savvy!” Pierce hops off the last step and shoulders past Alex to wrap me up in a tight hug, forcing a smile onto my face. Marybeth stays back, hovering on the stairs, but even she looks happy to see me.
“ I’m thrilled to see you too, dude,” I say, laughing as he pulls away.
“ What are you doing here?” he asks in his ever-formal British accent. His dark eyes are shining with excitement, and just like that, my own smile falters. I didn’t come here for a reunion, and we can’t afford to stand around and hug it out.
“ It’s a long story, but there’s something headed your way.” I step into the small foyer and let the door swing shut behind me. “I should probably wait until we’re all in one place. I’m supposed to meet with Paulson in a few minutes, but I wanted you guys to be there.”
“ That doesn’t sound good,” Alex says, worry already furrowing his forehead.
“ It’s not. Where’s your mom? She should probably be there too.”
“ Down the street, I think,” Marybeth offers. “Tilly Mason was bitten two days ago. She’s starting to run a fever, but Grace is keeping her comfortable for as long as she can so her family has time to say goodbye.”
When I first met Marybeth and Alex, a statement like this one would have had her in tears —an eight-year-old girl fated to die slowly before
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