This Beautiful World - Book #1 (BxB)

Chapter 24

The next few days that passed were uneventful. Most days were the same. We stayed inside, and most of the group kept to themselves. I stayed amongst my friends and family, but I did find myself straying to Xavier's group now and then. Caitlyn did as well. Since Xavier and his friends seemed to be the ones taking on the responsibility, my sister wanted to join in as well. While she didn't help them during their night watch, she helped with the cooking and tried to make everyone feel comfortable.  

As the rest of us stuck with our own groups, Riley was still not present. She stayed upstairs in the room and chose to keep to herself. Alex and I tried multiple times to comfort her, but nothing seemed to be working. Even Riley's father couldn't get her to join us. She was distraught over what happened to her mother. I knew that it would take time for her to heal, but I was starting to worry more about her. Her health would decline if she continued on like this. I wasn't sure what to do in this situation. None of us knew what to do. Waiting for her to get better on her own didn't seem like the right option, but she pushed us away when we tried to comfort her. 

When she pushed me away this time, I let out a sigh. I gently closed the door behind me as I left the room that we were staying in. She told me that she wanted to be alone, so I would respect her wish for now. I couldn't let her continue to be on her own like this anymore, though. Next time, I wouldn't leave her side. I couldn't force her to feel better, but I could at least stay there with her. Maybe a little company was what she needed. 

I was about to join the others downstairs, but I stopped when someone else caught my attention. Arin was by himself as I watched him go up the stairs toward the third floor. I thought that perhaps he was doing one of his routine inspections. Xavier's group got into the habit of checking each floor to make sure there were no other infected that may have been overlooked. I knew that Arin was also thinking about the zombie that reached the window the other night. If one of them could climb up there like that, then it could happen again. We were lucky that things had been silent thus far. 

If Arin was checking out the building, then I should help out as well. It felt unfair that I haven't been doing much all of this time. My sister was stepping up to help, so I needed to as well. I decided to follow him to offer my assistance, though I did find it odd that none of his other friends were joining him. They always seemed to work in groups of two. I didn't know what would make now be the exception. 

Instead of stopping at the third floor, Arin went up to the roof. My curiosity got the better of me, so I followed the rest of the way. I opened up the door and saw that he had his back turned to me. Arin had his arms resting against the railing as he looked out at our destroyed town. I noticed smoke coming from him and realized that he was smoking a cigarette. I was a little surprised by this since I never noticed this habit from him before. But then again, I still barely knew him. 

"Those aren't good for you, you know?" I said as I took the spot beside him. 

"Thanks, Captain Obvious." Arin glanced over at me, then added in a less sarcastic tone, "I only smoke when I'm stressed. Which, it's kind of hard not to be stressed when the fucking world is ending. This takes the edge off a little bit, though at this rate, I'll be running out soon."

"Well, nothing like the zombie apocalypse to get you to quit, right?" 

He chuckled a bit at this. "You have a point. Though, in all seriousness, I'm not so worried about my bad habit. What does concern me is that eventually, we're going to start running out of supplies here. We were able to scrounge up as much as we could when we searched each apartment, but there were some that had no supplies at all. Most likely because the previous tenants took what they could when they fled. We have a decent-sized group, which means we'll have to make a supply run eventually. Xavier thinks we should search for a grocery store and pharmacy by next week."

I knew that in time, this would happen, but I didn't expect it to be so soon. This was a good opportunity for me to step up and take some responsibility. "I'll help. The more hands we have on deck, the better, right?"

"Your sister offered the same thing. She was a part of the conversation when Xavier first brought it up. We appreciate all of the help that we can get, though, I worry about your sister. She's brave, but she also seems a bit reckless. I would hate for her to get in trouble," he said. 

I also didn't like the idea of Caitlyn accompanying them. I would rather have my sister stay back with our mother, but I doubted that she would listen. After all, she followed us before when she wasn't supposed to. The only thing that I could really do was try to talk her out of it. 

"If you want to start helping, you could always help me out when it's my turn to do night watch. Xavier is supposed to be my partner, but he does enough around here. He deserves a break." He hesitated, then added, "I also wouldn't mind if you were the one staying up with me."

The last part piqued my interest. I leaned in a little closer to him, then gave him an innocent grin before asking, "Is this your way of trying to flirt with me? You asking me to stay up at night with you?"

Arin rolled his eyes, but I caught the smile tugging at his lips. He ignored my question and said, "If your answer is yes, then tonight is my turn. Meet me downstairs when it gets dark out."

He finished his cigarette, then flicked it off of the side of the building. He shot me one last smile, then turned and walked away from me. It looked like I would have a decision to make tonight. This was my chance to pitch in a bit. Keeping watch with Arin was the least that I could do. Plus, it did give me the chance to spend some more time with him and get to know him. 

I made up my mind on what I would do tonight. For now, I left to join the others again.