“None taking, I never understood it either. We’re not together anymore, why haven’t you gone after him?”
She shrugged indifferently, but sadness crept over her. “Cause he still loves you.”
“But…”
“It’s ok. I think he’ll come around one day, or I’ll move on. If we can ever find some cute survivors somewhere,” she added nonchalantly.
“Jenna…”
“Right now we all need each other. I understand that. When all of this first happened , I didn’t get tha t. I kept waiting to wake up, kept waiting for the punch line , kept waiting for it all not to be real . But there is no punch line , and all we have is each other. Trying to get Bret to notice me is no longer a priority.”
I stared at her for a long moment, startled by how much she had grown up in these past few weeks. How much she had changed. But then, she had lost both of her parents in the attack. She didn’t say it, but I knew that she retained some hope they were still alive. Not that I blamed her . S he hadn ’t seen either of them die, didn ’ t even know if they had been frozen , and if Bishop’s blood type theory was correct then at least one of her parents , perhaps both, had escaped The Fr eezing . T here was still a chance they might be alive.
“If there is one thing I’ve learned , it’s that we don’t know how much time we have left. It could end today for all we know. Getting Bret to notice you may not be a priority, but I would at least tell him how you feel. I love Bret, he’s a great friend, but he can be a bit obtuse about some things.”
“You mean like his firm belief that you will eventually get over Cade.”
I tried to cover up my involuntary flinch over Cade’s name , but I knew she had seen it. “Yes, like that.”
Jenna heaved a long sigh, forced a small smile, and climbed slowly to he r feet. “You’re right about not knowing how much time is left, but Bret needs time to come to terms with losing you. I also need time. We’ve lost a lot, this isn’t our world anymore. ”
“No, it’s not.” I took hold of the hand she offered me, squeezing it tightly . I’d lost all my friends, I didn’t know what had become of one. But I’d just found a friend where I never thought I would and I was not surprised to realize that Jenna would be a good friend. “I’m glad we had this talk.”
She grinned at me. “Me too.”
C HAPTER 4
It was harder moving through the dark, especially without a flashlight, but I felt strangely safer with only the moon and stars to guide us. It was stupid to feel that way, we had been attacked more than once at night, but I couldn’t help it. Though it was harder to see, we made surprisingly good time and reached the edge of Plymouth before daybreak.
Lloyd consulted the GPS. “ W e can cut through Myles Standish ; use the state forest as cover . I t’s only seven miles but the terrain will slow us down. ”
“And we’d…” Jenna pondered softly, her eyes distant.
I frowned at her , but it was Bret that asked the question. “And we’d what?”
Jenna bit on her bottom lip, her shoulders were set tight, and then they slumped. “I might as well tell you,” she mumbled. I bristled, disliking the fact she had kept anything from us , especially after our talk earlier. “I wrote a note for my parents before I left. I told them that I would try to meet them in Plymouth at my Aunt Lucy’s house. If they’re still alive…”
Her voice trailed off, the underlying hope beneath it nearly palpable. “Then they would go to your Aunt Lucy’s,” I finished for her .
“Yes,” she breathed, tears shimmering in her bright eyes.
“Where do es she live?”
“S tate road, it’s only four miles from the hospital, but…”
“It’s on the opposite side of where we are,” Lloyd finished for her, his eyes narrowed
She shrugged indifferently, but sadness crept over her. “Cause he still loves you.”
“But…”
“It’s ok. I think he’ll come around one day, or I’ll move on. If we can ever find some cute survivors somewhere,” she added nonchalantly.
“Jenna…”
“Right now we all need each other. I understand that. When all of this first happened , I didn’t get tha t. I kept waiting to wake up, kept waiting for the punch line , kept waiting for it all not to be real . But there is no punch line , and all we have is each other. Trying to get Bret to notice me is no longer a priority.”
I stared at her for a long moment, startled by how much she had grown up in these past few weeks. How much she had changed. But then, she had lost both of her parents in the attack. She didn’t say it, but I knew that she retained some hope they were still alive. Not that I blamed her . S he hadn ’t seen either of them die, didn ’ t even know if they had been frozen , and if Bishop’s blood type theory was correct then at least one of her parents , perhaps both, had escaped The Fr eezing . T here was still a chance they might be alive.
“If there is one thing I’ve learned , it’s that we don’t know how much time we have left. It could end today for all we know. Getting Bret to notice you may not be a priority, but I would at least tell him how you feel. I love Bret, he’s a great friend, but he can be a bit obtuse about some things.”
“You mean like his firm belief that you will eventually get over Cade.”
I tried to cover up my involuntary flinch over Cade’s name , but I knew she had seen it. “Yes, like that.”
Jenna heaved a long sigh, forced a small smile, and climbed slowly to he r feet. “You’re right about not knowing how much time is left, but Bret needs time to come to terms with losing you. I also need time. We’ve lost a lot, this isn’t our world anymore. ”
“No, it’s not.” I took hold of the hand she offered me, squeezing it tightly . I’d lost all my friends, I didn’t know what had become of one. But I’d just found a friend where I never thought I would and I was not surprised to realize that Jenna would be a good friend. “I’m glad we had this talk.”
She grinned at me. “Me too.”
C HAPTER 4
It was harder moving through the dark, especially without a flashlight, but I felt strangely safer with only the moon and stars to guide us. It was stupid to feel that way, we had been attacked more than once at night, but I couldn’t help it. Though it was harder to see, we made surprisingly good time and reached the edge of Plymouth before daybreak.
Lloyd consulted the GPS. “ W e can cut through Myles Standish ; use the state forest as cover . I t’s only seven miles but the terrain will slow us down. ”
“And we’d…” Jenna pondered softly, her eyes distant.
I frowned at her , but it was Bret that asked the question. “And we’d what?”
Jenna bit on her bottom lip, her shoulders were set tight, and then they slumped. “I might as well tell you,” she mumbled. I bristled, disliking the fact she had kept anything from us , especially after our talk earlier. “I wrote a note for my parents before I left. I told them that I would try to meet them in Plymouth at my Aunt Lucy’s house. If they’re still alive…”
Her voice trailed off, the underlying hope beneath it nearly palpable. “Then they would go to your Aunt Lucy’s,” I finished for her .
“Yes,” she breathed, tears shimmering in her bright eyes.
“Where do es she live?”
“S tate road, it’s only four miles from the hospital, but…”
“It’s on the opposite side of where we are,” Lloyd finished for her, his eyes narrowed
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