Life After Z

Chapter 30 - Everett

Lucas needed to stay with Sebbie and I didn't think anything was going to drag Jen out of this building anytime soon. Leaving me to move the truck and the vehicles we commandeered from the assholes that tried to jump us. It took longer than I would have liked because I didn't want to hide all three cars in the same place. Better to have them in different places in case shit hit the fan. With that in mind, I put the big rig in the empty firehouse, closing the bay doors to hide it from sight. I parked the hummer in a garage of a house not too far away from the community center that Ivy called home and I stashed the pickup truck in an empty warehouse on the far side of town in case we ended up over there for some reason.

By the time I got back and crawled through the second-floor window leading to the track, the sky was lightening with the pre-dawn light. I headed straight for the medical office only to find that Cooper was in there alone. He looked significantly better and seemed to be sleeping rather than unconscious. There were two bags of fluids attached to an IV and I walked over to see that in addition to giving him normal saline, Ivy had also decided to dose him with IV antibiotics. Considering she did the first part of the surgery on the roof of our truck, it was a smart move.

Cooper's pants had been cut off and his body wiped clean of the blood that had been there before. Currently, he was cocooned in a clean blanket and seemed to be resting peacefully. Meaning that Iyt had figured out how to perform another fucking miracle. The sheer amount of shit we owed her for was starting to get ridiculous.

I left Cooper to his sleep and went in search of our little spitfire. Me and her needed to clear the air in a big way. However, I couldn't seem to find her anywhere. This place was massive and we were only occupying the second floor. I first looked in her bedroom slash observatory only to find Lucas and Sebbie passed out cold on Ivy's bed. She wasn't in the greenhouse and I only found Jen curled up on one of the couches in the library. Each of the offices was empty as were the track and sports courts on the gym side. I double-checked the medical room but didn't have any better luck.

I couldn't find Ivy.

I double-checked everything and then started to get nervous. I wouldn't put it past our little spitfire to patch up Cooper and then disappear on principle. Ivy didn't want us here. Told me that she didn't feel safe with me after the shit I had said around the fire. Then she had given us the ultimate cold shoulder for the rest of the night. What if she left with her little dog pals and didn't come back?

None of the shit in this place would mean fuck all if Ivy wasn't here too.

I was just starting to seriously lose my cool when she strode out of the medical office with her two furry shadows. Her hair was wet and she was wearing a different set of clothes. "Where the fuck have you been?" I growled, my anxiety and fear coming out as anger that Ivy didn't deserve but I couldn't seem to control. Ivy simply raised a single brow at me while her guard dog growled low in warning.

"I have spent the last hour looking everywhere for you," I tried to explain with more grace but it ended up coming out more like an accusation.

"I don't have to tell you my whereabouts or explain myself to you," Ivy declared with steel in her voice, only making my ire burn hotter.

"I was worried about you," I gritted out and she clenched her hands into fists. Clearly, that had been the wrong thing to say.

"Wouldn't want to make things too easy for you since you love the chase so fucking much. I have news for you Everett, I am not as sweet and trusting as you all seem to think I am and I won't be getting anywhere near your bed. So you can just forget about chasing some pointless tail. Cooper will be fit to travel in three days, four tops. During that time, I want you to stay the hell away from me. Don't seek me out and don't worry about me. I am just fine. Have been for a really long time now." After hissing out that little speech she tried to turn on her heel and stalk away in a huff.

Not a fucking chance.

I darted in front of her and planted my feet. Yes, I had said those reprehensible things. I wasn't going to hide from that fact but she could bet her sweet ass that I was going to explain them. "Now Darlin', you have every reason to be upset and I admit that we shouldn't have dragged you into that shit, but you do see that we were backed into a corner with shit choices, right? They were going to force Jen and then kill us all. We had to do something, anything to prevent that. Nothing we said last night was real. All of it was a fucking lie that tasted like poison. I hated even thinking that kind of shit about you."

"And can you see that if you were trying to lure me into a false sense of safety, that is exactly what you would say?" Ivy rebutted and I clenched my jaw in frustration. I had been making progress. She had been allowing me to get closer to her walls. I hadn't yet breached them but I had been working on it. Now there was more distance between us than when she first crashed into our lives.

"There is only one way to know for sure," I told her and took a step toward her. Milo growled his displeasure and Ivy's eyes hardened. I had a suspicion that she had been telling the truth when she told me that she wasn't as sweet as she seemed. I had the sure knowledge that she would put me on my ass if I did anything she didn't want right now. "Give me a chance Darlin'. Don't let your fear make this decision for you. My actions will tell the truth. Give me a chance and I will prove to you that my interest in you is genuine. I am not here to play games with you. I want to create something real here."

"You're talking as if you will be staying here. You will not. You gave me your word you would leave after Cooper has recuperated."

Her declaration damn near gutted me. After seeing everything this place could offer and hoping for more with our little spitfire, it would rip me open to leave. Not to mention what us going back on the road would be taking away from Sebbie. When I told her I would leave she prefaced her request with an if. I figured I had time to make sure she didn't ever ask. But now it felt like she was already asking, denying me the time I had been depending on. Leaving me in a no-win scenario.

If I tried to convince her to let us stay, she would declare me a liar whose word can't be trusted. But if I did as she asked we would all suffer. We would be back on the road, limited to our shallow life within the truck and she would be doomed to isolation without anyone to look out for her.

"Okay," I forced myself to say. This was her safe place. Her home. She set the rules and had the power here. I couldn't bring myself to tarnish that.

"I will leave. But do me one thing, Darlin'. Think real long and hard before kicking the others out. It's clear as day that you love that little boy and he deserves a place like this. Lucas is the most trustworthy and gentle guy I know and you know Jen is at the end of her rope in regard to the truck. It will be good to have another chick around. Cooper is an honest to god genuinely good guy that will do everything in his power to protect you and this place. I understand you needing me gone, but don't punish them or yourself because of me. I'll go. Just let them stay."

I could see within her whiskey eyes that my words shocked her. Now all I could do was wait for her answer.