This Beautiful World - Book #1 (BxB)

Chapter 41

The following morning came too quickly. Arin and I stayed in bed together, neither willing to be the first to get up. After our intimate exchange yesterday, we got a shower again and I gave Arin some of my father's clothes to wear. Mine would have been too small for him. For the remainder of that time, we made small talk before heading to bed. Now, it was time to get up and get back to the others. I could already hear the scolding that I was most likely to receive from my mother and Alex.

But I didn't want to think about Alex right now especially not after what I had done with Arin. I didn't regret my choice, though. If I were given the choice again, I would still pick Arin. Being with him felt right. Besides, it seemed that my friend was moving on as well. It seemed awfully suspicious that Alex had been hanging around Xavier lately. He and Xavier possibly had become friends, but I knew Alex better than anyone. He didn't easily let others into his life. Something else was going on.

"We should get going. Don't want the others to send out a search party for us," Arin said, taking me out of my thoughts.

As much as I didn't want to, I knew it was time to return. I sighed, following Arin out of bed. As quickly as it had come, the moment was over. I was glad Arin had been willing to come here with me, even though we took a big risk. Despite that risk, he took me here to make me feel better, and I felt as though we had grown closer because of this experience. 

"Is there anything that you would like to take back with you? Maybe you can surprise your mother and sister with one of your family portraits," Arin said as we walked down the stairs. He was looking at each of the pictures that were framed on the walls as we passed them. 

It wasn't a bad suggestion. It would be a reminder of better times, which might make my mother happy. I had a feeling she would want to see our whole family together again, even if it were only in a picture. It might bring my mother and Caitlyn hope. 

I grabbed one of the photos that had all of us in it. It was the last family photo we took when my father was still around—a happy family, something that wouldn't exist again anytime soon, if ever again. I must have been staring at the picture for a while before Arin pulled me out of my thoughts. 

"Are you okay?" he asked, a worried expression on his face. 

I nodded to reassure him that I was fine. Things would never go back to the way that they used to be. No matter what, I needed to accept the world we were now living in. Everything was a disaster, but at least one good thing came out of it. I never would have met Arin otherwise. For all I knew, I could have passed him multiple times in my everyday life without ever noticing. We could have continued to go without knowing each other if the end of the world wasn't upon us. 

Arin looked down at the photo I had picked out. "That man in the picture is your dad? Do you think that he's . . ."

He trailed off, not willing to say the words on his mind. My father wasn't something we ever talked about before, so he didn't want to push any boundaries. I didn't mind talking to him about my father, though. I was willing to open up to Arin. 

"My father is still alive, probably. He's a scientist, and before he left us a year ago, he said that there was something important he needed to take care of. His work's confidential so he couldn't talk to us about his job. It's frustrating not knowing what he was up to, and honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if my father's the reason for the zombie outbreak. His work always seemed so suspicious, not to mention that I know he has a lab in the basement. I've seen it when I was younger without him knowing." I let out a sigh. Remembering the way my father acted about his job always upset me. His work meant more to him than his own family. 

Arin seemed to take an interest when I mentioned the lab to him. He asked, "Do you think that it would be possible to see your father's lab? Perhaps we might find some clues about this virus if he is involved in some way."

I shook my head. "It's not possible. My father put a code on the door to his lab, and I don't know it. I have already tried to break in a couple of times. The code isn't any of our birthdays or his anniversary. Those might be too obvious for his code, so I have no clue what it could be. My father never even left any notes lying around with the code on it." 

My father was too intelligent to make it that simple for one of us to break in. I shrugged my shoulders and added, "I did have the opportunity to learn it once, but I guess I blew that chance. While growing up, my father did want me to follow in his footsteps. He was upset with me for not following his path, plus it only made our relationship worse when he learned that I'm gay. When my father left, we weren't on good terms. If there is anything useful in his lab, then I'll never know. I doubt even my mom knows what secrets are in there." 

I looked down at my father's face in the photo. In my last year with him, we did nothing but argue. He constantly disapproved of my choices, which caused a rift between us. I couldn't grow up to be the man my father wanted me to be. 

Arin gently placed a hand on my shoulder. "I'm sorry, Aiden. You may not have seen eye to eye with your dad, but I think that he would be happy to know that you're still alive. Right now, you may not want to, but I hope that you'll be able to see him again. Family's important, so you should cherish them while you have them."

I knew that he was right. He barely spoke about himself, so I had almost forgotten about Arin's family. He never spoke about his parents, but I knew that he used to have a little sister. I didn't want to bring it up. If it were something that he wanted to talk about, then I would allow him to open up whenever he was ready. He listened to me, and I would do the same for him. 

With my free hand that wasn't holding the photo, I grabbed his hand and asked, "Shall we get going?"

It was about time that we finally headed back. He gave me a sad smile and nodded. After the conversation about family, he was most likely thinking about his. I squeezed his hand, not knowing how to comfort him. I didn't want to bring it up and remind him of painful memories. The only thing I could do for him was be here to support him. If he needed me, then I would be by his side. 

He must have noticed the worried expression on my face. Arin leaned in to plant a kiss on my forehead. "Don't worry, Aiden. I'm fine. One day, we can talk about my sister, but for now, let's get back to the others."

If that were what he wished, then I would follow his lead. Perhaps being surrounded by his other friends might make Arin feel a little better. After all, they probably knew his sister and could comfort him better than I could. 

As usual, we walked back to the apartment complex in silence. We always had to be silent when venturing out into the world, but I was starting to get used to it. We were adapting to this way of living. It was be silent or attract the monsters and die. After being with Arin, I preferred to stay alive for as long as possible. 

The moment we turned down the street of the apartment complex, I immediately noticed something was wrong. Outside were trucks, military trucks, sitting in front of the building. It wasn't a coincidence that they were there, and it didn't seem like they were here to rescue us either. I saw men, soldiers in uniforms, standing outside with guns in their hands. Some of them even went into the building that we were staying at. 

Arin and I didn't approach the building. We took cover behind one of the cars, waiting to see what was about to happen. I was scared for my friends and family inside, but I knew that we couldn't just approach the soldiers. These people could be hostile and might shoot us down the moment they saw us. All we could do was wait and pray. 

I tried to stay calm until I saw my mother and sister being escorted out by the soldiers. I could no longer stay hidden while my family might be in danger. 

Without giving it a second thought, I rushed out of hiding to stop them from taking my family away.