This Beautiful World - Book #1 (BxB)

Chapter 12

Before night had fallen, we moved our group upstairs. Most people wanted to go to the third floor. I guess they felt safer being farther away from the zombies. They also didn't mind sharing an apartment with strangers, but Logan wasn't going to have any of that. He chose to be by himself while everyone else broke up into smaller groups.  

My family and friends decided that we would stay together. The apartment was a decent size and would fit all of us just fine. Alex and I would share a room, while the girls would have their own. It did feel a bit strange staying in a home that used to be someone else's, but I couldn't be picky about where I stayed. There were much worse places.

Since it was getting dark out, we found some candles within the apartment and lit those before we couldn't see. It gave the place an ominous glow. We found a flashlight as well, but we decided to save that for another time. You never know when we might need it.

All of us were inside the apartment, except for Riley. She had snuck off somewhere while we were getting everything set up for the night. I was worried about her. She had been acting strange. She wasn't normally this quiet and she wasn't the type to go off on her own like this. I wanted to check up on her for a while and now seemed like a good enough time. I would be able to chat with her without any interference.

When I left the apartment and tried to walk away, I almost didn't notice Riley. She hadn't gone far at all. She was sitting outside of the door, her head resting on her knees. I sat down beside her. She barely looked up to see that it was only me. The faint glow that came from my candle was the only light that we had. There was a window at the end of the hall, but it was too far away from us to cast any light from outside. 

Riley let out a sigh. "I'm not surprised that it's you who came to check on me. You're always the first one there when I need someone."

She sat up and placed her head against my shoulder. I gently laid mine against hers as well. "You're one of my best friends. Whenever you need me, I'll be there for you."

"Thank you. I wish Alex would care as much as you do," she said. 

"Alex cares. He might not show it often, but he does care. He's afraid, just like we all are right now. But if we all stick together, then everything will be fine." Part of me had a feeling that she would have rather had Alex comforting her right now. He was the person she likes, after all. However, he wasn't exactly the type of person who comforted others. 

"You're always the optimistic one. Aiden . . . I'm worried about my mom and dad. Ever since we got here, I've been thinking about them. You were able to find your mom and sister here, so maybe my parents are safe as well. I know it's dangerous out there, but I have to find them. Even if it's only a small chance that they're alive, I want to take that chance. And I'm not asking you or anyone to come with me. I wouldn't put your life at risk for my selfishness." Riley pulled away from me and looked me in the eyes. Though she was scared, she was deadset on finding her parents. 

I understood where she was coming from. Out of pure luck, my family happened to be here. Seeing them must have given her hope that her parents were okay, too. It was only natural for her to want to find them, though I did think that it was a bad idea for her to go out there on her own. We didn't know for sure whether they were alive or not, nor did we know where they might have run off to. 

But that didn't stop me from wanting to lend her my assistance. "If you want to look for them, then I'll go with you. We will need to talk to the others to let them know what we're planning."

Riley took me by surprise when she threw her arms around me and hugged me. With her face so close to mine now, I could see that she had been crying. This must have been tearing her apart. 

"Thank you. I could never ask you to accompany me on something like this, yet I can't help but feel relieved that you'll be there with me. I feel like such a selfish person making you come with me after everything that we saw today." She tightened her grip on me slightly. 

"Don't feel bad. You're not making me do anything. I'm doing this because I want to be there for you. I do worry that the others will be against this since we just got here. My mom will be upset, but I think that she'll understand. Now, let's go back inside. It's been a really long day so we should try to get some sleep," I said. 

She let go of me and I stood up. I held out my hand for her, then helped her to her feet. Before we went into the apartment, I noticed the faint glow of a candle from down the hall. I couldn't see who it was, but the light was gone quickly as whoever it belonged to went down to the first floor. I did hear talk about Xavier's group keeping watch at night time while everyone else slept. They would work in shifts to keep this place safe. 

It did ease my mind a little bit to know that people were willing to help others. During this, we needed to work together in order to survive.