Mortality

Chapter 14: Zarah

October 27th

Liam rubs my lower back over the fabric of my jacket while the two of us sit on the front steps of my aunt’s apartment building. It’s been a long day and all I want to do is have a hot bath, but he has to leave in two hours and it could be weeks before I see him again.

Liam’s dad has been invited to attend a conference in Texas on bettering our defenses against the infected, or something like that. Liam explained it all to me earlier, but I’m too tired to remember. He has nobody else, so Liam is going to go with him. I’m trying not to watch all of the news reports that talk about how bad things have gotten in the South. The border has been overrun twice already. Liam’s dad says that is exactly why he needs to go.

Liam hasn’t been able to offer me even a guess at when they’ll be back.

“I’ll text you every day,” he promises. His dark blue eyes are shining with concern for me, and I feel guilty for not being able to put on a brave face and tell him I’ll be okay. I never thought I would be one of those girls who needs constant contact and reassurance from her boyfriend, and I feel ridiculous about the whole thing, but I can’t help it. I now understand the saying ‘worried sick’.

“Let’s just go inside, okay?” I stand up and take his hand to lead him back inside the building. No one goes outside if they can help it anymore, and it’s creeping me out to stare at the empty street.

When we get back to Noor’s apartment on the sixth floor, I pause before unlocking the front door. I pull Liam in close to me but my puffy bubble jacket keeps us inches apart as he brings his face down closer to mine. I’m still chilled from the October air, but I can feel the warmth coming off of Liam as he rests his forehead against mine. His body heat spreads through me until I feel flushed.

He kisses my nose and then tilts his head down farther. Our lips meet for a moment before I pull back. “You could stay here. Noor wouldn’t mind.” I know that’s probably not true, but I have to try.

“I can’t. My dad jumped through a lot of hoops to make sure I could go with him.” I pull my head back farther and bring my eyebrows down in question. Why would it matter if a seventeen year old is at some political meeting? Liam steps back, and instantly I feel cold again and hug my arms close to my body.

“The government has a second manufacturer of R11 in Austin that they’re trying to keep quiet while they create a big enough supply to actually help people. That’s why the conference is being held there. My dad thinks he’ll be able to get both of us vaccinated as soon as we get in.” He lowers his eyes, and I can tell he’s embarrassed. Liam has done nothing but warn me against the vaccine for the past week. “You can’t tell anyone. They’re keeping the second facility secret for now to try and avoid the riots like the ones in California. I shouldn’t even have told you.”

“I won’t tell anyone, but I don’t I understand why this is so important to you all of a sudden. What changed your mind?”

“I didn’t. My dad changed it for me.” He rolls his eyes, but I get the sense he’s only saying this for my benefit. I doubt Liam has ever been told what to do by either of his parents. If anything, since Mr. Holt has been doing the single parent thing, he’s been even more lenient. Liam’s new tattoo of a Lynx sitting between his shoulder blades can attest to that.

I’m not surprised that this is the thing Mr. Holt finally put his foot down on, though. I’m glad Liam is going to get this chance, but I still wish desperately that he didn’t have to leave to have it.

It was only a few days after reports of the vaccine surfaced that it was available on the West Coast. Riots started all over the country with people demanding to be vaccinated.