The Player's Twins (Book Two of The Great Age Plague series)

Chapter Eighteen

A few phone calls confirmed it-- school was closed, Keon's job was closed, Cally's job was closed, and nearly every business in town closed, closed, closed. I was in the bedroom Josh and I shared, sitting on the floor and rubbing my stomach in contemplation. I wanted cheese puffs. And a nap. But I had packing to do, a suitcase and a backpack being the most I could bring, and as well as Fitzy and Lilac's crates. At the moment, Lilac was meowing in frustration, pacing around the room as I stared at her cat crate which held her favorite mouse toy, a blanket, and her dried food. She knew something was up. Fitzy, meanwhile, laid on the bed, staring across the sordid scene with big brown eyes. I leaned over and gave him a kiss on the head. 

Standing up, I went to the closet, selecting at least seven outfits, one for each day of the week. I chose my maternity jeans, some leggings, and one long, tea-length skirt. Then I selected three chunky knit sweaters, a camisole, and my favorite wrap dress in a dark night-sky blue. I loved that dress because it was dotted with silver stars. It was a gift from Keon that he had grabbed with some of his job money. I had scolded him because we really needed to save that money for the family, but he promised me it was a cheap Goodwill find, even showing me the receipt as proof. I could see why-- it was definitely out of style-- but as someone who cared less about style, I loved it. The best part was it was special to me for both boys. Yes, it was a gift from Keon, but Josh was the one who I always associated with the night sky. 

I was already tired both mentally and physically after picking out the clothing, so I plopped on the floor and grabbed a book. It was the first book in the Throne of Glass series that I had nabbed from the library before the new plague struck. I loved it, but was disappointed because it was likely I wouldn't be getting my hands on the sequel any time soon. Soon I found myself pulled away from my worries of reality, of a harsh world where both my boyfriend and husband fought internal demons, my best friend kept secrets, and my parents resided in heaven and not my home. I was instead pulled to the world of an amazing female assassin, a dark mystery, and a glass castle. I loved that about reading. I loved to escape. 

For this reason, I was grumpy when a rapping of knuckles on my door frame pulled me from my reading. It was Josh. Looking at him, I saw the dark circles under his eyes and the still thin frame of his body. Ever since rehab he had just looked so weak. I still wasn't sure how to approach him, but we were getting better. Silently, he entered the room and sat beside me. Laying a possessive hand on my thigh, he rubbed a circle soothingly. I set my book beside me. 

"Hey," I said softly. 

"Hey," he replied "How is my beautiful wife today?" I blushed at this. A wife. A girlfriend. A soon to be mother. It seemed like just yesterday I was none of these things, yet this is who I was now. I smiled and looked down. 

"If I'm going to be honest, I feel lost. Scared. I don't know what this safe house is going to entail. I just hope that they accept Fitzy and Lilac," I said, chewing on the bottom of my lip in contemplation. I knew it was childish, but a large part of me didn't want to go to this safe house if they wouldn't let us take our pets. To me, they were my family just as much as Keon, Cally, and Josh. I knew in the first round of plague, a lot of people had abandoned their pets, but my mother had been adamant we would never do that to Lilac, no matter what. 

Josh nodded and moved his hand from my thigh to around my shoulder. I sighed, leaning into him and breathing in his smell. He always smelled like cologne until recently, when he ran out, but he did have this nice masculine smell to him naturally that I had grown to associate with safety. He kissed the top of my head. 

"We'll make it through this," he whispered "We always do."

***

The day we left for the safe house, I looked over my shoulder at Josh's mansion as Cally helped the boys pack the car. Logically, I told myself we would be returning, but it felt so much like we were leaving forever. I thought of my times there. I thought of the party where Josh and I began to get close, I thought of the pool, the stars. I remembered the bad days, like finding out my mother had died, and I remembered the good days, like when Keon, Josh, and I agreed to be together. It had been the house that I had grown from a girl to a woman in, and before everything I had thought it would be the house I would raise my twins in. 

I didn't know it at the time, but it was the last time I would see Josh's mansion in one piece. I said a prayer to my parents, as I did when I was sad, and I said a prayer for the house. I turned to the car, resting a hand on my stomach as I began to march toward a new future, a new life. 

A/N-- Okay, the goal is to be back to updating daily now that I'm done with this massive school project. Also, I'm starting a Booktube channel soon, so keep your eyes out for that. Thanks everyone!