This Beautiful World - Book #1 (BxB)

Chapter 7

I was so grateful to see my family again. The fear that something might have happened to them has washed away. After hugging my mom for what felt like an eternity, I turned to my sister and embraced her as well. As I held my sister, my mother also hugged Alex and Riley. She might not have been a fan of Alex, but she was still happy to see that the three of us were okay. I noticed my friends look around the other survivors for their own families, yet no one else came forward to greet us. Their families were still out there somewhere. I could only hope that they somehow made it out of this chaos and found somewhere safe to wait this out.  

Caitlyn pried herself from my grasp. "I'm happy to see you safe and all, but you're smothering me."

My teenage sister didn't want to be hugged by her older brother. Normally I wouldn't have shown her this sort of affection, but after worrying so much about her I couldn't help myself. I was just glad to see that she was okay. My family meant the world to me.

"How did you and Mom get here?" Our home wasn't that far from this part of town, but it still would have been quite a run. This also didn't seem like the type of place where they would have taken shelter, but I didn't know the circumstances that led them here.

When I asked this question, my sister glanced past me. I looked behind me to see that her eyes had landed on one of the men who boarded up the door. There was the man who called us over to this place and the other one had blond, slightly curly hair.

"The cute one rescued us. He saw that we were in danger when we were trying to escape our house. He and the other guy were helping people and then we ended up here. We needed a quick place to hide," Caitlyn answered.

I wasn't sure which guy she was referring to. They were both handsome, in my opinion. They both looked young, probably around the same age as me and my friends. Either way, I would have to thank them for saving my family. While I had my eyes on them, the blond one caught me staring at them. I glanced away quickly, embarrassed. I didn't mean to stare at them for so long. It wasn't long before the two of them came up to my group.

The man who rescued me and my friends was the one who spoke first. "We heard some commotion outside and it's a good thing I decided to check or else I might have missed you three. I'm glad that we were able to help some more people. I'm Xavier, by the way." He held out his hand for us to shake one by one.

"I'm Arin," the blond introduced himself next. I glanced at my sister and saw her blush when he spoke. So this was the guy that helped them.

My friends and I took our turns introducing ourselves one by one. When it was my turn, I mostly turned my attention to Arin. "I'm Aiden. Thank you for helping us and thank you so much for rescuing my mom and sister. I owe you." 

"I'm just happy that I could help." Arin smiled at me and I found myself lost in his smile. It was sweet and genuine. I understood why my sister took a liking to him already. With looks like that, it would be hard not to fall for him.

To my left, I heard Alex clear his throat. I was staring once again, so I looked down at my feet. Twice now, I found myself staring at this stranger and I most likely made him feel awkward.

At least I didn't have to feel like a weirdo for too long. Xavier got our attention again by saying, "I hope you don't mind me asking, but none of you were bitten or scratched, right? We just want to make sure that this stays a safe place."

It was completely understandable. They didn't want to risk letting an infected person into their shelter. Luckily, the three of us were untouched. I did notice Xavier glance at my arm where my hoodie was torn by a zombie. I held my arm up and showed them that I was fine. No bite marks or scratches.

They looked relieved when they saw that we were fine, especially my family. They worried about us just as much as I was worried about them. I reached out and took my mom's hand. Caitlyn would have been her main priority since they were together, but I knew that she was worried about me just as much. Thankfully, we were all together again.

Shortly after, another woman and man who also looked young came up to our group. Their focus was on Arin and Xavier, though. It seemed like my group could rest for the time being, but I had no idea how long that would last. It wasn't like things could stay peaceful for long with the path that our world seemed to be going down.

Before we walked away from them, we stayed and listened to the conversation even though we weren't a part of it. It sounded like something urgent. I wanted to stay and listen in case it was bad news. 

The woman was the one who spoke, "Guys, don't you think that we should finally check the upper floors? I think I heard something coming from up the stairs not that long ago."

I was a little confused as to why they didn't check that already. Since they didn't check then who knew what the hell could be waiting up those stairs. This place could have been infested and we were hanging out here. I was about to open my mouth and point this out, but I was surprised when Riley beat me to it.

"So you have all of these people here, but no one decided to check upstairs to make sure that it was actually safe? From how it looks outside, it seems like days have passed. What have you been doing this whole time?" Riley was never the type to point out any flaws. She was the type to stay silent even when she knew that something was bullshit. But I guess after seeing what we did that would be enough to change anyone, especially when our lives might have been in danger right now.

The others shifted awkwardly on their feet. They also knew that not checking was stupid. Xavier was the one who answered, "We wanted to, but people are scared. We don't have enough people who are willing to check the upper floors with us."

I understood wanting to work in numbers. You can overcome obstacles together, but this was just not right. Something could have come down those stairs at any moment and everyone here would have been in danger. My mom and sister could have been hurt by this carelessness.

"I'll help you," Caitlyn said.

I immediately shot her down, "No, you won't. You're going to stay down here with Mom. It's not safe to go upstairs right now. Not until we know if there really is anything up there."

"But they need help and if no one else is willing to then I will. I can handle myself just fine, Aiden. I promise." She was as stubborn as I was, but arguing with me wasn't going to win her case.

I shook my head. "I'll help them instead. I'm not letting you go upstairs."

"Aiden, please, don't. Stay here with us. I don't want something to happen to you." Mom reached out and grabbed my arm. Her eyes were desperate and pleading with me to stay downstairs with them.

I lightly squeezed my mom's arm as if that would bring her any sort of comfort. "I'll be okay. I just want to make sure that this place is safe for us "

"I'll go with him, too. I'll make sure that nothing happens to him." Alex put an arm around my shoulder.

He didn't say it, but I knew that he was most likely annoyed with me for recklessly offering them aid. But someone had to do it. We needed to know what was up there.

I glanced over at Riley. "Could you stay here and look after my family? Especially Caitlyn. I don't want her following us."

I knew that if given the chance, my sister would follow us. I didn't want to risk that. Riley nodded but said nothing else. I was beginning to really worry about her. When I got the chance, I would talk to her and make sure that she was okay. Right now, checking that this place was safe was the priority.

"We appreciate any help that we can get. I feel bad since you did just get here, but if you're sure that we'll accept any help," Xavier said. Since he was the one doing most of the talking, it made him seem like he was the leader. He seems like a nice guy, at least.

After escaping those zombies recently, I wasn't quite ready to have to face them yet again. However, my family was more important to me. I'll do whatever it takes to keep them safe.