Manipulated Page 23

  "Careful." He sounded so tired and slow. "Grams wants you to leave it on."

  "I just wanna see how much it hurts." He removed his hand, and I went back to work unwinding the bandage. Insane itching made me break out my ugly, long fingernails. As I scratched the deep red lines the tight bandage left on my skin, I stared at the nails I had only cut a day ago—they had grown far faster than they ever had before. Alternating between scratching and glaring at my nails, I worked in some wrist movement. "It doesn't hurt."

  He sat up. "At all?" Taking my hand in his, he stared down at it as I fought him to continue scratching. "Stop, you'll make yourself bleed."

  I widened my eyes at him and clenched my jaw. The itching was almost bad enough to make me shove him off the bed just so I could scratch

  "Risa—" Uh oh. His serious tone and sort of sad, sort of relieved half-smile had me worried already. "Baby, your eyes are green."

  I blinked a few times. Green. I was fully infected. I'd been prepared for it to happen, but I was still a little sad. I didn't want to be infected.

  He brushed the back of his fingers across my cheek where I'd been hit. "Your eye healed, too—perfect skin again."

  I rolled my eyes. I never had perfect skin. I wasn't the poster girl for acne or anything like that, but I wasn't perfect.

  "You know what this means?" he asked, but I just shook my head, unsure of everything. "You're fully infected, and you're still alive, and you're not a psycho."

  It took me a minute to comprehend that. He was right. I wasn't like the people on the message boards Grams told us about. The infection had run through my whole system, making me very seriously ill and I survived. I smiled to myself, thinking I was tougher than the others. "I can be around people," I said with wonder and relief. "I can stay with my dad."

  Brodie kissed my forehead. "Go tell him."

  I practically skipped, my knee felt so great. It felt better than it had before my first injury. In fact, all of me felt better than I ever had. I ran down the stairs and found Sammy and Lara on the couch watching TV. Dad was at the kitchen table with Grams.

  "I'm infected," I shouted, smiling. "I'm completely infected, and I'm still alive and not psycho."

  Dad looked at me like I'd just announced my utter elation over being sentenced to death by guillotine. "That's—something."

  I sat in the chair next to him at the table. "I don't have to leave you, Dad. I'm not psycho."

  His eyes got shiny with moisture. He put his hand on top of mine and gave me a tight-lipped smile, nodding.

  I had to pull my eyes from his. I couldn't believe I thought he didn't care about me. It was written all over his face so strongly that I had to distract myself looking at the TV. "I thought they'd still be showing the emergency announcement."

  Sammy stood up and stretched. "They are. This is on DVD."

  "So I think the best idea is to grab anything you've got and head back to my house," Grams said to Dad. "I have plenty of food for these young'uns and an emergency kit with more supplies."

  I turned to pay attention to their conversation.

  "Yes, that sounds like the best plan," Dad agreed. "Strength in numbers."

  "Not to mention, I don't think my grandson will ever leave your daughter again, and he's too strong for me to tie up and drag."

  Dad looked at me again. "I have to admit I've considered the option." He patted my hand. "Get your things together, Risa. I don't know how long this quarantine will last, but we need to stay together."

  Upstairs, I quietly opened my bedroom door and peeked in to find Brodie sitting in the same spot I left him with his face in his hands. "Are you asleep?" I asked softly.

  He pulled his hands from his face and shook his head, but kept his eyes closed. "Nope. No, just thinking."

  That worried me a lot more than if he'd been sleeping. He looked stressed. "Will you talk to me about it?"

  He patted the bed next to him. Once I'd settled in there, he took my hand in his, but still didn't look at me. "I love that you and your dad are working it out. You need a relationship with him, and I think he's solid. But I can't—I don't want to—"

  "Are you jealous?" I teased.

  He stayed serious, though. "No, nothing like that—well maybe a little, since I think it'll be a long time before you smile about me the way you smiled about getting to stay near him a few minutes ago. But that's a good thing. I'm happy about that. I don't know—forget I said anything."

  "Well I'm a little worried," I admitted.

  He finally looked up at me. "What about, sunshine?"

  "You freaked about me loving you, you freaked about caring about me, you—"

  "No, I freaked out about falling in love with you. I already cared about you—couldn't prevent that, but I had this stupid idea that I could keep myself from falling for you."

  That made me smile just a little. I'd done the same thing in the beginning, telling myself not to like him. You just can't control things like that. "Okay, you freaked about loving me," I amended. "I don't know how you'll react to me moving in with you."

  He pulled away from me and turned to look me square in the eye. He was so serious. "Really?"

  I wasn't sure if he was happy or mad, but he seemed really shocked. "My dad and I are." And then my pride got in the way. Maybe he didn't want me to cramp his style. I put my chin up a bit. "Unless you wanna keep your bachelor pad open for business.

  He pulled me into his arms tightly, almost too tightly. I could feel his chest rise and fall with a deep breath. "I didn't think your dad would—I've been worrying about that all night, baby."

  "So you want me to move in with you? I mean, are you sure that's okay? I don't know how long this quarantine will last. I read that the one in Flagstaff was two months. That's a long time, Brodie."

  He pulled back and kissed me tentatively. "No, Risa. Two months isn't long enough. I've been trying to get you to stay with me since we met."

  That was certainly true. I hadn't thought about it. "How many girls have you done that with?"

  "Just slept next to?" he asked, smiling crookedly. "That weren't family or friends I considered family? None, sunshine. Not one."

  I don't know what made me do it, but I had to point out his foolishness. "And that first morning I woke up beside you, you didn't stop and think, 'I might love this girl someday?' Guess you're not as smart as you thought you were."

  He put his forehead to mine. "Grams has reminded me often enough that I'm a moron. When it comes to you, it's completely true." He kissed my cheek and pulled me toward my closet. "Now let's hurry up and get you packed, so I can take you home."

  I'm His Daughter

  My possessions were still really limited, so packing didn't take long. Dad wanted to go through his things and meet at Brodie's later, so we agreed to come back to get him at dusk.

  After carrying my things in, I sat on Brodie's bed with Dad's laptop, watching the boys play some video game where they were ironically shooting at flesh-eating zombies.

  "Am I the only one who finds it a little creepy and way too ironic that you're playing that game?" I asked as I shoved chips in my mouth.

  Lara was sprawled out on her stomach, drawing in a notebook. "Why?'

  I realized she hadn't been with us the night before. I didn't know if I should tell her—it was seriously disturbing. "The uh, Infecteds are just creepy." Absent-mindedly, I clicked on the internet browser only to be reminded that the internet was down.

  "Babe," Sammy called out to her, still fully engrossed in his game. "The Infecteds were eating people. Most disgusting thing I ever saw, and I seen some crazy shit."

  "Eating people? You're full of it." She laughed and paid no attention to Sammy.

  I closed the laptop and thought about my nightmares and the graphic memories from the night before. Fear and unease crept up my spine. "It's true. They—it was—awful."

  Brodie turned around. "Baby, come sit with me and be my good luck charm."

  Did he know
I was still freaked out about it all? Was he still a little freaked about killing two of them? I didn't know, but being closer to him felt like a good idea, even if it was a little cowardly.

  "They really ate people?" Lara asked. "Like how? I can't imagine it."

  I sat on the bean bag in front of him with my back to his chest. He kissed my cheek before responding, "A lot like zombies, actually. They ripped a piece off and chowed down." He whispered softly to me, "Now see, when it comes to you, I can't blame 'em. I'm always ready to sink my teeth into your soft, warm, sexy neck. Maybe I'm a vamp and not a zombie."

  It didn't completely chase away the freakish memories, but the way he'd turned it into something playful made me cuddle down in his arms more. "No. You're just a good Infected."

  "I don't know, sunshine. With the view I have right here, biting into you is certainly high on my priority list."

  I looked up at him to see him staring down my V-neck T-shirt. I smiled, but his comment was far too close to what I'd actually seen. I wiggled my shoulders with the chill I felt.

  "What was that for?" he asked, close to my ear.

  "Before you got there last night, the psycho after me caught a girl—she was psycho too, but he—where he bit her was—"

  "Shh. I won't joke about it anymore." He squeezed me tight, but kept playing his game. "You know you don't have to worry about that, though. I'm the only one, psycho or otherwise, who gets to have his mouth on you."

  "Who says you get to have your mouth on me? I haven't forgiven you yet, you know?"

  He chuckled low in my ear and kissed my neck, sending good, tingly goose bumps down my spine. "You can't resist my mouth. And you never have to forgive me, sunshine. Just let me hold you like this, and I'll be a happy man."

  The day felt slow and out of character with no school, but it didn't feel scary until just before dusk. The sound of sirens made us all jump as we sat in Brodie's room watching a movie. We went to the balcony and listened as they got closer and closer until we could see the flashing red and yellow lights pass by. Their sound didn't fade slowly away, though. It continued for a moment or two and stopped. They were close by.

  "Is that—smoke?" I asked, sniffing the air.

  "Must be a fire," Lara commented.

  I looked to Brodie, my brain already thinking about the direction the fire engines had been heading in. "Dad!" I rushed inside, smashed my feet in my shoes without even tying them and ran for the door. "Brodie!"

  "Right behind you," he called, putting his shoes on as he walked. "We'll take my truck."

  I dialed Dad's number on my cell phone, but only got an "All circuits are busy" message. It took forever to get to Dad's house. I gripped the dashboard, leaning forward to see anything that told me he was okay. Grams had rushed out with us and rode next to me while Lara and Sammy rode in the back.

  The second my eyes fell on Dad's townhouse, I started breathing again. It was fine. The fire engines were all the way at the end of the block where two townhomes were ablaze. I buried my head in Brodie's shoulder. "Thank God."

  He patted my upper arm and pulled into the driveway. Inside, Dad was sitting in front of the closet beneath the stairs, going through a box. I had to just stand there and watch him for a few minutes to assure myself that he was okay.

  "Risa?" He pushed the box from him and grabbed another. "Are you okay? Did something happen?"

  "No. I just—didn't you hear the sirens? There's a fire down the street."

  He didn't look up, but rummaged through the box in his hands. "Yeah, I'm trying to hurry, but I can't find what I've been looking for."

  I walked over to sit on the floor next to him. "Can I help, Dad? I don't want you to stay here. It's not safe."

  He stopped and looked up at me. "You're really worried about me?"

  What a stupid thing to ask. "Of course. What are you looking for?" I picked up a box and moved the pencils, post-its, staples, and receipts around.

  "A gold locket. I think it’s in a gray box." He grabbed for another box from the closet.

  "There's a fire down the street and infected psychos killing people and you're looking for a locket?" I thought maybe he was psycho, but I kept looking.

  "It's important I give it to you. Everything else can burn, but I need to give you that locket."

  The door opened and closed. "We need to go," Brodie sounded serious. "It's getting dark. We need to get to my house."

  "I have to find it." Dad sounded so desperate. "Just a few more boxes. I'm sure it's here."

  Brodie came to sit with us, and I described what we were looking for. He gave me a quizzical look, but I just shrugged. It was important to Dad, so I'd give him a few more minutes.

  Almost twenty minutes later, Dad held up a small gray jewelry box. "Found it!"

  We all stood up just as Sammy came bursting through the door. "They can't control the fire, Brodie. It's spreading. They're knocking on doors to tell people nearby to evacuate."

  "Are your things packed, Dad?"

  He nodded and pointed to the door. "Those suitcases."

  Brodie went for them, and he and Sammy carried them outside.

  Dad looked around the house, and I felt so sad for him. It still didn't really feel like home to me, but I was sad to think it might burn down.

  He turned to me and put his arm around my shoulders. "I'm not too strong, honey. If I was, I maybe would have fought harder to hang onto you. Maybe I would have beat your mom at her little game. Your mom—she's manipulative, but she's not very strong either. You though, I've never met anyone as strong as you. You've been through so much and you keep fighting, keep surviving. I'm so proud of you, honey."

  Tears pooled in my eyes at his words, but the urgency of the fire worried me. I tugged on his arm. "Dad, you can say all this back at Brodie's."

  "I just wanna give you this in my home. I know it's stupid, but this is between you and me. At Brodie's house, it'll be something different." He opened the gray jewelry box to reveal an antique gold locket with intricate engraved swirls around a small pink rose. "This was your grandmother's—my mom. She's where you get your strength from, honey. She was amazing and tough, a survivor like you. Her parents kicked her out when she was seventeen, and she never looked back."

  He stared down at the locket, seeming far away. "She made her way through college working two, sometimes three jobs. When she met your grandfather, they dated for seven years because she refused to marry him. She wanted to stay independent—remember that—she made him wait seven years."

  I laughed a little. "Okay Dad, but she did marry him?"

  He shook his head and smiled fondly. "Not until I was born—she was stubborn and incredible."

  "What happened to her?"

  "Breast Cancer, shortly after you were born." He looked back up at me, still smiling. "But she loved you so much. She'd hold you for hours and hours, just staring at you and telling you stories. I wish she could have really known you. She'd be as proud of you as I am."

  I still wasn't used to hugging him, but it felt right to wrap my arms around him, like it had when I was a kid. "Will you tell me more about her?"

  He kissed the top of my head. "Anything you wanna know. And Risa, I haven't said it often enough and saying it doesn't seem to be enough, but I've always loved you, honey, always will."

  I hugged him again as my lower lip trembled a bit. "I love you too, Dad." It was quiet and a little shaky, but I knew he heard me.

  He put the locket around my neck, clasping it just as Brodie burst through the door again. "You have to go now!" He grabbed my arm and pulled me out the door. It was dark outside now, and the smell of smoke was so much stronger and more pungent. "Both of you get in the truck with Lara and Grams. Go back to my house and lock yourselves in."

  "Wait." I pulled my arm from him. "Why not you? Where are you going?"

  "Don't argue with me, Risa, get in the truck." He all but carried me toward the truck.

  "No, stop. I'm staying with you." My head je
rked in the very near direction of screaming. It was like the night before with the fire in the background and psychos throwing people around, only this time I realized they were firefighters being attacked. They really were psychotic.

  "Baby, Sammy and I—we can't let them attack the firefighters. Baby, just go where I know you're safe. Please, Risa."

  "No. I can help, too. I'm just as strong as you are!" I looked around for Sammy, and could just make out someone that looked his height and weight throwing a body through the air.

  "Please," Brodie cried. "I can't have you in danger."

  I pulled away from him and turned to Dad. "Get in the truck, go to Grams'. I'll come as soon as I can."

  "If you're staying, I'm staying."

  I pulled him to the truck like Brodie had been pulling me. Opening the passenger door, I explained, "You're not infected, Dad. I can do this. You have to let me do this."

  "We're not leaving you!" Lara shouted.

  "Get in the truck, Scott," Grams commanded. "We'll stay in the truck, ready to leave at a moment's notice, you kids can hop in the back and we'll take off. But we aren't going without you."

  I looked into all three of their faces. They were resolved. It was the best concession I'd get. "Park across the street there, away from the burning townhomes."

  Grams nodded, and I turned back to Brodie. "Knives, in Dad's house."

  He followed me inside, running right behind me. "Risa, really, I can't handle this."

  "Brodie, I didn't ask you if you could." I grabbed several large knives from the wooden block in the kitchen and gave two to Brodie. "It's my choice to fight, and you can't stop me. They're attacking firefighters, Brodie. I can't turn from that either, not when I know I'm one of the few that can help."

  I didn't wait around for a response, but turned and ran past him. On the street outside, I debated the intelligence behind this. The floodlights from the fire trucks made it easier to see as I got closer, but all I found were dead bodies. "Sammy!" I yelled as Brodie came up behind me.

  We moved forward together with our knives out as we got closer to the blazing heat of the fire. It blinded my eyes and made it more difficult to see the shapes, but I could hear the screams. When we moved around the first fire engine to the area between the line of fire engines and the blazing townhomes, it was like something from a horror movie. Infecteds were everywhere, crouched over bodies and throwing firefighters into the fire. I didn't even know where to start, but I forced myself to go after the very first Infected I saw.