Thomas    "None of us have slept in days, Dude. Don't you think we should get some sleep before we head out?" Derek eyed me warily, the dark circles under his eyes mirroring mine. "I want to get Casey back just as bad as you do—""Do you?" I yelled as I sifted through our haul, searching for the military container full of tear gas, explosives, and gas masks. "Because if you did, then you wouldn't be asking such a stupid question.""You really love her, don't you?" Derek pointed at the box hidden under the massive bag of baby supplies as he set a box on the ground."Of course, I fucking do. I can't believe you're asking me that right now!" My brow knotted as I threw an evil glare at Derek. It took every bit of my self-control to force back the raging need to punch him in the face.Derek grabbed a box, angrily yanking it out of my way. "I knew you liked Casey, but I thought she was just another one o

There's something to be said about getting what you want. It's not all it's cracked up to be. For the last two months, I prayed for a tub of water and I finally got it.Someone answered my prayers, just not in the way I imagined. What was once a dream was now a nightmare.While Jordon waited for me to get started, I stood, perplexed with my current situation.Someone had set everything up for me in front of the girls' showers. Two large buckets of water waited alongside a small tray containing a towel, a washcloth, soap, shampoo, conditioner, and a razor.If I was with my family, I would've been in heaven. Unfortunately, I knew I was being prepared for my horrible destiny in Braxton's bed tonight."Where are the shower curtains?" I glanced around the room hoping to find a pile of discarded curtains to block one stall from the rest of the room."The guys took them down." Jordon, noticing my obvious discomfort, and turned his back to me. "Go ahead. I won'

Thomas held my trembling body close. "I'm so damn happy you're okay, Sweetheart."Having his strong arms around me brought me all the comfort I would ever need.Suddenly, Jordon yelled from across the room. "My hands are up!"I glanced in his direction. Someone was about to shoot Jordon. "Don't hurt him! He helped me."Thomas spun. "Let that one live."I wiped my eyes again as my vision finally cleared. There were six more people in gas masks. Who were they?Danielle wasn't with Jordon. I could only imagine she was somewhere around here fighting off the tear gas like the rest of us."What about me?" Waldo was seated beside Jordon.Jordon's eyes met with mine as he scrubbed his red eyes. "Waldo's weird and stupid, but he's not a killer, and he's never laid one finger on these girls. He's all talk."The guy in the gas mask didn't take his eyes off me as he waited for my answer."He's alright." I didn't want everyone to die. I knew Wald

Easing up on the trigger, I lowered the gun. "Okay, but why did you bring him home with you? He can't live here with us, Case."Everyone was hanging on every word of our conversation.Casey glanced at the trailer, analyzing the gaping hole that Jordon and his friends created. "We're not living here anymore, Su. Now that Braxton is dead we can go back home to our house.""We?" I glared at Jordon, hoping she didn't mean this jerkface."Yeah, you, me, Grant, and Mindy." Casey acted like she hadn't just forgotten about half the group."What about everyone else?" I glanced around the group. Everyone was giving Casey strange looks."I don't know. It's up to them. Our house isn't big enough for us all, but maybe they can go back to the school. They have plenty of supplies at the school for everyone, and they even have power. I just can't go back there. I need a place to sleep, and I want to sleep in my own bed. Don't you?" Casey spoke as if this all was perfec

Casey    With the stars shining bright in the darkness and the shadows of trees gliding past the window, I did my best to ignore Thomas.The heat of his smoky gaze through the rearview mirror was turning my heart inside out. I wish he would stop looking at me like that. It was making everything I had to do so much harder.I knew Danielle needed him. God knows what she went through in that school. Even though it was seemingly impossible, pushing him away was my only solution because I couldn't witness him taking care of Danielle every day. It would kill me.Thomas obviously wanted to talk, but I just didn't have the energy to discuss anything right now. I could only hope that giving him the silent treatment would do the trick. With Mindy sleeping soundly in my arms, I did my best to look anywhere but at Thomas.I lazily watched the trees rush past the window. It was rather hypnotic."Are you ever gon