29

Remy

It was surreal how quickly everything could change. I'd gotten used to abrupt changes being terrible, traumatic things, but this one had been an absolute rollercoaster. Two weeks ago, we'd all been at the lakehouse, one week ago Stella had been bitten by a zombie, and today, she was doing so well, I'm helping Boden and Serg settle into our new house while Max stays back with Stella at the clinic.

We weren't out of the woods yet, but I felt like I could breathe for the first time in so long. We were together, we were alive, and we had a home. On top of all that, Lazlo and Harlow were here, and I would be able to spend more time with them again.

Was this what optimism felt like?

"It's the one up ahead," Boden said as he led me through the narrow dirt roads between little houses.

Our street was marked with a wooden signed labelled Eliot Lane. Most of the trees had been cleared, presumably for building the houses and the city fence. The surrounding homes were all of similar design and build. They were squat with sharply pitched roofs, and the walls were made of a mixture of logs and something called "cob" that was apparently similar to dark brown plaster.

The one that Boden pointed to was a bit taller than most, and it had a roof made of oxidized sheet metal. The windows were mismatched, like they had been repurposed from multiple different builds. The front door was made of reclaimed wood and stained a dark crimson color, and an awning was over it, creating a little porch with a gravel floor. In the side yard was a small garden shed.

"It is not as nice as the lakehouse," Boden prepared me, since he had been there already. "But it's cozy, and we have running water."

"Running water?" I asked, growing excited. "What about electricity?"

"No electricity, so the water only gets lukewarm," he said.

"Well, running water is an upgrade at least."

Boden opened the door and motioned for me to go inside. Cozy was definitely a way to describe it. The floors were made of stones and gravel, and the curtains were a patchwork of rags sewn together.

From the front door, we stepped right into a mid-sized room that served as the living room and kitchen, based on the battered old leather sofa at one end and the sink built into a simple row of cabinets at the other. Right next to the sink was a contraption made of bricks with a cooking grate on top, and Boden explained it was essentially a homemade woodburning stove.

"There's two bedrooms on this floor." He motioned to the far left and far right doors, and he opened the one in the middle to reveal a small room with a toilet and a shower. "This is the bathroom."

"Nice," I said. "But there's only two rooms? For the five of us and Ripley?"

"There's a loft." He touched a ladder on the wall between two of the doors. "Serg took the room on the left, and we thought the room on the right would be better for Max and Stella, because they can't be climbing up to the loft with a baby."

The ceiling above the main floor living area was open to the exposed beams of the roof, while the area above the bedrooms and bathroom had a loft with a railing along the edge.

I climbed up ahead of Boden and discovered that he'd set up a bedroom for us between the sharp peaks of the roof. A mattress sat on the floor beneath a round skylight, and it had been neatly made by joining our bedrolls together. There were two end tables – one made of an old milk crate, and the other one a hunk from a log. The milk crate held a candle, and the other had a mason jar of red and orange chrysanthemums. Underneath the bed was a surprisingly soft bearskin rug, as I discovered when I kicked off my boots and dug my toes into it.

"This is fantastic. Did you do all this?" I asked.

"Serg helped with the main floor stuff, and he's been working on our little garden in the backyard," Boden explained. "But this up here was me. Everything's been so stressful lately, to put it mildly, and I wanted us to have somewhere we could be comfortable."

"You could've waited for me to help. Life has been stressful for you, too, and you didn't have to do this all on your own."

He smirked down at me. "If that isn't the pot calling the kettle black."

"I know," I admitted with a laugh, and I put my hands on his chest. "But you know what I mean."

"Why do you think I got the bed up here right away?" he asked as he slid his arm around my waist and pulled me closer to him. "I wanted somewhere to relax with you ."

"How is the mattress?" I asked.

"I don't know what it's stuffed with, but I've enjoyed it, although I do always sleep worse without you," he said.

"But I'm here now." I looked up into his eyes, hoping he could see how much I appreciated all that he did for me and our family. "And I'd like to try out this bed."

I stepped backward and took Boden's hand to pull him with me. I fell backward onto it, landing softly in the plush bed, and Boden grinned as he climbed in with me. He propped himself up on his arm so he could look me in the eyes, and his other hand gently held onto my waist with a tender longing that I didn't often feel from him.

"I missed you, Remy."

He leaned down, kissing me deeply, and I wrapped my arms around him, pulling him closer to me. I had missed him too, but it was so hard for me to admit that to him.

His mouth was hungry on mine, but my hands were frantic on his clothing, unbuttoning his shirt to get to his bare skin. His body burned hot against mine, and I could feel the excited racing of his heart under the palm of my hand.

He kissed my neck and murmured that he loved me in a husky voice, and I wrapped my legs around him.

Then a knock at the front door stopped us both cold.

"Do you think that could be about Stella?" I asked.

"I don't know. I'm in bed with you."

"I'll get it," Serg called from downstairs, coming out from his bedroom beneath us.

"Serg was home?" I asked Boden in surprise.

"Yeah, but he was giving us some time together."

I pushed against Boden's chest, and he rolled off me. We both got up and went over to the edge of the loft, our clothing and hair in a disarray. As we reached the railing, Serg opened the front door, and Lazlo was standing on our doorstep.

"Is this where Remy King lives?" Lazlo asked Serg .

"Yeah, hey, Laz," I said, and he glanced up at me and Boden in the loft. "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, everything is great on my end," Lazlo said. Serg opened the door wider to let him in, and I started down the ladder. "I was just coming to see how everything is going with you."

"Yeah, no, everything is good. Better, actually," I said, and I inwardly cringed at how flustered I sounded. "Do you know Boden and Serg?"

"Sgt. Boden, right?" Lazlo looked past me to Boden, who was standing behind me buttoning up his shirt. "I met you a couple times back at the Blaine County Quarantine Zone."

"Yeah, I remember you," Boden said as he eyed him up. "You used to pal around with Tatum and Kerrigan."

"They were good soldiers," Lazlo said, and he turned his attention to Serg. "I don't believe we've met at all."

"I'm Sergei Talwar." He narrowed his eyes, studying Lazlo. "Are you sure we haven't met? You look so familiar to me."

"Yeah, I get that a lot," Lazlo replied vaguely.

Even with the beard and more rustic wood smith vibe versus his old alternative rock style, he was still recognizable. It had been a decade since he had performed with his band Emeriso, but once upon a time, he had made a living as a famous rock star. He didn't like talking about it much these days, so I would fill Serg in about the truth after Lazlo had gone.

"How are your brother and Stella doing?" Lazlo asked, turning his attention back to me.

"Better, a lot better," I replied simply.

"Good." He smiled but he seemed uneasy. "I figured with things being so stressful, you could use a break. Me and Nova wanted to invite you… I'm so rry, I don't mean to be rude, but are you guys a throuple?"

" What ?" I asked in surprise.

"A throuple?" Boden echoed, equally confused.

"No, nothing like that," Serg answered for us. "I'm asexual, and they're a couple. But together we're roommates, friends, family, platonic co-survivors."

"Ah, okay." Lazlo nodded in understanding. "I suppose it doesn't matter either way. Because all three of you – and Max and Stella if they're feeling up to it – are invited to a dinner out at my farm with me, Nova, and our daughter."

"When?" I asked.

Lazlo shrugged. "Whenever works for you. We're pretty flexible."

"Thanks, that's so kind," Boden said. "We'd love to."

"Yeah," I agreed, since Boden had already accepted on our behalf. "Maybe next week?"

"That sounds great," Lazlo said.

"How long have you been living here?" Serg asked.

"Since about February," Lazlo said. "It wasn't something we'd ever planned on doing, but it's worked out well for us. Having the safety net of a community is a real relief."

"That is what I am hoping for us, too." Boden put an arm around me in a way that I couldn't quite tell if it was possessive or simply affectionate.

"Anyway, I should leave you all to get settled in," Lazlo said, and he stepped back out the door. "It'll be nice seeing you around."

After he left, Boden's arm was still around me, and he said, "That's nice. It'll be good to have friends and neighbors again."