Page 18 of Glass Rose (Where Roses Rot #1)

TWELVE

SOFIA

Three weeks have passed, marked by cycles of night and day.

The pattern never changes: Gavin wakes me in the darkest hours with hands that know exactly how to make me forget, his mouth hot against my skin, whispering filthy promises that he always keeps. Then morning comes, and I wake to cold sheets and the ghost of his touch.

Just like today.

I stretch across the empty mattress and rub sleep from my eyes. The digital clock reads 10:32 AM. Later than usual—Gavin must have worn me out more thoroughly than I realized.

How long can we keep this up before something breaks?

I pull on a clean tank top and brush my teeth.

Another inventory check. More seedlings to plant. The tomatoes grow quite well. And I have to pack another emergency backpack. We store them on the bottom shelf near our campers, and I could swear there were seven, one for each and one backup, not six.

The rooftop access door creaks as I walk outside, squinting against the sudden flood of sunlight. The warehouse’s flat roof has been transformed into a makeshift garden—rows of plastic containers filled with soil and sprouting green things that would’ve made my mother proud.

Dr. Cho—Min-Ji, as she insists I call her now—sits cross-legged beside Marcus, their shoulders touching as he leans in to whisper something that makes her cover her mouth to stifle a laugh. Her usually severe bob is pulled back with a bandana, softening her features.

“Morning,” I call out.

Marcus jumps like he’s been caught stealing, but Dr. Cho merely straightens her posture.

“You mean afternoon.” She checks her watch. “Almost eleven.”

I drop next to Min-Ji. “And you guys still sneak around.”

She snorts, adjusting her glasses with soil-stained fingers. “Alex is still oblivious to it.”

“Alex is oblivious to everything that doesn’t involve his own reflection,” Marcus says.

“Fair point.” I pluck a leaf from the nearest tomato plant, rubbing it between my fingers to release its earthy scent. “What’s today’s project?”

She gestures to the rows of seedlings. “Trying to salvage what we can. Some of these aren’t getting enough sun.”

“Unlike you.” I poke her arm. “You’re actually getting tan.”

“Shut up.” She smiles, a real one that reaches her eyes. Three weeks ago, I wouldn’t have believed her face could make that shape. “Marcus found seeds for Korean perilla. My grandmother used to grow it.”

“She’s been telling me about making kimchi.” His eyes never leave her face.

“You two are disgustingly cute, you know that?”

She hands me the trowel. “At least I wake up with Marcus still in my bed. ”

“Low blow.”

“But accurate,” she says. “Have you talked to him about it?”

“About what? The fact that he makes me come, then disappears before sunrise? Yeah, that conversation’s gone great in my head.”

Marcus clears his throat. “I should check on… something. Somewhere else.” He stands, brushes dirt from his knees, and drops a kiss on Min-Ji’s head before retreating.

Once he’s gone, she relaxes back on her palms. “So?”

“So what?” I stare at the skyline beyond the warehouse roof. “Where is he? Do you know?” I don’t want his stupid enhanced hearing to pick this up.

“Armory with John. Again.”

“Of course he is.” I stab the trowel into the soil. “He’s… I think he needs time. Fourteen months is long.”

“It is, but three weeks of fucking you and running is getting old. Even for someone with his trauma.”

“He’s not even fucking me.”

Her eyebrows shoot up. “What do you mean he’s not fucking you? I’ve heard you two.”

“God, these walls are thin.” Heat crawls up my neck. “He… we do everything but that. Like there’s some invisible line he won’t cross.”

“The final frontier.”

“It’s not funny.” I rip out a weed. “He touches me everywhere, makes me come until I literally can’t remember my own name, then vanishes. Like he’s punishing himself for wanting me.”

“Have you considered he might be protecting you?”

“From what? His dick?”

“From attachment. From him.”

I laugh, hollow and brittle. “Little late for that.”

“You know.” She tosses the weed aside. “You’re a brilliant virologist, but absolutely shit at relationships. You’re letting him set all the terms.”

I open my mouth, then close it. “That’s?—”

“You let him come to you. You let him leave. You never ask for what you want.”

“What I want is irrelevant in the fucking apocalypse.”

She grabs my wrist, forcing me to look at her. “The world ended. That doesn’t mean you have to settle for scraps.”

She’s right. I’ve been so grateful for any connection, any warmth, that I’ve accepted the pattern without question. Because I’m terrified of asking for the whole thing and hearing ‘no.’ Because that’s how it always went when I asked for more. “So what do I do?”

She hands me a bottle of water. “Either ask for what you want or stop wanting it. Limbo is just slow torture.”

I take a long drink, letting the cool water wash down the lump in my throat. “When did we become friends?”

“When I realized you were the only other woman who might survive this shit with me.” She moves to another container. “Now help me with these tomatoes before John lectures us about efficiency again.”

“So,” I say, “you and Marcus. Is that more?”

Her hands pause over the soil. “I hope so. Yeah.”

A muffled crash echoes from below, followed by John’s distinctive bark of laughter.

“What the hell?” Her head snaps ups.

I drop my trowel, dirt spilling across my jeans. “What are they doing?”

We exchange a look before scrambling to our feet. Min-Ji reaches the door first, opening it as more commotion filters up from the warehouse floor.

“—at least a dozen of them,” John’s voice carries up the stairwell. “Probably from the campground two miles east.”

Infected. Again .

We descend the metal stairs, Min-Ji’s boots clanging against each step while I follow in quieter sneakers. The main floor comes into view—John gesturing wildly at a map spread across the folding table, Alex filming with his backup camera, and Gavin…

He stands with his back to me, shoulders rigid beneath a black t-shirt that hugs every muscle, and a knife resting in its sheath at his hip.

“What’s happening?” Min-Ji asks.

John glances up. “Got movement on the perimeter sensors. Group of infected moving through the woods.”

“And you’re what—planning a welcoming party?” I step around Min-Ji, positioning myself where Gavin has to acknowledge me.

His eyes flick to mine before returning to the map, where John taps two locations. “They’re moving along here and here. If we take the north trail, we can indeed welcome them.”

“We?” Min-ji crosses her arms. “Who exactly is ‘we’?”

“Me, the kid with the camera, and the super-soldier.” John winks at Gavin, who doesn’t react.

“And when were you planning to inform us?” Min-Ji asks.

“When we got back,” Gavin says. “No need to worry everyone.”

“I’m coming with you,” I say.

John laughs. “Hell no, sweetheart. This ain’t a field trip.”

“I’m not asking permission.” I plant my feet firmly on the concrete floor. “I need to learn how to handle them, not just through Gavin’s or your knife lessons.”

“Sofia—” Gavin starts.

“No.” I cut him off. “I need more real-world experience if I’m going to survive this. And you need all the help you can get.”

“I wanted to say you’re right.”

“I—what? ”

“You do need it.” His jaw works, eyes darting to John before returning to mine. “But you’re coming with me.”

John sighs. “I don’t think it’s a good idea, but fine. Get dressed properly. Long sleeves, sturdy pants, boots. And take this.” He hands me a hunting knife larger than my grandfather’s. “Blade’s longer. Gives you more distance.”

I hurry back to the camper to change. Five minutes later, I emerge in cargo pants, hiking boots, and a long-sleeved thermal I picked from the shelves days ago. My father’s knife straps to my right thigh, John’s to my left.

“We split up,” John says. “Cover more ground. Gavin and?—”

“I’ll take the western approach with you,” Alex interjects before he can finish, adjusting his camera strap. “Been wanting to check out that side anyway.”

John nods. “Alex and I’ll handle the western approach. Gavin and Sofia take the northeast section. Use the radios, channel three.”

Gavin attaches one of them to my belt, his fingers lingering. “Stay close to me. Do exactly as I say.”

“Yes, Sir.”

“Sofia… You don’t have to do this. I can handle it alone.”

“Like you handled leaving my bed every morning for three weeks?” Shit. That was uncalled for. “I—I’m sorry. But please stop treating me like I’m made of glass.”

John clears his throat. “We head out in five.”

Alex fiddles with his camera, pretending not to listen while Min-Ji gives me a subtle nod from across the room.

“Look,” I lower my voice. “I need to learn this. Not just for me, but?—”

“For what?” Gavin steps closer. “So you can run off on your own?”

“So I don’t have to depend on you to save me every time.” I meet his eyes directly. “So maybe you can stop feeling responsible for keeping me alive and actually sleep through the night.”

Something flickers across his face. Surprise, maybe hurt? “Is that what you think this is about?”

“I don’t know. You never stay long enough to tell me.”

John’s voice cuts through. “Time to move out, people!”

Gavin’s hand catches my arm as I turn to go. “We’ll talk.”

“Sure.” I offer a weak smile. “Right after you fuck me properly for once.”

His pupils dilate, but I don’t wait for his answer and walk toward the door where John waits, feeling Gavin’s eyes burning into my back.

I’m too agitated. I should be getting my period soon…

Hormones going crazy. Perfect.

Just what I need.

The forest surrounding the warehouse is beautiful in the afternoon light. Dew sparkling on fallen leaves, birds calling from the canopy above. Hard to believe death lurks between these trees.

Gavin moves through the forest like he was born here, each step silent and purposeful. I crash along behind him, every twig and leaf announcing my presence.

“You’re scaring away every animal in a mile radius.” He doesn’t even look back.

“Sorry.” I step on another branch. Crack. “Fuck.”

He stops abruptly, and I slam into his back. Solid muscle. No give.

“Here.” He turns, gripping my shoulders. “Walk where I walk. Step exactly where I step.”

“I’m trying. ”

“Try harder.” His eyes scan the treeline. “Infected might be mindless, but they still respond to sound.”

I mimic his movements, placing my feet carefully. “Better?”

“Marginally.” His lips curve up. “You’ll live another five minutes.”

The forest thickens as we move deeper, sunlight filtering through leaves in dappled patterns. My heart hammers against my ribs, not from exertion but from the proximity of him. Three weeks of finger-fucking me senseless, and I still can’t breathe normally when he’s this close.

Ease into it.

“So,” I begin. “What were you like? Before all this?”

Gavin scans the forest, every sense clearly on high alert. “Not the time for conversation.”

“I can multitask.”

“Sofia—”

“I’m serious. I don’t know anything about you except a portion of what they did to you at Green.” I adjust the radio on my belt. “Were you married? Have kids? Like pineapple on pizza? Basic stuff.”

“No to all three.”

“See? Progress.” I duck under a low-hanging branch. “Where did you grow up?”

“All over. Military brat.” Each step of his is muted despite his size. “The longest was three years.”

“Is that where you learned to hunt?”

“Uncle’s cabin.”

“And—”

He halts again, turning to face me. “You want to do this now? With infected nearby?”

“Seems like the only chance I’ll get.”

“What do you really want to ask?”

“Why won’t you stay? Why won’t you?— ”

“Finish me?” His voice drops to a dangerous whisper. “That what you’re asking?”

Heat floods my face. “I wasn’t going to be that crude, but yeah.”

“Because—” His eyes dart over my shoulder. “Down. Now.”