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There are so many directions she could take this. Her mind spins with innuendos and offerings to do naughty things, but she reins those in. No sense in throwing herself at him until he’s ready to flee into the wild of the apocalypse to get away.

“Whatever you want.” She tries to keep it light, but damn if there isn’t a hint of a flirt in her tone that she can’t control.

“Oh yeah? Does that mean if you win, then you get whatever you want, too?”

“Mhmm.”

“Gonna take all the granola bars? First dibs on the next real shower?” he jokes, completely oblivious.

Her heart sinks when he not only fails to take the bait she poorly laid out, but it seems to have flown miles above his head .

“Better hide those bars,” she covers.

He winces, nose wrinkling. “I think she had her morning crap. Have to go out and find more diapers soon.”

That’s an important subject she’s been wanting to avoid. “I know, but I don’t like it.”

“I’ll go quick and come right back. Won’t take more than a couple of hours.”

She’s desperate to avoid sending him alone and without a car. Anything could happen. There’s no guarantee he’ll make it back, but they’ve already run out and she’s used up every single piece of clothing found in the drawers of this house as makeshift cloth diapers.

Lucy is well on her way to having no barrier between her and the rest of the house if they don’t resolve the problem.

“If the rain lets up I can go tomorrow,” he continues. “Loot some of these houses around here. Gotta be someone who had a baby. Might get lucky and find a store.”

“No big box stores. Promise me, please.”

“I promise. Those are probably all empty, anyway. Little ones, mom-and-pop shops are the best bet.”

“I wish I could go with you. I hate asking you to go alone.”

“Needs to be done, so I’m doing it. Can’t have her taking little shits all over the house.”

Olivia huffs out an amused sound. “No, we can’t. We’re already cleaning up cat poops at every turn.”

He frowns. “That’s not her fault. There’s no litter box, but she’s getting used to shitting on a leash.”

Flower has perfected the art of peeing on a leash like a dog whenever they take her outside, but she adamantly avoids dropping a turd on the ground.

Prefers the hardwood floor instead. When they were on the road, there was little choice except to eliminate outside, but now, in the comforts of a house, the cat’s become confused.

Olivia smirks at his defense of the cat he didn’t want. “You were the one who said we shouldn’t keep her.”

He shrugs. “I say a lotta stuff. Don’t listen to me.”

As if on cue, the cat hops into the kitchen, pausing to stretch with a yawn, wobbling on three legs.

“Oh, hey,” Cole says. “We were just talking about you. She’s trying to put you outside to fend for yourself.”

Olivia gasps, “Stop! I said no such thing. Don’t fill her head with lies.”

“She says you shit too much. That you’re a pest.” He smirks, raising a teasing brow from across the table.

She rolls her eyes. “On that note, gimme the baby so I can change her. You and your favorite cat can trash-talk me while I’m gone.”

He snorts, handing her Lucy.

The banter is a welcome distraction from her anxiety about that diaper run, but it’s already through the roof and eager to return. Tomorrow evening she’ll feel better when he’s back again.

It’ll all be fine, just fine.

“Hey, Cole?” She pauses on the threshold. “Do you think we’ll stay here a bit longer?”

“This place has been good to us so far. We should take advantage of that.”

“Get past this crying phase before going out into the wild again?”

He nods. “Not a bad idea. The sound doesn’t carry much in here. The walls aren’t paper thin and the trees are a buffer if it gets out. I think it’s safer for now. ”

She hadn’t realized how badly she wanted to stay a little longer until that became the plan.

“I, um… I like it here,” he continues, leaning back against the chair. “It feels…”

She thinks he wants to say like home, but he doesn’t finish and she doesn’t fill it in. This isn’t home. Reaching the farm is the plan. She won’t ask him to give up his chance to see his best friend again.

“I know what you mean,” she replies, as a flash of thunder rumbles and fails to elicit even the smallest reply from Lucy.

“Really?” He grins. “All that fussing before and now she doesn’t care about this bad weather? She’s playing with us.”

The baby only yawns and Olivia laughs, squashing that lump in her throat that springs forward every time she’s shown a brief flicker of what a family should be.

* * *

He’s leaving, and Olivia’s not handling it well. On the outside, she’s calm. Unbothered.

Inside, she’s unraveling and the only thing that’ll put her together again is having him home safe. If anyone can survive out there, it’s him and she needs to be confident about that. Logically, she’s well aware of how silly she’s being, but her emotional side has no use for logic today.

“It’ll be alright,” he tells her, as they head for the front door. “Don’t go worrying about me.”

“I’m not,” she lies. “Like you said, it won’t take long. You’ll come right back. It’s fine.”

“Keep the doors locked.”

“Of course. ”

He sways in her direction and for a moment she sees her own fear plastered clear across his face, thinks he might hug her before he goes and she longs to feel his arms around her in a firm squeeze, but the contact never comes.

“Don’t take any chances,” she calls out, as he heads down the steps toward whatever lies beyond the woods.

“I promise.”

He doesn’t turn around again.

* * *

Hours later, she’s in a full-blown panic as the sun begins to set and darkness threatens to engulf him, wherever he is. Something is keeping him away, or…

No. She can’t think like that. If she assumes him dead, that might tempt fate to make it reality and she won’t chance their luck. She clutches the baby tighter, watching her focus on her own tiny hands for the first time. Fascinated.

It’s a moment Olivia should cherish, but it’s overshadowed by Cole’s absence.

“We’ll tell him all about this soon.” She peers between the curtains, watching the treeline for any sign of him. “He’s coming back. He has to.”

Repeating it like a mantra in her head, she continues long into the night, even after the moon illuminates his absence.