12
Smooth
"You have to close your eyes!" Alicia protested.
Elyza scrunched her face into an adorable pout then reluctantly squeezed her eyes shut. But before Alicia had even picked up the spoon her eyes shot open again.
"Remember... I said tiny OK?" She said for what had to be the third time. "Like tiny tiny. Like matchbox-sized tiny."
Alicia rolled her eyes with a laugh. "I got it... Tiny. Now close your damn eyes. You have to trust me."
Elyza eyed the jars between them nervously. "I can't do that." She whined.
"Come on... It's only fair." Alicia argued. "It's your turn. There's no way it could be worse than the nastiness you gave me. I mean... Garlic onion mulberry chutney?! Who the hell even thinks up something like that?" Alicia scraped her tongue along the back of her front teeth, still trying desperately to get rid of the horrible aftertaste.
"Rich people." Elyza mumbled. She let out a resigned sigh. "OK. I do trust you, Little Coon."
"Thanks." Alicia grinned, picking up the spoon and brandishing it like a weapon.
"Just make it..." Elyza began.
"I know... Tiny." Alicia finished for her.
"And not the pistachio and wasabi mustard, OK?" Elyza pleaded. "I fucking hate wasabi."
"I don't know..." Alicia teased. "Pistachio flavored mustard? Could be good."
Elyza gave her a horrified look and Alicia giggled at the fear in her eyes. "Alright... Not the mustard. I swear. Just close your damn eyes and open your mouth."
"God, this game would be a lot more fun if there was drinking involved." Elyza sighed, closing her eyes and sticking her tongue out, already cringing in anticipation.
Alicia surveyed the selection of jars between them: an assortment of relishes, bruschettas, chutneys, and tapenades, each looking just as disgusting as the next. Finally she settled on the tiny black jar of lumpfish caviar. The smell alone was enough to make her gag. With a wicked smile she dipped the spoon into the roe, getting a hefty spoonful. Then she lifted it towards Elyza's frightened face.
"Alright... Open wide." Alcia instructed. "Here comes the rocket ship." She tried not to laugh as she made airplane noises.
Sensing the incoming assault, Elyza pressed her lips together, turning her face away like a stubborn two year-old.
"I said, 'open wide.'" Alicia laughed as Elyza shook her head side to side in protest.
"You have to hold still." Alicia complained.
"Nuuuhhh uhhh." Elyza groaned through her closed lips.
Alicia hesitated, biting her own lip nervously, then reached out with her free hand and grasped Elyza's chin. Elyza's face pulled back in surprise but she stopped shaking it and held still in Alicia's hand.
Alicia's heart raced as she reached out with her thumb and gently tugged at Elyza's lower lip. "Come on... Open up."
At her touch Elyza's lips parted in surprise. Before they could pull into a smile Alicia took advantage of the opening and shoved the spoon into Elyza's mouth.
"Ekk!" Elyza's eyes flew open as she spat the eggs back onto the countertop. "It's horrible!"
She wrenched the spoon from Alicia's hand and started dramatically scraping her tongue with it. "You chose the lumpfish eggs?! It tastes like rotten fish guts!"
"Hey..." Alicia laughed, throwing her hands into the air. "You just said no mustard. I didn't promise anything about fish eggs."
Elyza drove her fist into the box of stale saltines and shoved three in her mouth. "You couldn't pay me to eat that shit!" She mumbled as bits of cracker fell from her lips.
"Aww... Come on." Alicia laughed. "It couldn't have been as bad as the mulberry garlic onion crap you gave me. Honestly, sometimes you're so... Extra."
"Whatever." Elyza replied, now scrubbing her tongue with the salty side of a fresh saltine. "I'd take a three dollar jar of vegemite over that exy nastiness any day."
She pushed the jar towards Alicia. "Here, bog in. It's all yours."
"Thanks." Alicia replied sarcastically, pushing the jar back towards Elyza. "But I think I'd prefer peanut butter on my crackers."
"Well," Elyza said, crossing the kitchen. "I think we can agree that cupboard was a bust. Let's take a squizz behind door number two." She swung another cupboard open and let out an excited gasp.
"Peanut butter?" Alicia asked hopefully.
"Naw... Even better!" Elyza cried, reaching into the cupboard. Alicia heard the clanking of bottles.
"What's better than peanut butter?" Alicia asked, skeptically.
"Let's just say it turns out your mate, Strand, is no Mormon. Thank God." She laughed. She turned to face Alicia, grinning and clutching four colorful bottles of alcohol.
Alicia eyed the bottles warily. She had never been much of a party girl. She had never even been properly drunk. Drinking and drugs was Nick's thing and Alicia had watched it destroy him... destroy her family.
Elyza seemed to notice her apprehension. "Don't worry, Leashy Loo. I know now is not a good time for getting pissed as a newt. I just want a taste. Gotta wash down the fish-gut flavor. Though I don't think even petrol could drown that aftertaste."
She let out a low whistle, examining the bottles. "This is some premium, top-shelf, high-class, grog."
Finally she selected one and uncapped it. "To those we've lost." She said solemnly, raising the bottle into the air before her and then taking a slug. She offered the bottle to Alicia. "Smooth."
Alicia hesitated a moment.
"Come on..." Elyza encouraged. "Don't make me drink with the flies."
Alicia timidly accepted the bottle. Surely a taste wouldn't hurt. She held it out before her as Elyza had done. "To those we shall soon find."
The whiskey burned her throat like fire, instantly bringing heat to her belly. She coughed, her eyes watering, her throat stinging. "Smooth." She choked out, while Elyza laughed at her.
Elyza snagged the bottle, took one more deep slug, and pushed it aside. "We'll save the rest for ron."
"Who's Ron?" Alicia asked, confused.
"Huh?" Elyza replied, just as confused.
"You said you're saving the rest for Ron." Alicia said.
"Oh." Elyza laughed. "Not Ron... ron."
"Later on." She explained when Alicia just stared. "I meant we'll save if for the rage when we get our people back."
She left the counter and flopped back onto the sofa. "Rob should be underground by now." She said softly, absentmindedly playing with the tassel on an ugly velvet pillow.
"You're worried about him." Alicia commented, trying to sound casual, praying Elyza could not detect the notes of jealousy in her voice.
"I'm worried about all of them." Elyza corrected her.
Alicia snagged the bottle of whiskey and took another gulp. It still burned on the way down but this time she didn't cough. She could feel the warmth of the alcohol in her belly. Wasn't whiskey supposed to give you courage? She wondered. So far all the alcohol had done was make her stomach feel more unsettled. She stared at the brown liquor, her back to Elyza. "Yet you worry about him more."
"I owe him heaps." Elyza replied simply. "I wouldn't have made it this far without him."
"So you care for him?" Alicia regretted the question as soon as it escaped her lips. What was wrong with her? She wondered if perhaps it was the whiskey talking. But she doubted two tiny swigs could affect her so quickly. No, she couldn't blame the alcohol for her own stupidity. She stared at her hands, blushing, waiting for Elyza's reaction.
"Of course I care for him." Elyza answered. "He's like family to me."
"Family?" Alicia asked, finally raising her gaze to meet Elyza's.
"Yeah, family." Elyza repeated with a laugh. "Like... A brother." She gave Alicia a knowing smirk and Alicia felt the redness in her cheeks deepen. "We're not lovers, if that's what you're asking."
"No... I..." Alicia stammered, cursing herself for always being so transparent, so obvious. "I didn't mean... I just..."
Elyza just laughed again. "Don't worry, Little Coon. You're not the first to think I'm dating Rob. I swear sometimes I think even he thinks we're dating. For real... a hug... a kiss on the cheek, and everyone thinks I'm in love." She rolled her eyes. "But no. I love Rob. But the idea of loving Rob..." she made a face and shuddered.
Alicia laughed and plopped into a fat, cushy armchair across from Elyza, suddenly feeling a lot better. She pulled her sack onto her lap, resting her elbows on Sponge Bob's face.
"Like I said," Elyza continued. "He's like a brother to me. Nice to know that you're worried about my love life, though." She teased. "You cracking onto me?"
"I'm not worried!" Alicia shot back. "I was just... Curious."
"Right." Said Elyza, raising her eyebrows, her cocky smirk widening even further than Alicia thought possible. "Well, I'm single." She announced. "You know... in case you were... Curious."
"Thanks for sharing." Alicia replied sarcastically. "I'll alert the media."
Elyza playfully chucked her ugly velvet pillow at Alicia and before Alicia even registered what was happening, her arm was already raised to deflect the blow. The pillow ricocheted off of her arm and thumped against her backpack, sending it toppling towards the floor. In a display of agility, Alicia lunged forward, caught Sponge Bob by a strap and swooped him through the air before he hit the ground.
Elyza looked disappointed. "You and your fucking ninja skills." She mumbled, shaking her head but smiling.
"Did you know him before the Ark, then?" Alicia asked, still curious about Elyza's relationship with Rob.
"Who?" Elyza asked, confused.
"Rob." Alycia giggled. She couldn't help but smile as she realized Elyza's thoughts had already wandered from him.
"Oh, yeah." Elyza answered, relaxing back against the cushions. "I knew them all... Rob, Mary, Crow, Chelsea, Devin, Kris, Katy, Jared, Richerd..."
"Richerd?" Alicia asked, wracking her brains. She was pretty sure she hadn't heard anyone mention a Richerd. "Was he taken too?"
"We don't know where the hell he is." Elyza answered with a shrug. "But no one is really worried. Richerd doesn't exactly play well with others. Round the Ark, he's 'bout as popular as a rattlesnake in a lucky dip. He's always going AWOL. And every time we think he might be deadset gone for good, he shows up again, usually covered in blood, but always alive. He'd love your backpack, by the way. Bloke has a strange obsession with Sponge Bob."
"But, anyways..." She continued. "Yeah... We all knew each other." She paused for a nostalgic smile. "We all had a... Class together."
The way she said 'class' made Alicia suspicious. "You weren't all in the same year, though?" She asked. "I mean Rob is clearly older than Mary. Was it like an elective or something?"
Elyza chuckled. "No, it definitely wasn't an elective. We all met in the nick."
Alicia just stared blankly. "The nick?"
"You know..." Elyza laughed. "Lock-up... The brig... The dungeons... The second level of hell, the first, of course, being at home with my mother."
Alicia was still confused.
"We were all in detention together." Elyza finally explained. "Long-Term Detention. Well..." She corrected herself. "Not Crow, the goddamn dux honor student, would-be-valedictorian. Crow only joined our group because of Tom."
"Tom?" Alicia asked, sure no one had mentioned a Tom before either.
Elyza's face dropped. "He didn't make it." She said, sadly. Alicia got the feeling Elyza didn't want to talk about Tom. She didn't press it.
"So your crew is a bunch of juvenile delinquents?" Alicia laughed, trying to lighten the mood again. "No wonder you've all survived so well. So..." She raised her brows at Elyza. "What did you do to get thrown in detention?"
"Wouldn't you like to know?" Elyza answered with a devilish smile.
"What? You're not gonna tell me?" Alicia asked. "You want me to guess?"
Elyza cocked her head to the side, raising a single brow. She put a palm in the air. "I'll give you five guesses."
"This could be a dangerous game," Alicia said warily. But she accepted the challenge. "OK... Uhhh... You got caught with alcohol."
"Nope." Elyza bent her thumb.
"Drugs?" Alicia asked.
"Nope." Elyza said again, lowering another finger. "That was Devin and Kris." She laughed. "They pretty much had their own pharmacy running out of their lockers."
"Cutting classes?" Alicia asked.
"Naw, Mary was the one always waggin' school." Elyza answered. "She was always disappearing, wandering off. One minute she was on her way to class, the next it was like the floor had swallowed her up. Eventually she'd turn up again. I'm pretty sure most of the times she disappeared she was sneaking off with boys. But once we found her holed up in a tiny storage closet just taking a nap on a pile of deflated dodgeballs."
"OK..." Alicia was running out of fingers. "Cheating?"
"Naw." Elyza shook her head with a shrug. "Never needed to cheat. Believe it or not, Crow wasn't the only honor student in our crew. Don't get me wrong," She said throwing her hands out in front of her defensively, lest Alicia get the wrong impression of her. "I wasn't a conch like Crow. Teachers loved Crow. They hated me. I spent more time sleeping in class than studying, but... I don't know... School was easy for me. Piece of piss. I guess you could say I'm pretty smart." She shrugged. "Woulda had a 4.0 if I'd bothered to do the fuckin' homework." She laughed.
She lowered another finger. "Careful, Coon." She warned, wiggling her pinky finger at Alicia with a taunting smile. "You only have one more guess."
"Hmmm..." Alicia stalled. "You don't seem like the thieving type..." She mumbled, hoping to eliminate an option without technically using her guess. Elyza gave her a sly smile. She knew Alicia's strategy, but she allowed it anyway.
"Jared's the thief." She said. "Got sprung nicking random shit from the staff room... The library... Computer room... Woodshop. Boy's got sticky fingers." She laughed.
"Alright." Alicia said. "That leaves two options: fighting or pulling some kind of stupid prank."
"Nope." Elyza answered with a smug smile. "Tom was the prankster. Fair dinkum larrikin. Chelsea and Katy were in for fighting. Lucky thing our school had metal detectors or Katy woulda been up shit creek without a paddle. Funny enough... Those two are besties now."
Elyza closed her fist dramatically and pumped it in the air. "You're out of guesses Little Coon! Which means, I win!"
"Congratulations." Alicia replied, sarcastically. "What do you want? A cookie?"
"I didn't see any lamingtons in the cupboards." Elyza answered. "So how 'bout a pash?"
She wiggled her eyebrows up and down at Alicia, grinning.
"Do I dare ask what the hell a 'pash' is?" Alicia asked nervously. "Is that some kind of 'chokkie' bar?"
"Naw." Elyza laughed. "I can fossick up my own chokkie bars without your help. A pash is a big ole' kiss."
"A kiss?" Alicia was taken aback for a second. Her stomach fluttered at the suggestion. Her cheeks burned. But she couldn't tell if Elyza was being serious or not. Elyza sat up, perching herself on the edge of her sofa, leaning towards Alicia expectantly. Alicia's heart was suddenly racing. Was Elyza being serious? The air between them suddenly seemed too thick for breathing. The sudden tension was too much. Alicia couldn't take it. She had to break it before it broke her.
She stood and turned her back on Elyza, moving back towards the counter where the bottle of whiskey still sat, uncapped beside the abandoned caviar. "I dunno..." She teased, trying to sound confident despite her racing pulse. It was a lot easier to fake when those brilliant blue eyes weren't boring into hers. "Rumor has it you're dating Rob."
She snagged the whiskey, took a swig, and turned to face Elyza with a wicked whiskey still burned on the way down, but she was starting to like the warmth it left in her belly, the way the heat battled her butterflies. Elyza made a face as Alicia continued teasing. "I wouldn't wanna upset him. He is a juvenile delinquent, after all. By the way... What did he do?"
"Threw a punch at the principal." Elyza laughed. "Dipstick missed. Otherwise, he would've probably been expelled. Supposedly someone put him up to it, but I doubt he took much convincing. He'd always hated Principal Izaiah. Plus, I think he actually wanted to be thrown in detention so he could keep a closer eye on his sister. Make sure she wasn't wandering off to dark corners with the rest of us delinquents. But..." She paused, cocking her head with her own wicked smile. "Stop trying to distract me. Where's my kiss? I won... I deserve a prize."
She pushed herself off the sofa and strolled towards Alicia as cocky as a strutting peacock, stopping mere inches in front of her. Alicia froze. Those brilliant blue eyes were boring into hers again and with the lip of the counter pressing against her lower back, there was now no way for Alicia to widen the space between them. Unable to hold their gaze, Alicia pulled her eyes from Elyza's. They flickered down her face, along the soft curve of her cheek, darting past the tiny freckle of a mole, and coming to rest nervously on Elyza's plump lips. Alicia swallowed hard, not sure if the burning in her throat was from the whiskey or her own fear.
Suddenly Elyza's lips broke into a wide grin. She laughed, puckered her lips, opening and closing them like a fish, and then laughed again. "I'm just taking the mickey out of you, Lil' Coon. I wasn't really expecting a kiss. I know you've never kissed a girl..." She paused long enough to furrow Alicia's brows. "...quite as intimidatingly beautiful as me." She finished with a smirk.
Alicia's cheeks were burning furiously now. She knew Elyza was only teasing her, but her words were all too true... Her smile all too smug. Alicia never had kissed a girl as beautiful as Elyza. She had never kissed a girl, period. She had barely even kissed any boys, truth be told. As a freshman, boys had hit on her left and right. But she was too focused on her grades, and her soccer, and her painting, and her playing percussion in the school band, and by the time Spring Formal had rolled around, the boys had quit asking. It wasn't until fall of Junior year that Matt's sweet voice managed to pull Alicia's eyes from her canvas long enough to catch her interest. Besides Matt, the only boys she'd ever kissed were Benny Raiker and Evan Gibbons; Benny on the cheek with a "thank you" when her mother had forced her, and Evan on the lips on a triple-dog, double-stamped dare.
So, no... Alicia had never kissed a girl. And Elyza knew that. She had never even thought about kissing a girl. That is, until Elyza. Because, truth be told, she had thought about kissing Elyza. And she was still confused about that. Confused because not only had she thought about kissing her, she had wanted to. Confused because she was still thinking about it and she still wanted to. And Elyza knew that too.
"I just wanted to see you blush." Elyza laughed, still smirking at the confusion written on Alicia's brow and the redness in her cheeks. And her smile was still too smug. And Alicia did not join in on her laughter.
Elyza casually sidestepped Alicia, leaning past her to reach for the whiskey on the counter behind her. But Alicia sidestepped as well, blocking her. Elyza looked at her in surprise, a small frown of confusion replacing her smug grin. Alicia fixed her with a bold glare. Her blood was still racing through her and Alicia was surprised to feel the sudden burn of anger coursing through it. She was tired of blushing under Elyza's knowing glare. She was frustrated with Elyza's ability to see into her so clearly and her own incapacity to hide her emotions. She was angry with her inability to think or even breathe when Elyza moved too close. Elyza had a strange power over her. She knew it. And Elyza knew it. And she was angry about that too.
She didn't know what made her do it, whether it was the echo of Elyza's laughter ringing in her ears or the heat of the alcohol in her stomach now leaking into her blood. Maybe she was finding courage in the whiskey. Maybe she was finding courage in herself. Either way, she clenched her jaw and suddenly she was the one stepping forward, pressing into the inches between them. And Elyza, her face still a mixture of surprise and confusion, was the one backing up.
And suddenly Alicia was speaking, the words tumbling out of her mouth before she could even stop to consider them.. "Ok.. Yes. If I said you don't intimidate me, I would be a liar, Elyza. But you're a hypocrite." She began, stepping closer to Elyza again as the girl backed further away, now wearing a confused frown.
"You want me to think you're above it all." Alicia continued with another step. "You paint your eyes black and put on your leather and act like you're not afraid of anything. You pretend to be fearless. But, I see right through you."
Elyza took another step back from Alicia's heat, starting to look flustered. Alicia pressed on. "You're still haunted by the dead long gone. Just like me, you fear the dead still walking. You fear the Under-Grounders. You fear for your friends. And... You fear me."
"No, I don't." Elyza protested, even as she took another step back. Suddenly her lower back met the arm of the sofa and Elyza nearly stumbled as her hands flew back to grip the sofa arm. She pressed herself against it, no longer able to back away from Alicia. She glared at Alicia, clearly struggling to maintain her cool composure as Alicia stopped barely inches from her.
"You might make me nervous, but I make you nervous too." Alicia said. "I saw it when you took my hand beside Nick's wrecked truck. I saw it when you gave me Ricki's sword. I see it right now in the blush in your cheeks."
Alicia paused, swallowing hard. Her heart was pounding. Her palms were sweating. What the hell was she doing? She suddenly wondered. Just what the hell kind of whiskey had Elyza given to her? She was terrified of what she was saying. And yet she was powerless to stop herself. She had never felt so nervous. She had never felt so bold.
"I frighten you..." Alicia continued. "Because you feel something for me... Something you cannot explain. And that scares you."
Elyza stood frozen before her, holding her gaze. She swallowed hard and nervously wriggled her jaw as if considering whether or not to speak. Or perhaps she was mustering her courage. A moment of intense silence hung in the tiny space between them, the air thick and hot as the L.A. summer.
Finally, Elyza set her jaw then opened her mouth to speak. "No... It doesn't."
The words were simple. Only three little words. But they hit Alicia like a bullet to the stomach. She could feel herself blinking in the heat of Elyza's intense stare. Suddenly she was aware of how close she had pressed into Elyza. She was too close. There wasn't enough air between them. She couldn't breathe. And now she was the one taking a step back as Elyza stared silently at her, studying her face, awaiting her reply.
And Alicia had no reply. Her head was swimming. Even with a foot of space between them now, there still was not enough air. What the hell had come over her? She asked herself. Had she actually just accused Elyza of having 'feelings' for her? Out loud?! And even harder for her to comprehend, had Elyza just admitted to it? Had Alicia misunderstood her, or had Elyza just told her that, not only did she have feelings for her, she also wasn't afraid of them?
As suddenly as it had come upon her, the boldness in her blood abandoned her and, to her chagrin, Alicia once again found herself frozen under Elyza's glare. Once again, she could not think. Once again, she could not breathe. Once again, she was powerless. Elyza was still looking at her expectantly. But Alicia did not know what to do. She did not know what to say. She did not know what to think. She did not even know what to feel.
But it seemed, as usual, that Elyza's hot, blue glare could see right into her. Once again Elyza understood what Alicia could not say; what Alicia could not even understand, herself. It frustrated Alicia to admit it, but it was true... Elyza knew what Alicia was feeling better than Alicia knew it herself.
"You do make me nervous, Little Coon." Elyza admitted. "And yes, whatever this is between us... I feel it. But I don't fear it. You do."
It wasn't an accusation. It was a simple statement and Alicia felt her eyes drop under the weight of its truth. Elyza reached out and lightly touched Alicia's cheek, gently raising Alicia's chin with her thumb until their eyes met again. If possible, Alicia's cheek burned even hotter at Elyza's touch.
"But that's OK." Elyza spoke softly, tenderly.
And then, in a flash, her sympathetic, serious, understanding face broke once again into a cocky grin. She leaned backwards and let herself fall over the sofa's armrest. "I don't need a pash today." She laughed as her body flopped ungracefully sideways onto the cushions. "I can wait."
Alicia let out a breath she hadn't realized she had been holding. In the wake of Elyza's laughter, the tension between them evaporated as quickly as it had arisen. She picked her pack up off the armchair across from Elyza, and flopped back into it feeling drained.
"Still... I did win and I do deserve a prize." Elyza argued. "I guess seeing you blush will have to do. If only you could see how dinky-di cute you are when you blush, you wouldn't blame me for teasing you."
"Yeah, well... If only you could see how goofy you look with that stupid smirk..." Alicia fired back, snatching the ugly velvet pillow from beside her and chucking it back at Elyza. But her anger was gone and she felt herself smiling again. Because Elyza's stupid, goofy smirk was still beautiful and still contagious. "Grinning like Sponge Bob..." Alicia began her insult and then stopped mid-sentence.
"Wait a second... Hold on..." She said, unzipping Sponge Bob's goofy face and reaching into her pack. "I just remembered... I do have a prize for you. I picked you up a present at Walgreens."
"A prezzie?" Elyza replied, scrambling from her lounging into a sitting position, her eyebrows raised in excitement. "You got me a prezzie?"
Alicia tried to conceal her devilish grin as she pulled out the box and tossed it to Elyza.
Elyza's face dropped. "Tampons?" She asked, not even bothering to feign gratitude. "How... Practical."
"Wait," Alicia said between snickers. "There's more."
"Lippy, liner, and polish... All in my favorite color." Elyza said, examining the make-up Alicia tossed into her lap. "Black like my soul." She laughed. "Thanks heaps, Little Coon." This time her voice was genuine and Alicia tried to hide her blush as she mumbled "You're welcome."
Elyza uncapped the nail polish, yanked off a dirty sock, and set to work. "I hope Strand doesn't mind me getting nail polish on his fancy smanchsy carpet." She laughed.
Alicia watched, happily munching on the stale saltines. Four toes and 3 crackers later, Elyza spoke again.
"So..." She broke the comfortable quiet between them. "What will your family do now that Strand left you stranded?"
"I don't know." Alicia replied, popping another cracker. "The plan was to get on that boat. We didn't really have a back up plan. I guess we'll see what Travis and my mom decide to do now. It's never really up to me."
"And if it were up to you?" Elyza asked, examining a shiny, black pinky toenail.
"What do you mean?" Alicia asked through a mouthful of soggy cracker.
"What would you do, if it were up to you?" Elyza repeated.
"I don't know." Alicia answered, swallowing the salty lump and biting her lip thoughtfully.
"Well," Elyza dipped the brush into the polish and sat up to face Alicia. "What do you want?"
"I don't know." Alicia replied, suddenly feeling flustered again. "My brother back?"
"I mean," Elyza clarified. "After we get your brother back?"
"I haven't thought past that." Alicia admitted. It was hard to make plans for the future in such an uncertain world. She had only thought as far as getting her family back together again. Elyza stared at her with her intense blue eyes, chewing her bottom lip and wriggling her jaw as if again deciding whether or not to say something. Alicia's stomach flipped as Elyza finally opened her mouth to speak.
"I'm out of toes." Elyza stated.
"What?" Alicia replied, momentarily confused.
"Give me your feet." Elyza commanded.
"Oh... Right." Alicia replied, her stomach plummeting. Why was she so disappointed? She wondered at herself. What had she been expecting Elyza to say? She pulled off her grungy sneakers and hastily tossed her nasty socks aside, hoping they didn't smell.
Elyza scooted to one end of her sofa, crossing her legs and leaning against the armrest so she faced the other end. Alicia sat down tentatively across from her. Elyza snagged one of her ankles and pulled her closer until her foot rested in Elyza's lap. Alicia tried to sit back and look casual, but her toes were tingling and the disappointment in her stomach had already given way to nervous butterflies again.
Elyza started on her big toe. "You should come back to the Ark with me." She said simply.
Alicia's heart jumped. That was it. She realized. That was what she had been hoping Elyza would say. And now that she had, Alicia was suddenly tongue-tied. She tried to swallow, her throat dry, as if the last saltine was still lodged in it. She didn't know how to respond.
But it didn't seem like Elyza was expecting a response. She was staring at the shiny black paint on Alicia's toenail as if lost in her own thoughts.
"Can I ask you something... Kinda weird?" She asked slowly.
Alicia just shrugged.
"What color is your blood?" Elyza asked.
"What?" Alicia replied, completely confused by the question.
"What color is your blood?" Elyza repeated the question as simply as if she were asking "what color is your car? Or your bedroom wall?"
"Uhhh..." Alicia replied, no less confused. "Red? What color is yours?"
"Mine's red too." Elyza answered.
"Uhhh..." Alicia didn't know how to respond. "Good to know?... I guess."
"Alicia..." Elyza started and then cut herself off.
"Yes?" Alicia asked, still utterly confused. Elyza had her full attention now. She rarely ever called Alicia by her actual name.
Elyza paused from her painting to stare at Alicia, chewing on her lip and wriggling her jaw again.
"What?" Alicia asked, starting to worry. Why the hell was Elyza acting so strange? Was she messing with her again?
"I need to tell you something." Elyza said cryptically. "But its going to sound a little whacko. You're not going to believe me."
"What?" Alicia repeated, nervously, not knowing whether to laugh or worry.
Elyza studied her face. "Forget it." She said. "You're already looking at me like I'm batshit crazy."
"Well..." Alicia argued. "You did just ask me what color my blood is..."
"Well..." Elyza argued back. "You never know. Its a legit question."
"In what universe is that a legit question?" Alicia laughed.
"I don't know..." Elyza huffed. "Maybe in a universe where dead people come back to life and try to eat your bloody face off."
"Hmmm... That's actually a good point." Alicia conceded. "Fair enough. What were you going to tell me?"
"Well..." Elyza began, dropping her gaze to Alicia's toes again. "You remember how I told you about how I have nightmares? About how in my sleep I watch strangers die over and over again?"
"Yeah..." Alicia replied, wondering where the hell this conversation was headed now.
"And I told you my worst one's about a..." Elyza began.
Alicia and Elyza both jumped at the sound of the front door creaking open and voices echoing in the entryway. Elyza leapt to her feet and pulled out her gun as Alicia scrambled off the sofa.
"Strand?" A woman's voice called out.
"Mom?" Alicia answered the voice, excitedly.
"Alicia?!" Her mother's shocked face appeared in the doorway. She rushed into the room and pulled Alicia into a bone-crushing hug. Then she took Alicia by the shoulders and shoved her back to an arm's length, frowning furiously at her.
"Where the HELL have you been?" She scolded. "We've been looking everywhere for you! You just take off... In the middle of the night... With Travis's truck... And disappear..." Her mother's face was full of such rage and fear that for half a second Alicia actually worried that she might hit her. But a second later Madison had pulled her back into another suffocating hug. "I thought you were..."
"I'm fine, Mom." Alicia sputtered, struggling to breathe.
"Where the hell's your brother?!" Madison demanded, suddenly pulling out of the hug and shoving Alicia back by the shoulders again. Alicia felt like she might get whiplash. "I swear... If this was his idea... I'm gonna kill him."
"Well..." Alicia stalled, wondering where to begin.
