The sun peeked through the window of Nick's bedroom.
I had fallen asleep in the bed with him last night, for the first time since we had been back on the boat.
We spent the night cuddling in the full sized bed, after we snuck away early from the heated card game going on down the hall.
We fell asleep snuggled up to one another.
It was the first time I felt like I had gotten real sleep, since the world changed.
I opened my eyes fully to find only myself in the bed.
Nick wasn't next to me.
I rubbed my eyes and wondered where he had gone.
I thought about getting up, but chose to wrap myself tighter in the blanket.
It smelled of Nick.
I heard the sound of someone turning the doorknob.
The door opened and gave way to Nick, holding a tray with what appeared to be breakfast.
Travis stood behind him, his hand pushing the bedroom door open for Nick.
"You're up." Nick smiled.
"H-hey." I replied sheepishly, feeling awkward that Travis was staring in at me lying in Nick's bed.
"Sorry, sorry. I'm not here. Just helping Nick with the door." Travis apologized, noticing how embarrassed I was.
"Thanks." Nick said to Travis.
"Enjoy." Travis said as he closed the door behind him.
"Hope you're hungry." Nick said as he walked over to the bed.
"You did all this for me?" I asked sweetly as I sat upright in the bed, crossing my legs to make room for the tray.
"Well, the last time I tried to surprise you with breakfast, it didn't go so well. Thought I needed a do over." Nick replied as he placed the tray in front of me.
He sat down in the bed next to me.
"You most certainly deserved a do over. And you succeeded."
"I sort of succeeded. They're frozen waffles. But I did manage to find Strand's secret stash of real maple syrup."
"Well done, Clark." I smiled as I grabbed the bottle and poured some over my waffles.
I handed him the syrup as I cut into my stack of waffles and started eating.
"You know, I actually prefer frozen waffles to fresh made ones." I said.
"You're kidding, right?" Nick asked.
"No. Unfortunately I'm not." I started. "I grew up eating the frozen ones. My brother got me ready for school most mornings, and the frozen ones were all he knew how to make."
"Your parents didn't get you up for school?"
I shook my head as I continued to eat. "They worked crazy hours. Once my brother was old enough to work a toaster, Eggo Waffles were all we practically ate for breakfast."
"What, uhm…what did your parents do for a living?" Nick asked.
"They were both doctors." I replied.
"Doctors? Wow. That must have been pretty cool."
"Cool?" I laughed. "Didn't you just hear my frozen waffle, every day for breakfast story?"
Nick laughed. "Yeah, okay so it doesn't sound like the greatest. But, hey if they were both doctors, you must have been like pretty rich."
"Yeah, we were pretty well off." I said. "But money isn't the coolest thing to a seven-year-old. Having your parents cook you breakfast, or having them show up to one of your soccer games, is way cooler than having lots of money."
"Whoa, Cassie. I'm-I'm sorry. I didn't mean to bring anything up that might upset you."
"Hey. No, no. It's fine. I'm fine, Nick." I replied as I looked over at him.
He stared back at me, looking concerned.
"Really. It's okay. I can talk about it without getting upset." I added.
"Did they really never show up to any of your games?"
I sighed. "My dad did. Once. He was there for about ten minutes before something more important came up."
"That must have been awful. I'm really sorry."
"Again, it's fine." I said. "I mean of course I was hurt, at the time. I was so mad at them, I didn't even want to go home. I stayed at my grandma's for two weeks after that. But then, over time, I got used to it. And before I knew it, I wasn't upset by it anymore."
"They made a huge mistake, missing out on spending time with you." Nick said. "If I were them, I'd never forgive myself for that."
I gave Nick a small smile and leaned in and kissed him.
"Thanks for the breakfast." I said.
"Thanks for the company." Nick replied.
We finished up our breakfast and sat on his bed, giggling and playing around.
We heard a knock on the door.
I quickly pulled the covers back over me, since I was only wearing one of Nick's t-shirts.
"Yeah. Come in." Nick called out.
The door opened to Travis standing in the doorway.
"Sorry to interrupt, but I figured it would be slightly less awkward if I was the one to do the interrupting, rather than your mother." Travis said.
"Thanks for that." Nick said. "Is everything alright?"
"Yeah, yeah. Everything's fine." Travis said. "Strand just wants to have a meeting today, with everyone."
"Do you know what it's about?" Nick asked.
"It's about where were going to go next. We need to figure out our route and get on it." Travis replied.
"Oh, okay."
"Also, we're stopping the boat and anchoring, to save gas until we figure out the plan."
Nick and I both nodded.
"Okay? So just be brainstorming about some places nearby that you may want to go. We're up for suggestions."
"Gotcha." Nick replied.
"Meeting's in two hours." Travis said.
Nick gave a simple thumbs up.
"We'll be there." I said.
"Okay. See you in two hours. I promise I won't drop in again. I'll get out of your hair."
"It's okay." Nick laughed.
Travis gave a wave and exited the room, shutting the door behind him.
"So, where do you wanna go?" Nick asked as he wrapped his arms around me.
"Nowhere, at the moment." I smiled.
"Nowhere sounds perfect." Nick smiled back.
Nick and I spent the next several hours joking around and talking.
He also taught me the card game him and the others were playing last night, so we could get another game going, and I could help crush them.
We realized that it was time for the meeting, truthfully we were several minutes late to the meeting.
We grabbed hands and made our way upstairs, Nick tickling me as we did so.
"Nick, cut it out." I laughed as we walked into the giant living room, where the big dining table was.
Nick jammed his fingers into my side. "Does this tickle?"
"Yes!" I giggled. "I said cut it out!"
"What about this?"
I let out a loud laugh. "Yes! Okay? Yes!"
Everyone looked over at us as we made our way fully into the room, their faces serious.
Nick and I both stopped what we were doing, feeling a tad awkward, feeling like two school kids, who just got caught by a room full of teachers.
"Uhm, here let me get the chair for you." I said to Nick as I pulled out an empty chair at the table, everyone's eyes still on us.
He took a seat as I stood behind him and glanced over at Alicia, who was smirking and trying to hold back laughter.
"Thank you for finally gracing us with your presence." Strand said, slightly annoyed.
"Sorry. We lost track of time." Nick apologized.
"Well, let's try and not waste any more time, shall we?" Strand replied.
"Got it, boss." Nick said, giving Strand a smile, although Strand didn't return one.
"So, we need a new place to go." Strand began. "Anyone got any suggestions?"
Everyone was quiet for several moments, not wanting to be the first to speak up.
"I've got one." Alicia said, to everyone's surprise.
"Really?" Madison asked.
Alicia nodded. "Yeah. I've been giving it some thought since we left."
Madison looked over at Strand, giving him a 'give her a chance' look.
"Alright. Let's hear it." Strand said.
"I know we're pretty far north, but I was thinking that…we should maybe try and go back…home."
"Home?" Madison asked. "As in L.A?"
"Yeah. I'm talking about L.A."
Strand let out a loud laugh, causing me to jump slightly.
"That's the funniest thing I've heard in a while." Strand said. "You can't be serious."
"I'm completely serious." Alicia replied, standing her ground.
"Alicia, that's insane." Nick chimed in.
"No. No it isn't." Alicia began as she stood up. "L.A. is our home. It's where we grew up! We can't just leave it forever!"
"Alicia, honey. We can't go back there. That isn't our home anymore." Madison said, trying to let her down easy.
"Yes it is! It will always be our home!" Alicia shouted. "Mom, how can you say that?"
"Because, sweetie. I'm being realistic here."
"Los Angeles is gone." Strand said. "We saw it burn to the ground. The only thing left there, are the ashes from what was once your home."
"And how do you know that?! How do you know there's nothing left?!" Alicia yelled. "It's the place we all know best! We can't just never go back!"
"It's gone." Strand said simply. "Next suggestion."
"Alicia." Madison started as Alicia's face filled with sadness and anger.
"Alicia!" Madison yelled after her, as she ran out of the room in a fury. "Dammit, Strand."
"I'll go." Chris said, as he stood up to go after Alicia. "It's not like my idea would be chosen anyways."
Chris gave Strand a mean glare as he exited the room, to go comfort Alicia.
"Now we can have a real discussion." Strand said.
"Hey, don't give them the chance to speak up, and then get pissed at them, for doing so." Madison said, angrily.
"Tell them not to give me stupid answers."
"Hey!" Travis interrupted.
"Stop! Seriously, everyone just knock it off." Nick said as he raised his voice. "Arguing isn't going to solve anything."
The older adults in the room were quiet, although I could see they were angry by the looks on their faces.
"We have a suggestion." Nick added.
"We?" Strand asked.
"Yes. Cassie and me." Nick replied. "We."
"What is it, Nick?" Madison asked.
Nick looked back and up at me. He gave me a reassuring nod.
I cleared my throat. "San Diego."
"San Diego?" Strand asked. "That's almost as bad as suggesting L.A!"
"Hey, man." Nick said. "Hear her out."
"My family has a house on an island off the coast of there. It's on a lot of land and it's right on the water. And I have the keys to it."
"And this place is safe, you think?" Madison asked.
I nodded. "Yeah. Well, I mean I don't know for sure, but-"
"You don't know for sure. Of course you don't know for sure. How could you?" Strand interrupted me.
"Hey!" I yelled. "You asked us for suggestions! If you knew you were just going to shut them all down, then you should have just saved us the time, and told us where we were going! It is your boat, after all. You didn't have to set this up, to make us feel like we actually have a say in any of this, if we really don't."
Everyone froze as I yelled at Strand.
"Just tell us where the hell we're going, so we can get on with our lives." I added.
Strand stared at me, his dark brown eyes piercing into mine, like he was waiting for me to crack.
"You know your way around this island?" He finally asked me.
"My family has had this vacation house since I was six years old. What do you think?" I replied, annoyed.
He was silent again as he paced back and forth in front of the table.
"Strand!" Nick yelled slightly. "Are we going there or not?"
Strand let out a giant sigh. "We pick up anchor in the morning. You can come up then and give me the coordinates."
Nick looked back at me and smiled. I smiled weakly back at him, feeling shocked that I actually stood up for myself, for my idea, against Strand.
"Nice talk." Strand added as he walked up the stairs that led to the captain's quarters.
Nick stood up and wrapped me in his arms.
"See? I told you your idea was great." He said as he kissed the top of my head.
"Yeah. I'm not so sure." I replied.
Nick let me out of his embrace and I walked towards the stairs, making my way back to Nick's bedroom.
He followed behind me, walking slowly.
"Hey, what's wrong?" He asked as he made it to the room.
I stared out the window, looking out over the vast ocean.
"I shouldn't have even opened my mouth." I breathed, my back still towards him.
"What are you talking about? You have a really good plan for us."
I shook my head. "I'm already on thin ice. I know what Strand thinks of me."
"Cassie, come on. That's not true. No one's mad at you." Nick replied.
"He's not mad at me." I said as I turned around to face Nick. "He resents me."
"No, no. That's just- that's just how Strand is. You'll get used to it."
"He's not a big fan of me. I can just feel it. Maybe you don't see it, because he actually likes you." I replied.
"Strand is a complicated person. He's glad you're here. He's thankful that you helped protect him and his boat, he just may not show it in the most…obvious way."
"I guess." I whispered.
Nick walked closer to me and grabbed my hand. "I can talk to him, if you want me to."
"No, that's alright. I think it's best to just stay out of his way."
"Once we get to your parents' house, he'll come around. He'll see how great it is." Nick smiled.
"I mean, I get why he's so leery about where we go. He wants security and nowhere is a guarantee of that anymore. But, we have to take chances in order to find safety. Some work out and some don't." I said.
"Trust me, if he didn't really want any of our opinions, he wouldn't have wasted time having a meeting with us. He would have just picked where we were going, and told us when we got there."
"This is why we work." I smiled up at Nick. "You know what to say, to make everything seem not so terrible."
"We also work because we get to do this…" Nick smirked as he leaned in began kissing me.
I broke away from him after several moments of kissing and giggled.
"Slow down there, lover boy." I joked. "We went over this yesterday."
"I was only kissing you. And kissing falls under the gentle activities category."
"Yes, but kissing can lead to other activities, that you aren't well enough to participate in yet."
"Hey now. I take offense to that." Nick smiled. "I can control my urges."
"Can you now? And when do you plan on actually trying to show me those self-control skills of yours?"
"I said I can control them, not that I am controlling them."
I laughed as I put my hand on his chest, stopping him from leaning in for a kiss.
"I think I hear a cold shower calling your name." I joked.
"Or maybe that's you, calling my name." Nick said as his signature sly smiled spread across his face.
I rolled my eyes as I laughed. "You just earned yourself some isolation time, Mister."
"Are you ordering me to stay in my room?"
"Yep." I replied. "And I want the next two chapters of that book read by the time I get back."
"You sound like a naughty boarding school teacher." Nick smiled. "I'm into it."
"Do your homework, Mr. Clark." I winked.
"Yes, ma'am." Nick smiled.
I gave him a kiss on the cheek and exited the room, giving him some much needed alone time to cool off.
I was upstairs, on the boat's deck, sitting and staring out at the water.
I could faintly see San Francisco's outline.
I was glad that I was leaving, but I would definitely miss it.
I felt someone walking up behind me.
"Finished already?" I asked, assuming it was Nick.
The person cleared their throat and I instantly knew it wasn't Nick.
I turned around to see Strand standing behind me.
I just stared up at him, unsure of what to say.
"Saying goodbye to your home?" Strand asked as he looked in the direction I had been looking.
"I'm not going to suggest we go back, don't worry." I replied, slightly bitterly.
He let out a brief chuckle. "Good girl."
We were silent as he continued to stare out over the water with me.
"You know, we could have technically stayed." Strand said, ending the silence.
I shook my head. "It's time to let S.F. go."
"Too many difficult memories?"
"Good. Bad. A mixture of both. I can't hold on to any of them anymore." I replied. "All good things, must come to an end."
"Enlightened way of looking at it."
"Honest way of looking at it." I said.
We fell into several more moments of silence. I expected Strand to leave, but he stayed put, staring at the faint outlines of the buildings we were leaving behind.
"Coronado." Strand finally said.
"What?" I asked.
"Coronado." Strand repeated. "That's where your house is, isn't it?"
He looked over at me.
"Yes." I replied, simply.
"It's quite beautiful there."
"Yeah. It is." I paused. "You've been there before?"
He nodded. "Oh yes. Lived there for a while."
"You don't say?" I replied.
"Small world, isn't it?"
"I suppose it may feel that way now." I said.
More silence engulfed us.
"Grey." Strand said.
I looked back over him as he stared down at me.
"Cassie Grey."
I looked shocked as I was taken aback. "How-how do you know my name?"
"The Greys." He said. "I knew your parents."
I shook my head as I stood up. "No, no. That's not possible."
"Oh it is." He laughed. "A…close friend of mine, had a house there, for many years."
I was silent, wanting him to hurry up and finish talking.
"He was neighbors with a family. Two doctors. One was a surgeon, the other one was a neonatal surgeon. Charlie and Selena Grey."
He paused. "Those are your parents, correct?"
"Y-yes, but-"
"They had two children, a young girl named Cassidy and a slightly older boy named Jacob." He said. "Cassie and Jake."
"Thomas. Your close friend's name is Thomas." I said in shock. "Thomas Abigail."
I looked around at the boat, my eyes landing on the boat's name.
"This is his boat, isn't it?" I asked, still in disbelief.
Strand nodded. "Indeed it is."
"So that makes you…" I started. "Victor. Your first name is Victor."
"Bingo." He smiled slightly.
"Did you know…who I was? Have you known this whole time?" I asked.
"Yes. I recognized you the second you came on this boat."
"You look just like your mother." He added.
"Why- why didn't you tell anyone?" I asked.
"It's not my place to tell."
"But, when I came on the boat, and everyone thought I was some horrible person, you knew who I was. You knew my parents. And you didn't think it was a good time to tell them?"
"I knew you when you were younger. And I only knew you briefly. Time has passed, and you have grown up. And the world has changed greatly. I wasn't sure what kind of person you grew up to be."
I was silent, not knowing what to say.
"Well, why haven't you told them now?" I finally asked.
"Because, it's not anything of importance. You've proved yourself to these people on your own. You don't need my help to redeem your name."
"I guess." I replied.
"I liked you. You were a feisty kid." Strand said. "Although I never got the impression that you liked me, very much."
"You weren't very nice." I replied. "You weren't like Thomas."
Strand laughed. "No, I'm not. Thomas was definitely the nicer one. He loved kids. Always wanted a few."
"Plus, I'm sure it didn't help that when we met, I was a moody teenager. I didn't really like anyone." I replied.
"I figured as much."
We were silent for a few moments.
"Did you speak to him, when everything happened?" I asked.
Strand sighed greatly. "I went and saw him."
"Where was he?"
"Mexico."
"You went all the way to Mexico, in all of this?" I asked.
He nodded. "Yes. That was the plan. To get on the boat and go to where he was and to stay there, permanently."
"What happened? Why didn't you stay?"
"Well, I gained a whole group of people, for one." He began. "And when we finally got there, we didn't exactly get a…warm welcome."
"Did it get taken over by the infected?" I asked.
"It did."
"Thomas…didn't make it?"
Strand shook his head. "He was too damn generous. Got himself bitten trying to help people."
"I'm sorry." I said. "You loved him."
Strand smiled. "And how do you know that?"
"My parents may not have been around much, but they were always very honest with me and my brother. They told us you were a couple."
"I see." Strand replied. "I loved him, like you love Nicholas."
I smiled lightly, nodding my head. "Did you know Nick before the…apocalypse?"
"No, I didn't. I met him at the very beginning. I was planning on taking him with me, to Mexico. Then I learned that he came with a whole set of people. Hence why I have a group with me now."
"You're not much of a people person, are you?" I asked.
"I'm more of a loner man, myself." He replied.
"I'm assuming your brother didn't make it." He added.
I looked down at the ground, trying to find the words to say.
"He did. For a while." I replied.
"He was a good kid. I'm sure he put up a good fight."
I nodded in return. "Until he lost."
"He always took good care of you, didn't he? You followed him around more than his own shadow, from what Thomas would tell me."
I smiled slightly, remembering spending summers with my brother at the Coronado house.
"I'm sorry that you lost him." Strand said.
"I'm sorry you lost Thomas." I replied.
We exchanged small smiles.
"Get ready to see your old home away from home." He said as he made his way towards the door that led back inside.
"Oh and stay close to Nicholas. He's a good man. And he's quite infatuated with you." He added.
"Will do." I replied.
And with that, he exited the deck.
Later that night, after dinner and another round of card games, Nick and I sat on his bed.
He was reading more of my book, as I mindlessly shuffled the deck of cards.
"Cass?" Nick asked.
I heard him, but I was so deep in thought, that I didn't respond.
"Cassie?" Nick repeated.
I finally snapped out of my trance like state.
"Yeah?" I asked as I looked over at him.
"You've been shuffling that deck for the past thirty minutes."
"Oh, sorry. I didn't mean to bother you while you're reading." I replied as I stopped shuffling.
"You're not bothering me." Nick replied. "But is there something bothering you?"
"What? No. No. I'm fine."
"Are you still worried that everyone's mad at you?"
"No." I shook my head. "I know I was wrong about that."
"So then what is it?"
"What makes you think something is bothering me?" I asked.
"I can just see that you're deep in thought about something." Nick replied. "Is there anything you want to talk about?"
"Yes." I paused. "No. I mean it's late. I should probably get to bed."
I stood up and began to gather up a few of my things.
"Yeah, I've been wanting to talk to you about that."
"About sleeping?" I asked, confused.
"About our…sleeping arrangements."
I stopped grabbing my stuff.
"Oh." I said. "Well, I think you're okay now. Unless you're still worried. In which case, I can stay in here another night."
"Well actually, I was kinda thinking that…that uhm, you could stay in here. You know. For good."
"You mean like, every night? Like moving in together?" I asked.
"Yeah, I guess you could put it that way." Nick replied.
"Wow, that's fast. I mean we haven't even updated our Facebook statuses yet." I joked.
Nick smiled and laughed. "Shit. You're right. We best get on that."
I smiled at him as I took a seat back down on the bed. "You sure you want me in here with you, twenty-four seven?"
"I'd say even longer than that, if there was more time in the day." Nick replied sweetly.
"I'd love to stay in here with you." I said. "I'll go get the rest of my things."
Nick smiled and kissed me.
"But." I began. "There's something I need to talk to you about first."
"Okay. What is it?" Nick asked.
"When I went upstairs earlier, and gave you some alone time, Strand came and talked to me." I said.
"Whoa, really?"
I nodded. "Yeah. And-"
I paused and tried to gain confidence before I spoke again.
"Strand and I…sort of…know each other."
His face looked shocked. "What? How?"
"Well, when I first saw him on the boat, I thought he looked familiar. But I thought I was just going crazy. That I was just trying to find some comfort and familiarity in the new world." I said. "But now I know for sure, that I knew him."
"Did you, like, live in L.A. before or something?" Nick asked.
I shook my head. "No. Strand told me about Mexico. That that's where you all went after L.A. was destroyed. He told me you went to his friend's house there."
"Yeah. His boyfriend's house."
"Thomas." I said.
Nick nodded. "How-"
"I knew Thomas. I know that this is his boat." I said. "He had a house next to my family's vacation house. In Coronado. I spent every summer there. Thomas watched me and my brother grow up. He was best friends with my parents."
"How long have you known Strand then?"
"Only for a few years. I met him when they must have started dating. The last summer before Thomas sold the house. I was about fourteen or fifteen. That was the only time I ever saw Strand, that's why I wasn't sure if I knew him or not."
"Wow. That's crazy." Nick said. "He must have remembered you once you mentioned your vacation house."
"Not quite." I said. "He recognized me the second he saw me."
"He did? Why didn't he say anything then?"
"He said it wasn't his place. That everyone needed to be able to trust me, or not trust me, on their own."
"That's a good point, since they don't really trust everything that Strand says anyways." Nick replied. "But still. He could've at least told me."
"I'm glad he didn't."
"Why?"
"Because you got to know me and fall for me, all on your own." I replied.
"Yeah, but if I would have known about the rich parents and vacation house on an island, I would have fallen for you much faster." Nick joked.
"Jackass." I smiled as I pushed his shoulder lightly.
"So, since Strand knows you, does that mean he also can tell me some of your deep, dark secrets?"
"Nope." I replied.
"Dammit." Nick smiled.
