Semester of the Dead 12
Chapter 12
"Is everything OK in here?"
A man walks in the room. I'm honestly happy to see him. Seeing Alaric's face right now was probably one of the most painful things I could see. Alaric still looked the same. He was still painfully attractive. So much so that there was a tinge of jealousy when I found out he had been seeing his recently deceased traveling companion. I should have known though. It was Alaric for godsakes. I knew he would have moved on. Look at him. Millions of girls and guys probably fell for him on a daily. That's just expected at this point.
Alaric doesn't even lift his face up to see who walked into the room.
"Alaric..." I state.
"What?"
His tone is a little abrupt. It's a little short. He isn't staring at me anymore. It's almost like I disgust him. The idea that I might disgust him at this moment is making me nervous. I still care about Alaric. Immensely. I just didn't know when the right time would be to tell him about me and Nixon. Now was the only time that made sense.
But the truth is there were other things he needed to know. Other more important things than the status of my relationship with his brother.
"This is Von," I start off, "He's the leader of the New World Order...and my father."
Alaric's eyes barely move up to Von. I don't call Von my father. I never have. It's just a weird idea. I barely even knew the man. He was quiet. He was all about his business. He was all about his mission.
"What's left of us at least," Von states, "I know you've been through a lot Alaric...but you're safe now."
"Aren't you a terrorist?" Alaric asks.
"Bro---" Nixon starts off.
"What? Last time we fuckin' talked I was told he was a terrorist," Alaric states.
"Well, clearly we weren't taken in by a terrorist group so you should have put two and two together and figured Dr. Serrano was lying the entire time."
Nixon isn't really helping at this point. It's clear he's getting under Alaric's skin. Alaric gets off the bed and I can see his right eye throbbing. He looks like a man who could lose it any minute and right now wasn't the time for him to lose it. We needed Alaric. We needed him completely stable.
"Nixon, can we have a moment?" I ask him.
Nixon looks at me, "Of course babe."
Nixon leans over and kisses me. I almost wince when he does it. It isn't just a short kiss either. It's a long kiss. He presses his lips up against mine. His tongue enters my mouth circling around a few times as he secures his hands up against my waist. He kisses me like this often, aggressively and seriously. I loved it. But right now was different. It wasn't only Alaric's presence that made this moment awkward but my father who wasn't really too into my personal life was standing right there.
Nixon has made his point loud and clear when he turns to leave. Things had changed in the last year and Alaric needed to catch up to it. I knew it was a point that had to be made but he didn't have to be so rude about it.
"Guess the world really has gone to shit," Alaric states.
He says it loud enough for me to hear it even though it is a mutter. The awkwardness in the room is clear. I know my father doesn't know much of anything about Alaric. Alaric doesn't know much of anything about my father. This isn't the best introduction.
"Dr. Serrano worked for the CDC for some time. When she discovered my son she had radical ideas that got her fired."
"We saw her at the CDC in Atlanta," Alaric states.
I shake my head, "Dr. Serrano and her military contacts took over the city. There is no government, not anymore."
"In Georgia?"
"In the US."
I hate having to tell him what I know about the US. I know my father isn't lying. We've tried multiple times to get help. It's too late. In the last year, the virus had spread all over the US. Mexico had put up a wall to keep United States Citizens outside of their borders. The whole country had gone to shit.
"Dr. Serrano's group call themselves the Neo-CDC after they terminated her former employers," my father explains, "Back then she took badly to the people that fired her. At that point, she poisoned Sunday's mother's mind. She stole my son away from me and went to Savannah where she worked on creating the disease that we now know as Sunday's virus. A disease she couldn't control. The disease that is creating those infected people outside."
"And what are you guys? The good guys."
"The New World Order has been attempting to stop this disease since the beginning," my father states, "They thought we were crazy when we started making these bunkers, but we knew what Dr. Serrano was up to. We knew what was coming. There are 30 bunkers all around the city. We are bunker 14. As long as we follow the rules we'll all be safe. As long as we follow the rules those things outside won't get to us."
Alaric gives us a look. I knew this was a lot to take in. I knew this was different to him. I just knew what happened to people who didn't follow the New World Orders' rules. The rules that kept us alive. I was hoping that Alaric was at least listening to them."
"Don't feel too safe," Alaric responds looking at the walls, "Not knowing those things are right over our heads."
"This is why the rules are so important."
"I kind of follow my own rules," Alaric tells my father, "It's kept me alive this long."
The way he is talking is causing uneasiness with my father. I watch how my father sighs a little bit. I feel the tension in his body. Alaric pushing back like this isn't normal.
"Alaric," I state trying to step in and cool everything down, "The New World Order has a process here and the group as a whole has agreed to that process in exchange for sanctuary here."
Alaric looks at me hard.
"Who says I want to stay here?" Alaric asks.
He wasn't thinking right. I'm panicking when he says that in front of my father. My father was a very sober man. I've learned that much about him from knowing him. He was a military which is how he got involved in the New World Order. So when Alaric says what he says I laugh hoping my father would think it was a joke but I should know better. My father doesn't laugh at what Alaric is saying. He doesn't even smile.
"You want to go back outside the bunker?" my father asks Alaric, "You want to try to live on your own?"
"Of course he doesn't," I state, "He knows how it is out there. Of course, he's just still probably exhausted..."
"Am I?" Alaric asks.
My father isn't amused by any of this. I watch how he squints at Alaric. If Alaric left he wouldn't be able to come back. How Alaric had survived for as long as he did with the zombies out there was a miracle. Alaric should have known better. His entire group was dead. That was one of the first things he said to me. Now he was playing around with the thought of going back?
I have to stop this! I have to stop the thought right at that moment.
"Can I talk to Alaric alone?" I ask my father.
"Sunday. Make sure Mr. West here is aware of our rules, if he does decide to stay," my father tells me more like I'm one of his soldiers than his son, "And if he doesn't I'll leave it up to you to escort him out."
My father turns at that moment and leaves. His face hasn't changed since he walked in here. Not even a little bit. He probably wasn't amused by Nixon slobbing me down the way he did and I definitely don't think he's really too amused by Alaric.
I want to punch Alaric when my father leaves the room.
"Are you stupid?" I ask Alaric, "You sound crazy. Crazy people get kicked out of here."
Alaric shrugs, "Maybe. Maybe I'm crazy. I don't know. How big is this bunker?"
"It's big enough to hold about 50 people."
"Yeah, I don't know. Don't think there is enough space for me."
I'm not an idiot. I know this has to do with the whole thing with Nixon. Looking at him I don't know what else to do but be wary of his decisions. I care about him and I don't want whatever issues he has with me to be the reason he isn't safe.
"Alaric I need you to put your feelings aside for a moment."
"You're really good at that aren't you?"
He finally looks me in my eyes when he says it and that's when I see it. He's disgusted. It's written all over his face at this point. He's not even trying to hide it.
"Wow..."
"Can I be left alone?" he asks me, "I need some time."
~
Leaving Alaric has to be one of the most awkward moments ever. I just have the feeling he hates me. I honestly didn't think I would ever see his face again and the fact that when I do see his face again this is what I see. I just feel like shit. I feel like complete shit.
The bunker just what you would think an apocalypse bunker was. It's tight. The hallways are small. The rooms are small. Still. It's safe. My father has about 2 dozen men working for him. The highest ranking is a man only known as The Fist. He's the only one that my father answers to and honestly, we don't see much of the Fist. He locks himself in his area and only uses my father to pass rules. My father, the Fist and his men aren't really the most approachable. A lot of the times it does seem like every once in a while they want to come around my friends and hang out but my father runs a tight ship so they don't.
My father is lenient for the most part when it comes to us. Maybe it's because he knows we're just kids. We have a little area that we hang out in that is just for us. It's a common area. Mitch made sure to decorate it nice with Valentina. They make it sort of homey. It's the best we can ask for.
I'm not surprised when all my friends are in the little common area after the meeting. We have electricity and my father lets us watch two movies a day. Lucky for us because we only have three movies. You would think it's only so many times people could watch the Little Rascals, Space Jam and Sister Act 2 but you would be surprised. Even now Quest is laughing at Space Jam like this is the greatest movie of all time.
"Where is he?" Mitch states.
Quest has his arm over Mitch. They've been going strong for quite some time. Everyone has kind of accepted it by now. I wish I could say the same thing for me and Nixon. When Nixon proposed a few weeks ago it was really a surprise to everyone including me. He'd found the ring scavenging with Quest and Ignacio.
Speaking of Ignacio he hasn't really reacted to Alaric returning. It wasn't like they were best friends or anything so I didn't think he would. He has just been relatively quiet the whole time.
"He just needs some time to get settled," I state, "We should all give him some space..."
I want to sweep it under the rug how Alaric wasn't thinking about staying. I'm hoping he's just going through something right now. Besides. Everyone wants curious about how Alaric survived out there. If you don't get back to the bunker after a certain time at night people just assumed you were dead. That's just how it is. The fact he survived outside of a bunker for so longer blew all of our minds.
"He's tough," Quest states, "He always has been."
Mitch nods in agreement, "He's probably upset that his friend was killed."
Valentina smiles, "I'll make him some dinner later. Maybe that'll cheer him up. Let him know he's safe now."
I'm glad my friends are all supportive. I'm glad they understand that Alaric has been through a lot. He hasn't been with us for a while but we all missed him to a point, even Ignacio said several times he hoped Alaric was OK out there. There was a bond we all had. We had all been together when it all went down. We had survived something horrible, together. It was a miracle he was back.
You would think that would be the end of it. All good vibes but no, Nixon has something to say.
"He's in there because he's pissed about you-know-what," Nixon blurts out.
I run over to my fiancé and put my hand around his mouth. He thinks I'm being playful. That was one thing about Nixon. He constantly thought everything was a joke. And then there was Michael Power who had become close buddies with Nixon in the last year. Between the two of them, nothing was off limits. It cheered up the group most of the time with their antics but this wasn't one of those times.
Michael Power blurts out almost immediately, "He jealous. He wanted some of that Sunday boy pussy."
Nixon thinks it's hilarious grabbing at my crotch, "Too late. It's all my boy pussy."
I push his hand away, "First off, STOP saying boy pussy. Secondly. Can we please not do this? Alaric has been through a lot. I'm sure there's more to him being a little upset."
I loved Nixon for being so blunt. I loved the fact that he said what was on his mind regardless. I just hated that Nixon was making light of something Alaric was going through.
Nixon shrugs, "I'm sorry. It's the end of the fuckin' world out there. There are other things to worry about besides the fact that I'm dating a guy who he was never REALLY with."
He wouldn't stop. I try to grab Nixon and pull him out of the room. It causes a few people to laugh because he just keeps going. This was typical Nixon for you and usually, I would be enabling him as well, laughing at his shit. This was different though. Way different.
Ignacio steps in almost immediately, "Regardless if they were dating or not you knew your brother liked him. So I don't get how you think it's OK."
Great.
This was exactly what I was trying to avoid. Now everyone had to put in their two cents and Ignacio definitely wasn't the easiest person to get along with. In the past year, a lot of the other guys have gotten along. Michael Power, Quest, and Nixon were birds of a feather. Mitchell, Valentina and I got closer. Then there was Ignacio. He didn't really approve of Michael Power with Valentina. He didn't really approve of a lot. People avoided Ignacio like the plague. Even me. I just couldn't deal with his constant negativity. A part of it was that he was close to his mother and after realizing what his mother was, I think he distanced himself from people. It became hard for him to open up and trust anyone. Not even Valentina.
Valentina is smart. She knows her brother and like me, she knows him butting into this argument isn't going to lead anywhere positive.
"Can we just drop this?" Valentina asks, "It's none of our business."
"He brought it up," Ignacio states, "Nixon and his cronies think it's funny and I just was wondering why. That's all."
Great. As soon as the word "Cronies" come out of Ignacio's mouth I knew where this was headed. Nixon's face gets red. Quest and Michael Power aren't far behind.
"Wait did Sunday and Alaric fuck?" Quest asks, "Because I might have forgotten that. Did Alaric even tell any of us how he felt about Sunday? So if he had some secret crush...I'm sorry I don't give a fuck that Sunday moved on."
"None of us do. I didn't even know he was gay," Michael Power responds shaking his head.
They are ganging up on Ignacio. With anyone else, they would have backed down. Quest went from 0-100 really quick and Michael Power had always lived up to being a childhood bully.
"All I know is Nixon did a lot of comforting when his brother disappeared," Ignacio responds, "A whole lot of it. I would have assumed Nixon was the one who NEEDED to be comforted though. That would have made sense."
"You don't know the relationship I have with my brothers."
"You don't seem to have a problem leaving them. I know that much."
Watching Ignacio go at Nixon is a lot. I'm not surprised when Nixon charges at him. I'm not surprised when Nixon rams Ignacio right into the wall as hard as he can. The two start fighting almost instantly. All you hear is screaming. We're trying to break them up. We're not really good at it. Nixon and Ignacio are a whole lot stronger than Mitch and I. Quest and Michael Power find the whole thing funny and aren't even helping.
It isn't until my father and his men come in the room to break up the fight. Seconds later and I think Ignacio would have decked Nixon right in the eye. The officers pull them apart and separate them. I can hear my father's voice get loud.
"This is unacceptable!" my father states, "Since when do you all act like this?"
It's Nixon who says it. I think he does it halfway out of anger but I don't think he knows what he's saying when he says.
"Well, clearly Alaric being here is changing things."
I was pissed at Nixon before but now I'm just livid. There is a difference from saying things between us but when he pulls my father into it, it escalates things. My father doesn't react but he looks over at me. I know what he's thinking. I can tell.
~
That night I refuse to sleep in the same room as Nixon. He's standing over me at the end of the night. I just got back from meeting with my father and it didn't go anywhere near as well as I thought. When I go back to my old room I know that Nixon thinks I'm choosing sides.
"Really?" he asks.
That's all he says. Since we got together I've never slept away from him. That's why Nixon is in my old room now. He's shirtless. He's doing it on purpose. He's showing off his perfectly toned body sculpted to perfection. He still isn't muscular but the tones are something outrageous. It's hard to resist him when he's standing at my door, with his pants sagging right below his crotch area. He raises one hand over the door, flexing his biceps as he does it. His eyes squint over at me. He's biting onto his lower lip and glaring at me slowly. He's fine as fuck and the only way I can't fold is to ignore him.
Things have calmed down since earlier. The fight wasn't huge. Before my father rescued us there was a ton of infighting in my group but since we've been in the bunker we listened to the rules. And one of those rules was no fighting.
"My father asked me a million questions about Alaric...because of you," I state.
"I didn't say anything."
I give Nixon a look. Nixon is the oldest in the group. He should be the most mature but sometimes he isn't. Even now he has a smile on his face. He's attractive as hell and he knows I can't stay mad at him too long when he gives me one of those smiles. I have to admit it almost works. His perfect white teeth almost reflect the light even in the dull underground bunker.
"You are acting like he isn't even your brother," I tell Nixon, "You didn't have to bring up your brother's reaction to us dating period."
"It's not my fault Ignacio is still in love with you."
There it was again. This wasn't the first time Nixon brought this up. It wouldn't be the last. Right after Alaric left I was really at a vulnerable point. I shared a kiss with Ignacio. Of course, when things started to get interesting with Nixon he brought it up. Everyone knew about the kiss. Everyone. And he was holding it against me.
"Ignacio turned me down," I remind Nixon, "He told ME he didn't want to cross that boundary with me. You know about that conversation."
Nixon shrugs, "And he regrets it. The same way Alaric regrets not getting you when he had the chance."
"Alaric isn't your competition. He's your brother. I don't understand why I have to remind you of that."
"Remind him," Nixon responds, "I miss Alaric. I'm glad he's back. But if he thinks he can come back and pick up where he left off... he's wrong. Shit has changed. I paid my dues. Boyfriend. Fiance. Soon-to-be husband. He needs to understand where he falls. Unless you're having second thoughts about you and me."
All of a sudden I see where Nixon is coming from. This time he's not smiling or laughing or making a joke. He tries to hide behind his insecurities with a sense of humor. I can see that even now. For some reason I forget how vulnerable these West Brothers can be because they are so goddam perfect.
So I feel like shit...yet again.
I walk over to Nixon, "I'm not going to drop you for Alaric."
"How do I know that? Clearly, you guys had a little crush on each other back in the day."
I wonder if Nixon means to downgrade what Alaric and I had as just "a crush". I'm not sure how much he knew about us. Then again maybe he's right. Alaric wasn't my ex. The entire time we were interested in each other he was under the assumption that he had gotten Valentina pregnant.
Nixon had been there for me. The year had passed and Nixon was growing on me.
"Well, that was the past. Right now you're the person I want to be with."
"Is that right?"
I'm in Nixon's arms now. He wraps his arms around me. I look at his cool collected face. I smell his cool breath as he talks into my face. He licks his lips. I can see him staring at my own lips the whole time. Nixon's kisses were something extraordinary. I could tell he wants to give me one of those right now. A real hard, wet one.
"Of course. Just be nice to Alaric, OK?"
"I'll talk to him and I'll make peace with him," Nixon responds, "But for tonight...I want to make peace with you. I acted a fool today and let my emotions get the best of me. I'm sorry baby. Do you forgive me?"
I tease him, "I dunno. I might still need to sleep alone."
"Fuck that. You know I can't sleep without you. Just for that, I'm sleeping extra close to you."
He grabs my ass at that moment. He holds it tight. Firmly.
"How close?" I ask Nixon.
"I'm sleeping inside of you."
I don't even get to respond before Nixon grabs me up and throws me over his shoulder to take me to his room. I'm laughing the whole time remembering just what it is about him that made me move on and find happiness again.
~
The next morning we arrive in the cafeteria. Nixon is holding my hand. He does it often. Maybe because mostly everyone is really coupled up. No one thinks it's weird when Quest has his arm over Mitch or when Michael Power and Valentina are having one of their many arguments. No one trips about it. When the world ends it's natural to find that one person that you gravitate towards. That one person that you live for. The fact that we didn't have a lot of other options just brought us closer and closer together.
But when I walk in holding Nixon's hands I notice Alaric turn. His eyes are almost like a hawk's zooming on in the gesture.
I feel so nervous that I let my hand drop.
I know it isn't fair to Nixon. I know Nixon notices because he stops walking and turns to me.
"Gimme a moment," I say to Nixon.
Nixon looks reluctant like he's about to say something but after all that happened yesterday I don't know if he wants to do that.
"I'm going to go scavenge with Quest and Power," he tells me, "I'd like for you to come with us. I know Alaric. He's stubborn. He's not used to being said no to. So please make it fast with him. And oh----baby. Good luck on that talk you want to go have."
He looks over at his brother when he says it. Alaric's attitude is clear as day. When Nixon walks to the other side of the room and I make my way over to Alaric and I can see the way he looks at me I feel like I most definitely may need that luck that Nixon offered me.
"Hey..." I state.
"Hmph," is his response.
He may be chewing but either way, I can tell Alaric isn't having it. I can see the others are sitting at a different table. Alaric is sitting with my father's military guys. They aren't giving much conversation so he sort of fits right in. The fact that he's not only avoiding me but everyone else says that he really is mad.
"The others have been wondering if you're OK..."
"Do they really care?" he asks.
"Of course they do. We all care," I assure him.
He looks away from me.
"He's too tall for you."
"What?"
"My brother. He's too tall for you," he explains.
Nixon was tall. Real tall. Taller than Ignacio. Taller than Mitch. Taller than Alaric. It's a random thing to say but I can't say that I regret it.
"You going to treat me like shit forever?" I ask him.
He shrugs, "You don't have to talk to me man. I'm sure Nixon would love if you didn't..."
"That's not what I want."
"He's your husband..."
"Fiance," I correct him.
He rolls his eyes, "Either way I think that's where you need to be. I'm not going to fake the funk and say it doesn't bother me. It's getting under my skin. And I'm not going to pretend it doesn't. I'm going to throw shade. I'm going to be a dick. I'm going to be the biggest thorn to your happiness with Nixon for as long as I'm around. So maybe you should convince your father I'm not a good fit for the bunker. If you were smart that's what you'd do. Because the truth is...after what I've been through, I'm never letting you go."
The threat is loud and clear. Not just to me. He says it loud and clear to everyone, including Nixon and the guys who are at the entrance of the cafeteria getting ready to go scavenging. Nixon's face turning in interest at that moment is all I need to see to know that Alaric wasn't really taking well to this.
Alaric gets up.
He slams his food on the table, leaving it. The military guys look bothered. It's breaking yet another rule. You clean up after yourself.
I grab the plate after Alaric leaves.
As I go to throw it out I see my father staring at me. No. He's not staring. He's glaring.
"A word?" my father states.
I know it isn't good. My father and I haven't really had many one-on-one conversations. He knows he wasn't around to raise me and I don't think he cares to really make that father-son bond with everything that is going on. I can't say I blame him. The world is too fucked up so those sort of things just falls to the side.
When I go to his office I don't feel like I'm talking to my father. I feel like I'm talking to a military man who realizes every decision we make has consequences. All of our lives rely on the decisions my father makes and I don't think he's taking any of that lightly.
I can see it written all over his face.
Before he starts I immediately start rambling, "I know we had a little fight yesterday. It isn't going to happen again. Just with Alaric back everyone is a little tense. We're kids. You know...emotions still there..."
"I wish you and your friends could have that normal teenage experience Sunday," he explains, "I want that for you. Unfortunately, you can't. Unfortunately the normal boy-girl or...in your particular case, boy-boy drama can't happen. You do realize that right?"
"It won't happen again," I state, " I swear."
With Ignacio's attitude who knew if I could be keeping that promise. I loved Ignacio but he could be a difficult one to get along with from time to time. He was making this whole thing with Alaric and Nixon worse. He just had to be assertive to a fault and the others were getting sick of it. Hell, I was getting sick of it.
"I know it won't happen again, because Alaric may have to leave."
"Sir...with all due respect!" I start getting up off my chair, "That's a death wish!"
"Sit, Sunday."
"I won't let you kill him!"
"SIT!"
I sit back down. My dad looks at me. He takes his time to deal with it.
"We identified the boy that died when he was with Alaric," my father explains, "His name is Marius Marchon, son of Darius Marshon. Darius was an employee of Dr. Serrano."
I'm confused.
"So what? What are you saying?"
"We have reason to believe that while Alaric was apart from you and your friends...he may have been compromised."
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