Outbreak boston, p.36
Outbreak: Boston, page 36
He crept into the living room and went to Daddy’s other friend who was sleeping on the chair. He thought she was pretty but a different kind of pretty from his Mommy or Amy, who he thought was pretty too but he was kind of mad at her. Paul had a hazy memory of going to the zoo with his parents last spring and watching the lions for hours. Frannie kind of reminded the boy of the mommy lion for some reason, but he could not quite figure out why. Maybe it was because of the scars on her face?
Paul frowned at the woman as she shifted and muttered in her sleep. The boy felt bad for her because out of everybody here she did not have a mommy or daddy or anybody. Frannie was nice too and all alone and it made him sad for her. He mustered all of his courage and touched her hand, making Frannie’s head snap up with a snort and look around. She looked scared for a second before she recognized him. “Hey, Paulie.” she said quietly and groaned as she sat up a little bit. Rodriguez rubbed her eyes and smiled at the boy. “What’s up, buddy?”
The boy’s face scrunched up uncomfortably. He was supposed to be a big boy now and not afraid of anything, just like Daddy. “I…had a nightmare.” Paul admitted quietly as he frowned at the woman.
Frannie chuckled and held her hands out to the boy. “Awww!” she whispered as she helped Paul climb up into the chair with her. She bit back a yelp when his knee ground against her wounded thigh as she helped him get comfortable under the blanket with her. “Comfy, little man?”
Paul nodded, already starting to fall asleep again. Frannie could not help but find herself a little envious of not just Lacey but Frays as well, depending on what the pregnancy test said. Sure it would be difficult if Amy was pregnant, but in the end she would have a perfect little daughter or son… Frays would make an awesome mother. Rodriguez sighed and rested her unscarred cheek against the top of the boy’s head as he snuggled against her chest. Whenever the boy exhaled his breath tickled the soft skin of her neck.
Frannie rubbed Paul’s back in small, slow circles as she contemplated their situation. Somehow she just sort of knew that Frays really was pregnant. She got the feeling that Amy’s dad more than her mom would be the big problem and of course Lacey’s wife would be pretty pissed off, not that she could blame either one of them. If her daughter had been away for months and come back with a strange man she would certainly have a few things to say about it, let alone if she had come back with a bun in the oven. Frannie shifted around a little more, trying to find a position that let the boy remain comfortable but allowed the blood to reach her arm. She smiled sleepily at the boy and held him tight. A couple minutes later she dropped off to sleep again.
Amy rolled onto her side and looked at her friend and the little boy curled up together across the room and smiled a little in the semi dark. The young woman could not help but hope that she was looking at herself in a couple years… She sighed and flopped onto her back, trying to get comfortable again as she stared at the ceiling. Frays lay there listening to the sounds of everyone sleeping throughout the house: the smaller, quieter breathing of the children, her father’s snoring in the other room, Carl muttering in his sleep in the dining room.
Her hands came to rest on her stomach. Frays lifted her head and looked at her belly as she sighed and slowly traced the topography of her abdominal muscles through her undershirt. Try as she might, she could never get much definition but she could always score one hundred percent on the sit up portion of the PT test and to the male standard not the easier female one no less. Frays grumbled under her breath then shifted around on the mattress again as she folded her hands behind her head.
She tossed and turned for a few more minutes then pulled the plastic stick out of her pocket and looked at the window on it for a long time. A worried look came to her face then she frowned drowsily. They were all safe (at least for now), with full bellies, comfortable places to sleep and even freshly laundered clothes. She made a mental note to see that they get Rodriguez into a proper bed tomorrow morning so she could continue recuperating. Things are starting to look up she thought as she started to drift off to sleep. A brief shiver of shame and guilt rippled through her mind just before her eyes slipped shut and fell into a deep and peaceful sleep a few seconds later.
Adam and Laura had ripped each other’s clothes off and screwed each other’s brains out about five seconds after she had closed the door behind them. He dozed fitfully for about an hour before waking momentarily. It took Lacey a moment to realize where he was and squeezed his wife to his chest. He smiled and brushed a strand of hair off of her face. God, she’s so beautiful he thought as Laura snorted and opened her eyes. When she lifted her face he noticed a small pool of saliva on his chest.
“Aw, ew!” Laura whispered as she wiped her drool off of her husband with the blanket. “I’m sorry, honey. That’s so gross!” The woman chuckled and snuggled up to Adam’s chest. “God, I can’t believe you’re really back. I love you.”
He kissed her and smiled so widely that it made his cheeks burn. “I love you, too.” Adam whispered and held her tight. His stomach started getting upset as acidic waves started sloshing back and forth in his belly. Lacey let his hand move up and down his wife’s back as he tried to will the feeling away.
Laura frowned at her husband. “What’s wrong, hon?” she asked as she squirmed forward and kissed him on the cheek. Her dark blue eyes searched his face in the dark. He simply squeezed her tight and stayed quiet. “Hon?”
He frowned for a second. “Nothing, baby.” Lacey said quietly and shuddered, suddenly blinking back tears. “Go back to sleep, sweetie.” Laura sighed and shook her head before curling up against him. He lay awake listening to her breathing, unable to get back to sleep…
Van Dusen, Robert, Outbreak: Boston
