Jane’s eyes were closed but Alex knew she was far from falling asleep. He gently stroked her bare shoulder.
“Hey, it’s gonna be fine.”
“You weren’t there at the lab,” she snapped back almost instantly. Her eyes fluttered open. “Sorry, I’m just...”
“Don’t worry, I’m sure-”
“I’m just so scared, Alex.” Her breathing grew shallow as she rolled to her back, freeing herself from his arms. “Fuck. I’ve never felt so helpless in my entire life. They told us to what? Stay put? While half of my family is God knows where?”
Even though he wasn’t holding her anymore, she felt Alex tense up.
“Do you think Suzy and Zach are sleeping?” he whispered.
She turned her head away from him, hiding her dampening eyes. She spent the whole evening watching her daughter desperately trying to contact her friend Macey, who went to Sunset Valley to visit her grandmother.
“I don’t know anything anymore.”








