Tomorrow Land by Mari Mancusi Read Free Book Online

maybe?” she asked. “It can be embarrassing you know.”
    “Oh. I’m sorry. I… I didn’t realize…” He sounded astonished, shocked that his unrelenting puppy love would bother her. “Yeah, sure. I’ll leave you alone.”
    He looked so wounded, she felt a moment of remorse. “No, you don’t have to… I mean…” Now it was her turn to stutter. “You’re nice. I like talking to you. I just don’t like you like that . Like a boyfriend. After all, I have Drew.” She realized it sounded like she was trying to convince herself as much as Chris.
    Chris screwed up his face. “You sure do. And you can keep him.”
    Peyton found herself laughing. “He’s not that bad, you know.”
    “If you say so,” Chris said, a mischievous twinkle in his eyes. She leaned out to swat him, almost falling of her perch in the attempt. They both started laughing.
    “Oh never mind!” she cried in mock exasperation. She rose to her feet. “Come on. I’m sure the guys are gone by now. And I am so late for my training. My dad’s going to kill me.”

Chapter Six
     
    Peyton stared at the boy in front of her, hardly able to believe her eyes. Chris Parker. Her Chris Parker? It was almost too good to be true. What were the odds? What were the chances that on her first trek out into the world, she’d find the guy she’d wanted to see more than anyone else in the entire world?
    “Oh my God!” she cried, throwing herself at him before she could stop herself, her heart practically bursting from her chest. “You’re alive! You’re really alive!”
    He’d certainly changed since she’d seen him last. It was no wonder she hadn’t recognized him. His once-scrawny, gangly body had filled out. He now had broad shoulders and an impressive chest, narrowing to a trim waist. He was… lean, but muscular. Handsome, even, with flashing green eyes and a square jaw. Chris Parker had grown into a handsome guy. It was almost odder than the zombie she’d just fought.
    “I cannot believe you’re here,” she found herself babbling, face still buried in his chest. “I thought you were dead.”
    He stiffened. “What, you think you’re the only one who can survive an apocalypse?”
    She froze at the coldness in his voice, suddenly realizing how rigid he felt, how unyielding. How uninterested he seemed in hugging her back. She cringed, forcing herself to back away. What was she thinking? In her joy and surprise at seeing him, she’d conveniently forgotten that he might not be so pleased to see her. Not after what she’d done. Or, maybe more accurately, what she hadn’t.
    She drew in a breath, trying to still her fast-beating heart, trying to figure out something intelligent to say. Should she apologize for what had happened? Try to explain? Would he listen? Would he understand why she’d done what she’d done?
    “So you were in that shelter after all,” he remarked, giving her a critical gaze. “I must have walked by that place a hundred times since we got back. Never could figure out where the entrance would be.”
    “It was… hidden,” she stammered, her face blazing with embarrassment. “My dad was worried about the government finding it.” It sounded so lame when she said it out loud.
    “Of course.” Chase nodded knowingly. “And where is Mr. End of Days now, may I ask?”
    She stared down at the ground, kicking a rock with her toe, hating the cruelty seeping in at the edge of his voice. Obviously he’d not only changed physically, but in other ways as well. She supposed they all had.
    “He’s down in Florida,” she said at last, not knowing why she felt the need to be vague. “I’m heading down there to find him as soon as I gather up some supplies.”
    Chase pursed his lips, but said nothing. The silence hung in the air between them, heavy and suffocating. It was funny; she’d imagined this scenario a thousand times down in the shelter, fantasizing about finding him again. But never in a million years had she