Dating After the End of the World

by Jeneva Rose

He swallows hard, his eyes lingering on my cleavage and exposed midriff.

I know this dumbass isn’t distracted by her cleavage and midriff after having just been bitten by a zombie and while being actively chased by a horde. Be so incredibly fucking for real right now.

“What?” He slowly looks to me with narrowed eyes. “You want me dead anyway.”

This is the most petulant, gaslighting statement I have ever heard. Fuck all the way off you piece of shit.

However, the hard bulge pressing into my crotch is

I know this motherfucker is not hard after just trying to kill himself

“You should have seen your face!” He points at me, howling in amusement.

I love a morbid joke, but this just ran all over me. After everything, you make a joke like this? Fuck off.

“Molly Ronan, will you be my forever-night stand?”

God shut UP I hate this stupid ass book so fucking bad

“I want you,” I whisper, hot, heavy breath in his ear.

What about him literally actively sweating out a zombie virus? Why are we fucking mid-disease?

Beneath the sheet, Blake’s hand grazes across my thigh, settling and gripping the inside of it. His fingers brush along my most sensitive skin. I bite down on my lip to stop myself from moaning and asking for more.

I know you’re lying right now. In front of Tessa? For what reason? Fucking freaks.

I can’t tell them Nate ditched me in the city and almost got me killed, because he’s here now—and actually, now that I think about it, he wouldn’t come here if he had intentionally left me behind. Right? Did I misinterpret his actions?

God bitch you are so fucking STUPID

What I thought was Nate fleeing at the first sign of trouble, ditching me to save his own ass, was actually him trying to protect me. I was the one who abandoned him, left him sick with worry as he searched for me. He fought his way out of Chicago all the way up here in the middle of nowhere Wisconsin, while I was content, enjoying safety and shelter.

Like he is obviously lying to you

It’s breaking and mending at the same time. It breaks for Blake, but part of it feels like it’s being restored, healed. I kiss Nate back, forcing pressure and movement through my lips, only enough for him not to ask any questions about what I’ve been up to.

God I can’t stand this bitch

Immediately, his lips are pressed hard against mine, hungry for another kiss. He wastes no time, his hands finding their way to my breasts, squeezing them, then sliding down my lower back and grabbing my ass. His fingers slip between my skin and the waistband of my pants.

Like did he shower?

I inhale through my nose, nearly gagging on the smell of decay and rot Nate’s secreting. I’m not sure how I didn’t notice the odor before. The hair on his head, along with the new hair on his face, is caked in dried blood and grime. His skin is covered in the same, giving it a muddy color peppered with fresh scrapes and scabs that have crusted over. “Casey,” he says, impatient for my response. I scrunch up my nose and cover it with my hand. “It’s just . . . you smell really bad.” He glances down at his clothes, covered in ten days of filth. Tugging on the collar of his T-shirt, he sniffs it and retches.

This is just unreal. In what world would someone be trying to get frisky when they’re in this shape? He’d have to be itching from the crust.

But I learned to love him, and I’ll learn to unlove him too.

You literally just had sex two seconds ago don’t pretend like you’re in love

And it’s the kind you thank God for, even if you don’t believe he exists.

Shut the fuck up lol

His brows shove together, and he recoils his head. “So, that means we’re done?”

I mean, he is her fiancé, so

Nate chose me, whereas Blake chose me after every other choice was made for him.

You hadn’t seen Blake since you were in high school ?? How was he supposed to start making these moves before just now ??

Hurting Nate won’t make him go away, and it also won’t magically bring us back together. If anything, it’ll royally piss me off.

They are all killing me

But he better not.

It’s giving kindergarten

He turns and looks at me, a big shit-eating grin across his face as he gives a quick wink.

Subtle

Has the venom always been there? Maybe he hasn’t changed at all. Maybe he’s the same old jerk and his true self surfaces whenever he doesn’t get his way.

It’s almost like that’s how bullies are. If they had the capacity to do that in the past, they absolutely have the capacity to do that now.

“It’s Dr. Warner.” His words come out breathy and shrieky.

We are trying way too hard to make Nate insufferable

“Yeah, and so were we,” I whisper, only loud enough for him to hear me. I don’t know why I say it. Actually, I do. I want to hurt him because he thinks it’s okay to hurt others, purely for his own enjoyment or to prove himself. His face turns downward, displaying the pain he feels from my words, which cut a little too deep. His green eyes mist over, and he lowers his head. Without another word, Blake walks away—but this time, I don’t feel bad for him.

This shit is so stupid

massaging my thoughts,

What even is this description

I can see he’s grown, evolved, because the old Blake would have never apologized.

Yet he still dislocated someone’s shoulder . . . Solely for the purpose of big dicking him . . .

I whip open the shower curtain, locking eyes with Blake while the water continues to rain down on my wet, naked body. He holds my gaze, never looking away for an instant. I kind of want him to look at me, to take me all in, but he doesn’t.

No words

“You don’t have to leave.” I practically choke on the sentence as a sob threatens to tag along with it. Tears fall from my eyes, mixing with the water from the shower, camouflaging my sadness.

You were just thinking about how much you hate him

“Wanna come take a walk with me? I have an errand I need to run.” “An errand?” “To my car. I left it parked about a mile up the road.

He’s going to kidnap her

“We’re leaving.”

Like duh you stupid bitch

“They were gonna kill me, Casey. So I made a deal. I told them about your father’s compound, that they’d be safe, and they’d have supplies for years. They said if I showed them where it was and I helped them get inside, then they’d let me and you go.”

This is so fuckin stupid

I grab for it again, but this time he throws a hard, sharp elbow directly into my eye.

And now he’s abusive. Saw that coming.

towering arboreal giant.

Googled synonyms again, I see

“God, you are more useless and stupid than I thought you were. I knew I made the right decision leaving you behind.” He cracks a wide smile, revealing bloodstained teeth, relishing in his confession.

You have to be the dumbest motherfucker on the planet not to realize he left your big ass intentionally

“Say hi to your dead dad for me, you fucking biiiitch!” Nate screams.

Bro what lol

“It’s Dr. Warner, ya cunt.” He cracks a grin.

I am dead inside

so long as numero uno was taken care of.

I am stuck in a constant loop of silent torture

I could really use a drink right now.

I know you thought you ate with this, but you did not

her 262affection for Greg wanting nothing more than for them to fuse into one being.

Bad writing

Neither of us needs to see the two small bodies lying limp in the grass to know exactly what just happened.

Okay what the actual fuck

riding his spine to the ground like a skateboard.

Alright

He closes his eyes and smears it all over his face. His eyes pop back open, the whites standing out like keys on a piano against his camouflaged skin.

I fear this was totally unnecessary

That’s exactly what I’m going to give these burners . . . their very own doomsday.

This is corny as fuck

The stench is like a backyard barbecue where the grill master opted to char up some expired, rotten meat. Boiling pus and decay mix with hair and fabric remaining on the bodies, creating a fragrance that a full diaper would be envious of.

GOD I hate the fucking descriptions in this stupid ass book

Will the bond that ties us together manifest itself in a physical response, something to say, We can do this, Casey?

Shut the hell up

Let your screams sink into our brains so we can replay them again and again in our minds. It’ll help us sleep at night, like a lullaby for a baby.”

Said literally no one ever

he licks his lips before flicking his tongue in and out of his mouth like a lizard—“join

Alright!

lean in, planting my ice cream–coated lips against his. They’re extra sweet, and they might just be the sweetest thing I’ve ever tasted.

Dumb as fuck

“And you look like you should be on top of something else,” he whispers, biting the tip of my earlobe.

Sick