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Addison woke suddenly with a start, screaming out into the empty Necrodopolis living room. Her heart was pounding as she panted, trying and failing to catch her breath.
It’s okay. I’m in Zed’s living room. I’m on his couch. He’s right upstairs. He’s okay.
She gripped the edge of the couch as she took a deep breath in, then let it out.
Zed’s okay. He’s upstairs in his bedroom. We’re safe now.
After another minute or so, Addison let out a frustrated huff. The affirmations had been helping less and less with each day that passed. So, with a deep sigh, she threw the blankets off of herself and swung her legs over the side of the couch.
Carefully, she started tiptoeing towards the staircase. When she reached them, she placed her right foot on the bottom stair before slowly rolling about half of her weight onto it. There was a small creak as the old wood swayed with her. She pulled her left foot up to the next stair in front of her, then the right, then the left again - slowly creeping upwards in an attempt to not wake Zed’s dad or Zoey.
After what felt like an eternity of painful creaking and tiptoeing, Addison reached the door to Zed’s room. She balled her hand into a fist and raised it up, then just barely kissed the doorframe with her knuckles.
A beat of silence passed. She heard a groan come from inside the room, so she raised her fist and knocked again, using a little more force.
Another beat. Another groan. Then, what sounded like footsteps padding across the hardwood and towards the door.
Zed opened it. He looked down at Addison, whose eyes widened in surprise, as if she hadn’t expected him to actually answer her knocks.
“Addi? Is everything okay?” Zed asked through a yawn.
“Yeah, I’m fine. I just…can I sleep in your bed?”
“Oh, sure! I’ll take the couch, no worries.”
“No, I mean…can I join you? In your bed?”
Zed’s eyes snapped open, instantaneously pulling him from his drowsy state. “Oh! Yeah, of course.”
He pushed the door open a bit more and stepped away so that Addison could enter his room. As she shut the door behind her, she couldn’t help but glance around the walls. Even in the dark, she could still make out the details of so many of his mementos. A plaque for being the MVP of the Seabrook High football team. A makeshift corkboard full of photo booth strips taken with their friends. One of her old pom-poms.
“C’mere.”
Addison turned towards Zed’s bed to see him already laying down - propped up on a small pile of pillows, arms open wide, hands waving her over to him. She giggled as she dove towards him, settling herself so that his right arm was around her and her head was resting on his chest.
“You comfortable?” he asked as she wiggled around, making minute adjustments to her position.
“Yeah. Always with you.” She looked up to smile at him, then saw that his brow was furrowed. “Everything okay?”
“With me? Yeah. I’m just…what brought you up here in the middle of the night?” He paused, then hastily added, “Not that I’m complaining.”
“Oh. Yeah. I, um…I had a dream. About the cavern.”
Zed’s brow furrowed further as he tried to discern what cavern Addison was talking about. After a moment, his face lit up with recognition. “The one with the roots and the tower for the moonstones?”
Addison nodded against his chest.
“And what happened?”
She took a slow, deep breath in. “You were dying. Well, un-dying? And I was trying to fix your Z-band, until Victor and Nova got the moonstones in place. And then I waited for you to go back to normal after the rain started, but…you didn’t.”
Zed frowned. “I zombied out?”
“Yeah. And I…I couldn’t take it.” She paused. “I’ve been having dreams like that since we got back.”
Zed’s arm curled around her shoulders. He began tracing his thumb over her collarbone, his mouth pursing itself into a worried frown. “At least that isn’t what happened in real life, right?”
“Right. But it could have. And it still could if something like that ever happens again,” Addison countered.
“I mean…nothing like that’s happened until now, in the whole history of zombies. So it’s super unlikely!”
“But not impossible.”
They both fell silent; Zed’s thumb kept lazily working its way around Addison’s chest as she buried her face slightly more into his.
“I get it. That was scary,” Zed said cautiously.
“Why did you guys distract me when you went to go investigate the cavern?” Addison blurted out.
Zed’s thumb stopped moving. “I’m so sorry, Addi.”
“But why did you do it?”
He sighed. “At the time, it felt like I was the only one who could save us. And, since I was getting the worst effects from the pulses…it felt like I was the best sacrifice. Eliza and Willa knew you wouldn’t be okay with it. And so did I, honestly.”
“There was another entrance from the ground! We could have all kept looking together!”
“But you wouldn’t have found that entrance if we hadn’t gone in from the top first.”
Addison bit down on her bottom lip.
“I still shouldn’t have done it behind your back. Especially since I went into zombie mode later to move the tower,” Zed added.
“I just…I could’ve lost you, either time. Zoey could’ve lost her brother, your dad could’ve lost his son,” Addison said in a small, shaky voice.
“And we all could’ve lost each other if we didn’t fix the roots.”
They fell into silence once more. Addison took a deep breath in and shuddered slightly.
“I keep having these dreams and each one feels more real than the last. I keep having to remind myself that you’re right here and you’re not going anywhere, but it’s getting harder to convince myself that it’s true. Especially since you could be sneaking off somewhere to risk your life without telling me,” she said.
“Hey, hey.” Zed sat up fully so that his back was against the headboard. He pulled Addison up with him so that they were eye to eye, then gingerly cupped her face with one hand. “I can’t make any promises about pulses or Z bands or once-in-a-lifetime disasters. But I can promise that I won’t go anywhere or do anything dangerous behind your back ever again.”
The hot sting of tears pricked Addison’s eyes. “You won’t ride Eliza’s hoverboard without a helmet?” she asked glibly, attempting to keep herself from falling into a full-on meltdown.
Zed let out a short laugh. “No, I won’t.”
“Won’t mess with the exposed wiring in the power plant when the electricity stops working?”
“Wouldn’t dream of it.”
“And…” Addison reached over and gently touched Zed’s Z band. “Won’t use your super special zombie powers?”
“I mean, if it’s life or death…”
“If it is life or death, you’ll tell me. As long as you’re able,” she said firmly.
Despite the circumstances, Zed cracked a smile. “I think you’ve got yourself a deal.”
He stuck out his hand for Addison to shake, which she did with great vigor.
Zed yelped. “Ough, be careful! You’ve got a strong grip.”
“Oh, I’m sorry!” Addison leaned over to look at Zed’s hand as he abruptly pulled away.
“No, no, you’re fine. Just been a little extra tender since the whole ordeal.”
He used his other hand to gently massage the one his Z band rested on. Addison glanced over and noticed that despite his time off from zombie-ing out, his veins were more pronounced than usual.
“Are you sure you’re okay?”
“Yeah, I promise. And I’ll go see the Zoctor if it doesn’t get better in a couple days.”
He flashed Addison a weak and unconvincing smile.
He doesn’t look okay. But…
Against her conscious wishes, Addison yawned.
“You wanna go back to sleep, honey?” Zed asked.
She hesitated, but ultimately nodded. “Yeah. I haven’t gotten much good sleep since…the start of freshman year, I guess.”
Zed chuckled. “Sounds like we’ve got a lot to make up for.”
He slid underneath the covers, lifting them up as he went so that Addison could easily follow. Once they were safely nestled in his sheets, he pulled her closer to him, flipping her onto her side so that she could lay on the right side of his body. She draped her free arm across his torso and nuzzled her head into the side of his neck.
“I’m glad you’re here,” she said, her voice not much above a whisper.
Zed dropped a kiss onto her forehead. “Me too.”
“I love you.”
“I love you, too.”
“G’night, Zed.”
As Addison drifted off to sleep, Zed stayed awake. Every so often, he glanced down to make sure she was still resting peacefully.
A few minutes after she’d closed her eyes, Addison's mouth drew itself into a frown. She gripped onto Zed’s side as her whole body tensed and she began curling herself into a ball.
“It’s okay, Addi. I’m here. I’m here. I’m not going anywhere,” he murmured. With his right hand, he started to gently rub her back.
Addison froze. Then, she released her grip on him. Her body relaxed, her legs stretching themselves back out slightly.
Zed kept rubbing her back until her frown was replaced by a soft smile. He let out a breath he hadn’t known he was holding, then finally let his eyes drift shut.