Page 98 of The Last Man on Earth
I pull back and press my palm to her stomach. “I wanna hear it.”
She smiles and puts her hand over mine. “I missed you.”
Rick is hovering in the doorway, so I tell him to make himself useful. “Aye, get the doctor in here so I can hear my baby.”
I turn back to her. “I missed you, too. How’d you sleep?”
“I slept okay,” she says, putting a hand on my cheek. “How are you? Why are you bleeding?”
I look down at my arm. “Took my IV out. But it’s whatever. I’m here now.”
The doctor comes in with that little machine, and when he puts the wand on Ari’s stomach, the sound fills the room. A fast, steady thump.
The most beautiful sound in the world.
“That’s us,” I say quietly. “That’s our baby.”
A tear rolls down Ari’s cheek, which I wipe away with my thumb. But I can’t tell if she’s happy crying or sad crying.
“Mr. Newcastle?”
Rick steps out of the doorway into the room, inclining his head at the doctor, who leaves immediately.
“What’s good?”
“Great news,” he says. “You’ve both been cleared medically. Now it’s time to make arrangements for your return to the U.S. You’re going home.”
Ari looks at me, and I look at her.
Home.
Fuck.
That word has a whole lotta different meanings right now.
Ari swallows hard, and I see it all over her face—a mix of hope and fear. Home ain’t supposed to feel like the unknown, but after being gone this long, shit done changed. People done changed.We’vechanged.
We’re finally leaving the island behind, but like…it feels so sudden. I ain’t sayin’ I wanted to stay on that bitch, but this feels fast.
Rick is still talking. Some shit about passports, flights, debriefing. But I don’t hear shit. All I can think about is what’s about to happen.
I don’t know if we’re ready for it.
Chapter 50
Ari
Vincent’s pacing back andforth across the cold hospital floor. His jaw is tight, and the vein in his neck is pulsing so hard, I can see it from my bed.
“Why the fuck are they separating us?” he demands, his voice low but dangerous.
Rick is young and polished, with that practiced calm that makes you wanna punch something.
“Why don’t we step outside and let Ms. Williams rest.”
“Nah, she can hear this,” he says. “What the fuck, man?”
“Okay. Just listen,” Rick says quietly. “Because of the media attention surrounding this situation, your team arranged for private accommodations.”
