After leaving Sydney and the office room in urgency to calm down my raging emotions, I joined Rebecca outside in the corridor and followed her down the long, sterile hallway.

I tried to recover as much as I could—steadying my ragged breathing and willing away the arousal that was still making my pants uncomfortably tight.

Thankfully, Rebecca seemed completely oblivious to what Sydney and I had been about to do. Then again, she clearly wouldn't expect that I would dare to have sex with someone in one of the office rooms of the Municipal Office. Hell, I could barely believe I'd been ready to do it myself.

"I already asked Clara—she said Rachel left the main office but didn't come back," Rebecca said, her voice tight with worry as we walked past different rooms.

"She must be somewhere else around the building," I said. "You don't have to watch out for Rachel every second of every day, you know."

"You don't know anything about my sister," Rebecca snapped, her pace quickening as we turned another corner. "She's too careless and always acts submissive toward others, even when it's clearly the other person's fault. People are constantly taking advantage of her kindness."

"Aren't you doing the same thing with your sister?" I asked, glancing at her profile.

"What?" She whipped around to glare at me, her green eyes flashing with indignation.

"Speaking to her harshly and raising your voice, even though she's your elder sister," I said matter-of-factly.

"My relationship with my big sister has always been good until you came along," Rebecca said, her voice getting more heated. "Now she keeps hanging around you all the time."

"Are you jealous of that?" I asked, hitting what I suspected was the real issue. "Do you think I'm going to steal your big sister away from you? Because if that's what you're worried about, you don't need to be. Rachel would never abandon you."

"W…what do you even know about how I feel!" Rebecca retorted, but the stutter in her voice told me I'd hit the mark dead-center.

Looks like I'd aimed at exactly the right spot. The girl was clearly terrified of losing the most important person in her world to some guy she barely knew.

"I never said I knew what you feel," I replied with a slight smile. "But I can tell just by looking at you."

"Whatever!" Rebecca said, quickening her pace even more as she stormed down the corridor.

I followed her nonetheless, noting how her shoulders were rigid with tension and her hands were clenched into small fists at her sides. The poor kid was wound up tighter than a spring.

Soon enough, we heard Rachel's voice drifting from around the corner, soft and apologetic as always.

"I... am sorry, but I am not interested..." She was saying.

The sound was coming from just past the corner of the corridor on the left. Rebecca's eyes went wide with alarm, and she rushed ahead without thinking.

I followed at a more measured pace, already having a pretty good idea of what we were going to find. Sure enough, when I rounded the corner, I saw Rachel standing awkwardly against the wall while Brad loomed over her with that predatory smirk he seemed to think was charming.

This guy... I thought with growing irritation. Does he ever know when to quit?

"What do you mean 'not interested'?" Brad was saying, moving closer to Rachel until she had to press herself back against the wall to maintain any personal space. "You won't find a better man than me in this whole damn world. Come on, Rachel, stop playing hard to get."

"Hey! What are you doing!" Rebecca immediately intervened, her voice sharp with protective anger.

"Re... Rebecca," Rachel called out, surprised seeing her sister appearing.

"Won't you leave my sister alone, you stalker!" Rebecca shouted at Brad, stepping between him and Rachel despite being significantly smaller than the man.

Brad clicked his tongue in annoyance. "What do you want, kid? I'm not interested in annoying girls," he said dismissively.

"Leave my sister alone, I said!"

"What does that matter to you?" Brad laughed, the sound ugly and condescending. "I can do whatever I want with your sister, and she doesn't seem to mind my approaches all that much."

That was clearly the wrong thing to say. Rebecca's face went red with fury, and she raised her hand to slap him across the face.

Brad caught her wrist easily, his fingers wrapping around her small bones like a vice. For a moment, something dangerous flickered in his eyes.

"You little pest," Brad snarled, then shoved Rebecca away from him hard enough that she stumbled backward.

"Rebecca!" Rachel shouted, moving to catch her sister, but I was faster.

I caught Rebecca by the shoulders, steadying her before she could hit the ground. She looked up at me with wide, surprised eyes, then quickly straightened herself and stepped away, her cheeks flushing with embarrassment at needing help.

"You're making enemies everywhere with that mouth of yours," I said to her quietly, but not unkindly.

Then I turned my attention to Brad, and I felt something cold settle in my chest.

"Don't you see that Rachel is just being polite to you?" I said. "How many times does she have to repeat that she isn't interested before it gets through that thick skull of yours? She's too kind to say it bluntly, but she doesn't like you. It's as simple as that."

"R... Ryan..." Rachel breathed, clearly surprised by the steel in my tone.

I was trying to refrain from acting like I was actually her boyfriend, but even I had limits. And watching this asshole harass and intimidate both sisters had definitely pushed me past mine.

"What did you say, you punk?" Brad turned his glare toward me, his face darkening with anger.

I was about to respond—probably with something that would have escalated the situation considerably—when another voice cut through the tension.

"Enough, Brad."

The footsteps that followed were measured and confident, and when I turned to see who was speaking, my eyes widened.

It was Christopher.

Brad clicked his tongue in annoyance when he saw Christopher approaching, his earlier confidence deflating like a punctured balloon.

"What do you want?" Brad said, annoyed. "Why don't you just take care of your own problems and stay out of mine?"

Christopher stopped a few feet away, his posture relaxed but his eyes sharp.

"It is my problem," Christopher said with a casual shrug. "Those three happen to be close friends of mine. Now I suggest you leave before I have to mention this incident to Margaret."

The threat was delivered so smoothly it almost sounded like friendly advice, but Brad's face twisted at the mention of their leader.

Brad glared at Christopher for a long moment.

"Fine," Brad muttered, straightening his shirt with jerky, irritated movements. "This isn't worth my time anyway."

He stalked off down the corridor, his footsteps echoing aggressively against the polished floors until he disappeared around the corner. The tension in the air seemed to dissipate with his departure, leaving the rest of us standing there in the sudden quiet.

Rachel was the first to break the silence, a warm smile spreading across her face as she approached Christopher.

"Christopher, how are you?" She asked, opening her arms for a hug.

Christopher's stern expression melted away, replaced by genuine affection as he embraced her. "I'm fine. What about you? That guy isn't giving you too much trouble, is he?"

"I can handle Brad," Rachel said, though her voice carried a note of gratitude. "But thank you for stepping in."

"What about you, Rebecca?" Christopher asked, turning his attention to the younger sister with that slightly teasing tone he'd always used with her. "You seem to have grown up quite a bit since I last saw you."

"Stop treating me like a kid!" Rebecca glared at him, crossing her arms defiantly. "I'm fifteen, not five!"

Christopher laughed. "Right, my bad. You're absolutely right."

Then his gaze shifted to me, and the easy warmth in his expression became more guarded. An uncomfortable silence settled slightly.

Usually I would just leave without saying anything but…

Rachel, perceptive as always, seemed to sense what needed to be done. She glanced between Christopher and me, then gently grasped Rebecca's arm.

"Come on, Rebecca," she said quietly.

"But I want to—" Rebecca started to protest.

"Rebecca," Rachel said more firmly, giving her sister a meaningful look that clearly communicated they needed to give us privacy.

Rebecca looked like she wanted to argue, but something in Rachel's expression must have convinced her. She allowed herself to be led away, though she kept glancing back at us with obvious curiosity.

"Take care of yourselves," Rachel called over her shoulder as they disappeared down the corridor, leaving Christopher and me alone in the hallway.

The silence that followed was even more awkward than before.

Christopher cleared his throat softly.

"You look terrible, Ryan," he said, and there was no malice in his voice, just concern.

"Right..." I couldn't exactly deny that. A lot of things had changed in a month.

Another small silence settled between us.

Finally, Christopher spoke up again.

"Want to talk?" He asked.

"Yeah..." I nodded, relief flooding through me. "I think we need to."

With that decision made, we both headed for the exit. The walk through the municipal building felt calm—our footsteps echoing in the empty corridors.

The main doors opened with a soft hiss, and we stepped out into the courtyard. The fresh air was a welcome relief after the stale, recycled atmosphere of the building. The courtyard wasn't large, but it was well-maintained, with several wooden benches arranged around for everyone to seat.

Christopher stopped near a bench and turned to face me, taking a seat.

"How is everyone doing?" He asked, trying for a casual tone. "I hope my absence didn't completely shatter the balance of the house."

"Your absence has left quite a hole, yeah," I admitted. "With Jason away at college and you living in your own place, I'm the only guy around the house now."

"Every guy would be in heaven in your situation, you know?" Christopher said with a laugh.

"I'm not complaining about it," I replied, not sure how to express what I was really feeling. "It's just... you know."

"I know," Christopher said, his expression growing more serious. "Even at Lexington Charter, I never had a friend as close as I've been with you."

"Yeah, that's the same for me," I replied awkwardly.

Maybe because we had fought together in death and life situation and covered each other's back until now.

"How's Cindy?" he asked then, and I felt my entire body tense up.

The question I'd been dreading, the one I knew was coming but still wasn't prepared for.

"Fine," I said, trying to keep my voice level. "She's doing fine."

"Knowing you, you're taking good care of her, aren't you?" Christopher said, then.

"Christopher—"

"I don't mind it anymore, man," he cut me off. "Don't worry about it."

I lowered my gaze, guilt washing over me in waves. Even though he was saying he was okay with it, I didn't feel the same.

"You saved her life," he continued. "That's all that counts. A month has passed, and I've turned the page already. Knowing Cindy, she has too, hasn't she?"

He asked the last question with a smile, and I gave him a small nod in response.

"We're both from Lexington Charter," he said. "We've been taught to keep our emotions under control, and... in the end, we were never officially together anyway. Just crushes on each other. I'm kind of glad, actually, that we never made it official or took things too seriously."

"Cinderella said the same thing," I said, smiling bitterly at the memory of that conversation.

"Cinderella, huh?" Christopher smirked at me.

I averted my gaze, feeling heat creep up my neck.

"Stop feeling guilty already!" Christopher said suddenly, reaching out to slap my back hard enough to make me stumble forward.

"Ugh!" I groaned, glaring at him. "What the hell was that for?"

Christopher laughed—a real laugh this time, not the careful, measured sound he'd been making before.

"Look, it's not like Cindy was my wife or girlfriend!" He said, his voice light. "We didn't even kiss properly! If she had been my wife, I might have beaten your ass before and after, but that's not the case. So chill out. You can feel guilty for like a week if you need to, but then turn the page, man."

"Yeah... but you left because of that," I replied quietly.

Christopher looked at me and sighed, running a hand through his hair.

"Dude, it's not like I moved to Europe or anything. We're literally ten minutes away by car. I just needed some space to figure things out, and I thought it would be easier for everyone if I wasn't around complicating things."

"I suppose, yeah," I replied, knowing his decision was both obvious and completely understandable given the circumstances.

"Come on, we have a lot to catch up on," Christopher said.

I took a seat besides him.

"We managed to take down the Frost Walker, but that Screamer is still out there, right? Do you have a plan for dealing with it?"

Of course he'd cut straight to the heart of our biggest problem and he clearly didn't forget about it.

"I'm working on it," I said.

"Then if you need help, you know where I am, right?" Christopher said with a grin. "Don't hesitate to call me. We're still a team, even if I'm not living under the same roof anymore."

"Yeah..." I replied with a smile.

I was really damn lucky to have a guy like this as my friend. Even after everything that had happened—the awkwardness with Cindy, the complications with the other girls, the way I'd been keeping secrets about my abilities—he was still willing to have my back when things got serious.

After that initial exchange about the Screamer, we ended up falling into a more natural conversation about what we'd both been up to over the past month. It felt good, talking to him like this again. Like sliding back into a comfortable old habit that I hadn't realized how much I'd missed.

"So, what have you been doing with yourself?" I asked, genuinely curious.

Christopher laughed, running a hand through his hair. "I've been hanging around with Martin mostly, helping him coordinate the scavenging operations in the northern districts. You know how he is—brilliant tactician, but terrible at the actual interpersonal stuff. Someone needs to make sure his scavenging teams don't kill each other before they can bring back supplies."

I nodded, knowing already how Martin was. He was sometimes overdoing it even.

"What's the situation like up north?" I asked. "Are you finding decent supplies, or has everything been picked clean by now?"

"It's mixed," Christopher said, leaning back against the bench. "The residential areas are mostly tapped out—anything useful was grabbed in the first few weeks after the outbreak. But we've been hitting some of the industrial areas, places that most people wouldn't think to check. Found a whole warehouse full of medical supplies last week that had somehow been completely overlooked."

"That's good," I said, genuinely impressed.

"What about you?" Christopher asked. "I heard through the grapevine that you've been working the outskirts, trying to keep the Infected from getting too close to Jackson Township."

Rachel must have told him.

I nodded, stretching my legs out in front of me. "Yeah, mostly patrol work along the eastern perimeter and just placing traps against them.

"Dangerous work," Christopher said. "Especially doing it solo."

"I manage," I said with a shrug.

Throughout our entire conversation, I noticed that Christopher carefully avoided asking me about certain topics. He didn't bring up my abilities. He didn't ask about my current relationship with Rachel and the others, though I could tell he was curious about it.

I was grateful for that discretion. Even though we were close friends, even though I trusted him a lot.

It was just that my relationships with Rachel and the others... was an even more complicated topic. Because honestly, even we didn't fully understand the nature of what was developing between us.

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