Apocalipstick (Hell in a Handbag Book 1) by Lisa Acerbo (the best e book reader txt) 📗

stomach. I was scared it would get infected. I’m always looking out for you, girlfriend.”

“I’m afraid to tell Caleb the entire story.”

“Why?”

“It’s ugly.”

“Tell me and let me be the judge.”

“When the pandemic was in full swing, we stowed away at a school that was supposed to be a safe house. As time went on, there were less and less of us. Some died and then when supplies got low, many left.”

“I’m sure many people went through the same situation.”

“By the end, there were a bunch of kids and maybe five or six adults who stayed with us. When we finally left the school, no one had a solid plan. It was awful, and within two weeks we lost half the group. We were unprepared and ill-equipped. It was akin asking kids, and teens, and financial analysts to become zombie killers. It’s not like the television shows made it appear.”

“Preach, girlfriend.”

“At the end it was me and this guy named Danny. He was older, and one night, we were in a house. He was scared and mad and tried to, you know. He tried to . . .” The words died on her lips.

“Take advantage of you?”

“Yes.” A tear slid down Jenna’s cheek. “When I fought back, he took out a knife and sliced me. He wanted me dead if I wasn’t going to give in. That’s the reason I have the scars. I ran and by some miracle escaped. Then you came to my rescue in the graveyard.”

“What a horrible story, but why can’t you tell Caleb about it?”

“What if he looks at me differently? What if he sees the scars and decides I’m hideous inside and out?”

“Silly girl.” She gave Jenna a motherly hug. “You’re so beautiful, and Caleb knows how lucky he is.”

“Sure.” She bit her lip.

“It’s getting late. Don’t you have to get ready?”

“Let’s head back.” She stood and dusted her hands on her jeans.

Once inside, the women parted ways. Aiko sauntered by in the hall carrying clean dinner dishes.

Go away guilt! Doesn’t matter Quentin’s out of danger.

It didn’t matter how good a friend or how often she visited. No matter how much they talked about the horses or the petty squabbles at the inn, it wasn’t the same.

One best friend gone. Pathetic.

Quentin had become more and more distant. Worse, every time she went to visit, Aiko refused to leave if present. While the woman remained polite, Jenna wanted to bring her down if only because Quentin preferred Aiko to stay. In fact, he pretty much hinted Jenna could stop coming and he would be fine.

Getting ready for tonight would cheer her. She wanted to look good but didn’t have much in the way of options. Most of her clothes tended to fall on the practical side: rugged flannel shirts, sweatshirts, and jeans along with serviceable steel-toed boots.

Jenna had saved a single dress rolled in her ratty shoe box. Her mom’s favorite, she’d been unable to get rid of it. The little black dress had followed Jenna no matter where she moved. There’d never been an occasion to wear it, but tonight was the time for a change.

She dug under her messy pile of shirts and carefully unpacked the dress from in between tissue paper. Along with the garment, a shiny silver tube fell to the ground. Jenna had forgotten it. Mom’s favorite red lipstick. The wrinkled black dress was in good condition. The memories it brought to mind were also well preserved, yet somewhat painful to relive.

Mom. Dad. Miss you so much.

She headed to the bathroom, a tear sliding down her cheek, wondering if the sleek garment would fit. Jenna had found Caleb, and she was ready to deal with her past in hopes of creating a future. She stripped and showered. The black silk was a little big but slid like rose petals along her skin. The neckline plunged lower than she remembered, but there was little she could do to remedy that or the wrinkles. Black boots and a beat-up leather jacket finished the outfit.

Call it a fashion statement.

Braiding her hair in the mirror, she almost didn’t recognize the person who stared back. The woman was thin, had circles under her eyes, scars on her cheek from where the glass cut her, but her gaze remained strong.

Cherry red lipstick adorned her lips. It gave her hope her old world and new world might somehow find balance. If she could reconcile the past with the present, happiness might also exist. She bore witness to both steel and softness in the reflection.

Outside, Gus and Emma enjoyed the evening weather.

“Wow,” said Emma. “You clean up nice, girlfriend.”

“Thanks. Have either of you seen Caleb?”

“He’s the good kind. You two getting pretty close?” Gus asked.

“Sure,” Jenna said. She had a sinking suspicion Emma had given Gus a little too much information.

Caleb stepped outside wearing a dark blue button-down shirt. Left untucked, he looked more like a model out of an Abercrombie catalogue than a mutant from the apocalypse.

“There she is.” He wore a huge smile. “Ready for tonight?”

“You two don’t belong in this world. So gorgeous.” Emma clapped when Caleb clasp Jenna’s hand.

Heat rose in her cheeks.

Too many people staring and grinning.

She managed a smile. “Let’s go before Mom and Dad here give us a curfew.”

This would be normal if he wasn’t carrying a nail-studded baseball bat. Oh well, got to take what you can get.

Jenna trailed Caleb along the pebbled pathway, through the ancient line of trees and toward the lake. She wondered if they were going on another picnic, but before getting close to the beach, Caleb turned onto a path in the woods. It dipped precipitously, causing Caleb to clasp Jenna’s hands on occasion and direct her. With each nudge, memories of their first kiss made her long for more.

They arrived at the lone house that perched by the water like a cormorant ready to catch its prey. It was the one they noticed the night they picnicked at the beach.

“What are we doing here?” Jenna