That night, (Y/n) laid on her bed in the darkness, completely lost.

She had bargained her last hopes of finding Grey on these stupid documents only for them to lead her right back to square one, with no information as to where her sister was. Hell, apparently Grey hadn't even stepped foot in the Uninfected Shelter at all. All along, (Y/n) had been putting all her energy and focus in the wrong place and had lost precious time in saving Grey.

A lonely tear rolled down her cheek as she stared up at the ceiling of the bedroom she had learned to call hers over the last few days.

Was Grey okay? Was she scared?

More importantly, was there even a point in staying in the city to search for her anymore, considering the lack of clues (Y/n) possessed? Tobias had portrayed the US as being the only place (Y/n) would be able to find Grey, so if Grey had never been there in the first place, was there even a point in staying in the city?

The thought didn't sit well with (Y/n). She couldn't just give up on her sister, could she? Grey would have never given up on her.

(Y/n) had trouble imagining that her sister could ever be afraid of anything. Grey had always been the courageous one between the two of them. The fearless one. (Y/n)'s guiding light in the darkness and the protective arms that wrapped around her in the middle of the night when she woke up from a nightmare.

"Shh, it's alright, peanut. Am here, 'kay?" Grey whispered in her ear, combing her fingers through (Y/n)'s hair. "It was just a nightmare."

But now, (Y/n) was lying in bed alone with no one to comfort her but herself.

Is she even alive?

Yes. Grey had to be alive, she had to be somewhere in this city. Because if she wasn't, (Y/n) didn't know what she'd become. The thought of a life without her sister sent a bitter taste to the back of her throat and had her heart squeezing painfully in her chest.

Without Grey, (Y/n) would be so... lonely. Completely and utterly lonely.

It was a pathetic realization to come to, really. Back when it had only been her and Grey, (Y/n) had never realized how reliant she was on Grey for company and friendship, for love and affection. But now that she found herself alone and with the hanging possibility of never seeing her sister again, (Y/n) had to face it.

Without Grey, she had no one. And part of (Y/n) hated to think that maybe this was why she was so adamant on finding her sister, to think that maybe the reason she ached to find Grey was less out of love for her sister and more out of a selfish desire not to be alone.

I'm really so fucking pitiful.

(Y/n) swallowed back the tight knot forming at the back of her throat, shame crawling up the back of her neck.

Grey had always been independent, her own person. But the more she thought about it, the more (Y/n) realized that in comparison to her sister, she had never learned to be her own person. Unlike Grey, (Y/n) had never had her own friends to go out with, had never had the freedom of doing what she wanted and finding herself. In fact, (Y/n) had always lived her life through Grey. By proxy.

And as terrifying a thought it was, (Y/n)'s days in the city had in fact been her freest days. The only days in her life she had been able to do what she wanted and go where she wanted. It was quite ironic, considering the city had every potential of becoming her worst nightmare. Yet, when she thought about it, (Y/n) was way more afraid of going back home alone and continuing her life as she had lived it up until now, than staying in the city.

A humorless chuckle fell from her lips at the thought.

Had she lost it? No Uninfected in their right mind would ever think this. No Uninfected in their right mind would possibly think about prolonging their stay in the city, hell, no Uninfected would have ever come to the city in the first place. And yet, there she was, thinking about staying in the city.

Both to find Grey and herself.

For as terrifying as the city was, and as traumatized as her last outing with Tobias had left her, (Y/n) knew she'd never have a chance at being this free ever again once she made it back home.

If she did ever make it back home, of course. (Y/n) knew the longer she stayed the higher her chances at being caught or getting herself into dirty business got. But strangely enough, not taking full advantage of her freedom was a way scarier thought than getting herself caught and never making it back home.

A shiver ran up her spine, and (Y/n) didn't know whether it was fear or thrill. Either way, she would make sure to stay out of trouble and make good use of her ID. And if finding Grey shall take her years, then so be it, (Y/n) would just make sure to take full advantage of her granted liberty in the meantime.

And when time came to go home, she'd have no regrets.

Now, she had to find a way to convince Marcus and Tobias to let her stay with them for some more time. Though (Y/n) worried less about Marcus than the latter. In fact she could already picture the disapproving frown on Tobias's features, his arms crossed over his chest as he berated her for her idiotic decision. And it was indeed a stupid decision, but one she knew she wouldn't come to regret.

As long as she kept her fake ID and stayed out of trouble, didn't get too friendly and made sure not to attract too much attention, things could work out in her favor, could they not?

Unfortunately for (Y/n), she couldn't be farther away from the truth. As although she didn't know it yet, she was already in murky water. And things weren't about to look up any time soon.



































No need to say, (Y/n) didn't get any sleep that night. But strangely enough, this didn't seem to deter her determination in confronting Marcus and Tobias with her decision first thing in the morning. In fact, having thought about it all night, she felt even more comforted in her choice.

Marcus and her sat around the dining table, whilst Tobias stood a few feet away, leaning against the kitchen sink with his green eyes boring holes into (Y/n). Part of her wondered if some sort of Infected instinct had given him a hint of what she was about to say. They hadn't talked yesterday after all, not on their way back from the Shelter and neither once back home. Instead, (Y/n) had rushed to her room and isolated herself until this morning, Marcus and Tobias had been kind enough to give her some much needed space.

Now though, (Y/n) had to share her decision with them and ask for their approval in letting her stay a bit longer. Until she found an alternative, or got her own place.

"Tobias told me about yesterday." Marcus started, a compassionate glint in his kind gaze, "I'm sorry, my dear." And truly he was, (Y/n) could see it in his eyes. She didn't know much about Marcus's story or his past, but somehow she got the feeling that he understood. Maybe he too had lost people he loved because of the Infection and the Infected city's messed up way of dealing with Uninfected people. But seeing Marcus live in the city and knowing he had yet to get himself caught by the authorities, only encouraged (Y/n) in her decision to stay.

If he had been alright all this time, surely she could manage too.

(Y/n)'s gaze dropped to her fidgeting hands, anxiety bubbling up inside her. She knew what she was about to ask was really out of place and that she shouldn't push her luck, even more so when Marcus had already been so kind as to house her for a week. But it's not like she had another place to go in the city, for now at the least.

Even so, she didn't know how to push the words out of her mouth. They'd probably think her crazy or delusional, and she was probably both. Though then again, she got a feeling that Marcus would get where she was coming from. The same couldn't be said about Tobias who already had a frown etched between his brows.

"Thank you." (Y/n) said with a sad smile, trying to ignore the bitter taste that coated her tongue at the mention of her sister.

"What are you going to do now?" Marcus continued, laying his pale wrinkled hand on top of hers for comfort.

Now was (Y/n)'s clue.

"Well, I know the Shelter was my biggest chance at finding my sister..." (Y/n) started, already aware of Tobias's eyes on her. He was going to hate her for this. "But even so... I'd really like to stay a bit longer and keep on looking for her... If that's alright with you both?"

There. She had said it. And as expected, Tobias's answer came as soon as the words had spilled from her mouth.

"Absolutely not." He replied curtly, shaking his head. "I must have heard you wrong. There's no way you actually said that."

"Tobias... We already talked about this." Marcus said to his grandson with a soft tilt of his head.

"But, grandpa, she's-"

"It's not our choice to make." Marcus cut him off more firmly this time, and Tobias snapped his mouth shut, although the disagreement was written plainly across his features.

But Marcus paid him no mind, and instead turned back to (Y/n).

"Are you sure?" He said, lightly squeezing (Y/n)'s smaller hand in his. "You do know what staying in the city implies, right? I'd be happy to let you stay for as long as you need, as long as you participate in house chores and help me around, but I want to make sure that you've thought this through."

(Y/n) inhaled deeply, ready to confirm the decision that would change her life, for better or for worse.

She nodded her head, holding Marcus's gaze and steeling her spine. "I do. I've thought about it all night and have made up my mind."

Momentarily, her gaze slipped to meet Tobias's, a chill running through her at the cold judgment in his eyes. Well, she had expected for him to hate her decision. But either way, it's not like he had a say in this. In fact, (Y/n) would make sure no one ever had a say in the way she lived her life ever again.

Not her mother, not Grey and certainly not Tobias.

For she had finally decided to live for herself from now on. And the moment she finally found Grey, she wanted to be sure it wouldn't be because she needed her, but rather because she loved her sister enough to brave the impossible for her.

"Well, glad to know you'll be my grocery shopping partner for some more time then." Marcus said in a lighthearted tone and flashed her a smile.

On the other side of the room, Tobias shook his head disapprovingly, heaving an exasperated sigh before turning back to the sink and washing the dishes.

She has no idea what she's doing. He thought with a frown. Still unaware that maybe the problem lay less with (Y/n)'s decision and more with his blossoming feelings for her.