10

Cooper had his head resting on my lap as we all sat huddled up in the lounge area. Ronan called for a meeting earlier, all he said was that we needed to discuss our next step. 

Ellie was watching Cooper in concern and Oliver who sat next to her was curiously waiting for Ronan to start talking. Luke entered the room and sat down next to me, once he was settled in he looked up at Ronan who was sitting across from us. 

Ronan scratched his chin with his thumb while glaring between the two of us. He scoffed before removing his gaze from us. 

"Ronan?" Ellie called Ronan and he blankly looked at her. 

"Right," he uttered in realization. "Hailey-Jade and Oliver where do we stand on finding your dad?" Ronan asked Oli and I. 

"Honestly, I don't give a shit about finding that asshole. He clearly doesn't care about me or my little sister so why should we give a shit about him?" Oliver angrily asked the group. 

"I know he's your dad, but I agree with Oli. It's too much of a risk to put ourselves out there again. We're vulnerable out there- against the dead- against the living. You saw what happened to Mika, the world has turned cruel, crueler than it used to be and I don't want to lose anymore people. I don't want to go look or fight for someone who doesn't want to be found and fought for." Ellie said while looking at me. "At least not right now, while I still have so much to lose." She added. 

"So what do you suggest we do?" I asked them. 

"Let's stay here." Cooper spoke for the first time today. "Think about it, we have food, water, a roof over our heads, a warm bed to sleep in, there are no rotters out here, we have everything we need. We can't pass this opportunity up." Cooper told us. 

"Coop's right. I'm getting closer to finding a cure too. I'm making progress everyday and with time I'm sure I'll be able to create a cure for the NecroVirus." Luke added. 

"So it's decided then?" Oliver asked and Ronan looked at me in concern but he didn't say anything. 

"No it's not. I need to go find my dad. I'll bring him here, he'll be safer with us than out there on his own." I told them before getting up from where I was sitting. 

"Oliver and my dad are all I have left in this world, when it comes to family. I have to find him." I uttered, determined to see this through. 

"Again with this bullshit, Hailey-" Oliver looked at me in disbelief. "He doesn't want to be found! He's probably been waiting for this moment his whole life, alright? He probably fantasized about getting rid of us. Because our dad's a deadbeat, Hailey-Jade! And you need to make peace with that fact." He said while looking into my eyes. 

"That's easy for you to say now but if the roles were reversed and dad was in our position, he would've helped us no matter what. I know him, he's just going through something at the moment." I told Oliver. 

"Why do you act as if the sun shines out of this guy's ass? When has he ever been there for us? Why did he never come visit me in jail? Why does he never talk about mom? Why do you still call him Michael and not dad?" Oliver asked me. "Because he meant nothing to us after mom died."

"That's not true at least he kept the food on the table. He kept the lights on. That's more than most kids had growing up." I argued.

"Stop bullshitting yourself, Hailey-Jade. Our dad was doing the bare minimum. That's not what we deserved, that's not what any kid deserves." Oliver blankly stated and the room dawned in silence. 

"Enough. Please, stop arguing before you say something that you'll regret later." Ellie told Oliver and I.

"I'm going out there whether you're coming with me or not. I've already made up my mind." I blankly told them before leaving the room. 

I made my way upstairs to my bedroom, slammed the door shut behind me and grabbed a backpack from my closet. I heard the door opening behind me but I didn't bother to turn around. 

"You alright?" I heard Luke's voice coming from behind me. My eyes widened in shock as I turned around to face him. 

"Luke, what are you doing here?" I asked him in shock. 

"Don't go, Hailey-Jade." He softly told me. 

"I have to do this, Luke. I would've done it for any of you. I know he's made mistakes but he's my dad and I don't want anything bad to happen to him." 

"I get that but do you really think they're gonna let you go out there alone?" Luke asked me, referring to the rest of our group. "What if someone gets hurt?" He asked me. 

"Fine, they don't have to come with me. I can do this on my own, I don't need anyone." I pointedly told him. 

"Yeah but what about the people who need you? What if something happens to you, Hailey-Jade?" He asked me, his voice sounding so harsh.

"Listen, we're going to lose a lot of people from now on. I've made peace with that and so should you." I blankly told him before going back to packing my bag. I sat down at the edge of my bed and slipped my feet into a pair of worker boots. 

"If you go out there then all of this was pointless. Finding a cure means nothing if you're dead, Hailey-Jade. Why can't you see that?" He asked me.

"Luke-" 

"No, you're being selfish. You don't get to come into my life and tell me not to die just for you to walk right out of it again." He angrily told me. 

"Okay. I'll stay." I softly told him before looking into his eyes and he let out a breath of relief. 

He ran a tired hand over his face and exhaled slowly. "Get some rest." He told me in a gentle tone. 

"You too." I uttered in the same tone and he nodded at me before he left my room. I pulled my hair into a ponytail before pulling on my coat. 

Once all the lights turned off downstairs, I grabbed my backpack and quietly stalked down the metal staircase. As soon as I reached the laboratory, I looked around me in alert and only continued once I was in the clear. 

I opened the front door and it automatically locked behind me. I went over to the Jeep, parked in front of the facility. I opened the door and gasped in shock when I found Ronan sitting behind the steering wheel. 

"Get in." He told me and I smiled before getting into the car. 

"Let's get out of here." I uttered once I was settled into the passenger seat and he smirked at my words before slowly driving away from the facility.