Yesterday's Gone: Season One

mother was there for her. But at the same time, she was glad her mother had been spared whatever was happening. Monsters, rapists, and god knows what else. Maybe her mother was lucky, vanishing along with the rest of humanity.
    A knock at the door. Bob.
    “You want this water or what?”
    “I’m good,” she said.  
    He didn’t respond, so she figured he’d gone off to start his day boozing. She’d wait until he got good and drunk. That’s when she’d leave. She’d look for Charlie, hope he wasn’t too mad at her for rejecting him, and they’d take off together. She’d have to be careful, though. Bob was a ticking time bomb and she wasn’t sure how long she’d be able to bury her obvious disgust.  
    Maybe it was a good thing she hadn’t been able to cry. It was as if someone unplugged the weakest part of her, so she could stay strong and do exactly what she needed to do to survive.

    **

    “That little fucker stole my shotgun!” Bob said from his spot on the couch, thumbing through porn magazines he’d picked up at a convenience store.
    I hope he’s not fueling up for me.
    Other than briefly asking where Charlie had gone earlier in the morning, it was the first time Bob had even mentioned Charlie’s absence. When Bob asked if she’d seen him, she was honest, saying Charlie was probably hiding because she’d rejected him. She felt horrible about telling Bob that, and even more awful when Bob couldn’t stop laughing. But better to tell him that than give him more reasons to be mad at Charlie.
    No wonder he ran off.
    Her only wish was that Charlie had asked her to go with him. Though she rejected him, it wasn’t because she didn’t like him. She did, just not in the way he seemed to like her. He was a nice kid, maybe the nicest she’d ever known, but she wasn’t attracted to him at all. He was too young, too green, and altogether not her type. Besides, love, lust, and sex, none of that was on her mind now. She was in survival mode, barely able to cope with her own feelings, let alone massage another’s. She hadn’t been lying when she said she wasn’t looking for a relationship. The world had changed in a flash, and she had changed right along with it.
    “When he gets back here, I’m gonna whip his ass,” Bob said, cracking open another beer.  
    “Where do you think he went?” she asked, fishing for information. “Does he know anyone here?”
    “I doubt it. Though who knows? The little freak sits in his room all day on the fucking Internet. Maybe he had a buncha other geeky computer friends all over the country just waiting to jerk him off. Jokes on him, though. Ain’t nobody left to pull his pud. He’ll come back when he realizes how bad he needs me.”
    Bob downed the beer and crushed the can against his head like some kind of frat boy asshole.
    “You want another beer?” Callie asked, purposely making sure she was up when he finished.
    “Yeah,” he joked, “About time you make yourself useful.”
    She didn’t respond.
    “Aw, come on, I’m just messin’ with you. Sheesh, women are so sensitive.”
    She went into the kitchen and found the plastic water bottle that was different from the others. For one, it was the only bottle in the fridge which had been opened and was only a quarter full. The bottle’s label was also worn, indicating a lot of re-use. She didn’t know if it was Derek’s G, though she doubted it, or Bob’s personal supply, which seemed all the more likely. She had no idea how much G you’d put in someone’s drink, so she poured what seemed like twice the appropriate amount into Bob’s open beer can.  
    She brought the can in and handed it to Bob with a smile. “I’m not feeling too good,” she said, putting a hand over her stomach, “I think my friend is coming.”
    “Your friend?” Bob said, taking a swig, then realizing, “Oh, your mensies. Hell, woman, you did not need to tell me that shit.”
    “I’m gonna take a nap,” she said, “Call me if Charlie comes back.”
    “Don’t worry, you’ll hear the sound of him begging me to let him in.”
    Callie forced a laugh, then went upstairs.

    **

    She didn’t know how long the drug took to work or even if it would knock Bob out completely. If it was his supply, maybe he had built up a resistance to it. Maybe it just made him delirious. She thought he’d said something about getting good and fucked up on it. She hoped it would at least impair him long enough for her to get out of the