I walked into the house and was struck by the smell of cheese, pepperoni, and red sauce.

“Is that pizza?” I asked, hardly believing.

Sure enough, Asher sat on the couch with an open box in front of him. “Pizza Loco is still running, and Dad let me order some.” He took a bite and closed his eyes to savor the taste. “Guess how much this cost?”

“Fifty?”

“One-Hundred. Before tax.”

“Holy crap.” The value of money was becoming less and less important, which was not a good thing.

That was a worry for later, though. I took a seat next to Asher and snagged a slice, biting in. Mmm. Worth it. “Dad must be feeling really guilty for ditching us right after the lottery.”

“You know it. I am riding this guilt train as far as it takes me.” Asher grinned, though there was a shadow of exasperation behind his eyes. We’d both been through this song and dance before. Yes, Dad was back home now, probably with promises to stay. But then some other emergency would happen—something always happened—and his bedroom would be empty before morning.

I forced myself to take my time and savor my piece of pizza. My brother was totally capable of eating the whole thing by himself, and with Betty…well. This might be the last one I’d have. Ever.

With that in mind, I even ate the crust.

After I was done, I wiped my hands on a napkin and sighed. “How long has Dad been asleep?”

“A few hours. I covered for you and said you were at Lydia’s house—you’re welcome, by the way.”

“And you’re welcome for marrying Connor and saving your dumb ass from the asteroid.” I meant it as a joke, but it came out more harshly than I intended.

Asher gave me a look and I shook my head.

“Astrid—”

“Don’t,” I said shortly.

But of course he did. “Connor was my best friend, but I haven’t seen him for a year, and now he comes back into town with an old-timey offer of marriage. It’s just…” he seemed to struggle with his words. “Did he explain why now?”

“He did, actually. He wanted to be sure we weren’t picked with the lottery, first.”

“The lottery’s a hoax.”

“Your brain is a hoax,” I said. “Connor’s father is working on the actual SAFEsite, and he believes it’s real. So there.”

Turning from my annoying brother, I glanced down our short hallway to my Dad’s bedroom.

My dad needed his sleep, but I needed my dad. I was going to have to wake him up.

I rose.

“Are you telling him?” Asher asked. He knew me so well.

“I don’t have a choice. It’s either now or at the wedding.” I shrugged.

“Oh man. Too bad we popped the last of the popcorn for the lottery.” Asher leaned over and quickly grabbed another slice of pizza as if afraid it would be taken away after Dad flipped out.

“Thanks,” I said.

He graced me with a sideways grin that clashed with the serious look in his blue eyes. “Need backup?”

I shook my head. “No. Just wish me luck.”

“You’re gonna need it.”

“Thanks, Ash.” I rubbed my suddenly sweaty palms on the sides of my jeans. Here goes nothing.

I heard my dad’s snores as I approached the bedroom door. Raising my hand, I knocked. “Dad?”

The snores cut off immediately. “Wha…phone call?” His voice was thick with exhaustion, and I immediately felt horrible.

“No, Dad. I need to talk to you. Something’s happened. It’s good,” I added and bit my lip, hoping it wasn’t a lie.

I heard a shuffling sound and the creak of a mattress. Then my dad opened the door. He wore his sleep pants and an old t-shirt. One look at the lines of stress and exhaustion carved into his worn face, and I wished I had let him sleep in.

Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

“What is it?” he asked, sounding more alert than he looked. “What’s happened?”

“Um, remember Connor Schneider?” I winced. That was stupid. Of course he remembered Connor. My dad just looked at me, and the confession poured out. “His father, Richard, has spots for us at a SAFEsite, but the tickets are for family only. So Connor asked me to marry him, and I said yes. And because you’d be his family then, you and Asher can come, too. So…we’re not going to die.”

I could not read the expression on my dad’s face. He just stared at me as if his mind had put together the words, but he couldn’t quite believe it.

“It’s true,” Asher said. We both glanced over to see him standing at the end of the hallway, looking incredibly uncomfortable. Maybe he could read Dad’s expression better than I could because he held up his hands peaceably.

“Look, I know how this sounds, and I’m less happy about it than you—”

“I doubt it.” My dad turned to me. “You are not getting married. You are sixteen-years-old.”

“I’m seventeen!” I said. “And I’m doing it to save your life!”

He ran a hand down his face. “This isn’t—how do you know any of this is real and he’s not just telling you this to get into your pants?”

I drew back. “What?”

“Connor’s a nice kid, but people go crazy at the end of the world, Astrid.”

“It’s real,” I said. “I had to sign paperwork and everything.”

I expected Dad to really blow up at that. Instead, his gaze snapped to Asher. “How could you let this happen?”

“He’s not the boss of me!” I snapped, fed up with the amount of macho bullshit going on in this house.

“Of all the stupid, harebrained, teenager drama,” Dad growled, then brushed past me. “I need a cup of coffee.”

Asher let out a breath and gave me an apologetic shrug. “Sorry. I tried.”

“Well, he hasn’t threatened to shoot Connor yet.”

“That’s still on the table!” Dad called back.

Asher and I grinned.

* * *

“Okay,” Dad said as he set his fresh cup of coffee down on the dining room table, along with one of the last slices of pizza. He gestured for us to take a seat and then took a deep breath as if bracing himself. “Tell me what happened again, from the top.”

So I did.

Unexpectedly, my voice wobbled as I came to the part with Richard and the blood test. A warm hand slid over my shoulder. Asher. I could tell without looking that he was pissed off on my behalf—it was a twin thing—but I couldn’t bear to look at his face.

I couldn’t read my Dad’s expression, which was worrisome. He let out a long breath. “What a mess. You should have told me from the start.”

“How?” I asked. “You weren’t here!”

“You have my cell phone number and you two are both on my emergency contact for the base.”

My mouth snapped shut. It was true that I could have called, but I had told myself that this was the sort of news that needed to be broken face-to-face. “I know, but things sort of spiraled out of control.”

“It’s not her fault,” Asher added.

“Astrid, look at me.” Dad waited until my gaze met his own. “I don’t want you signing one more thing without me being there, do you understand? I don’t care what they threaten you with. You dig in your heels and you call me.”

“Yes, Dad.” I ducked my head, feeling like a child. At the same time, I couldn’t help feeling a wave of relief. Dad was going to take care of this. He may not always be there, but he always knew what to do.

Dad rubbed a spot over his left eyebrow as if he were getting a headache. “Do you two have your cell phones with you?”

Was he about to look through my text messages or something? I hesitated, but the flinty look in his eyes meant business. Reluctantly, I reached into my pocket and handed mine over. Asher rolled his eyes and did the same.

Then, to my surprise, my father rose and paced into the living room. He placed our phones, plus his own, next to the TV and turned it up loud. Then he jerked his chin for us to follow him to the other side of the kitchen, at the far end of the house.

Once we were there, he turned to us. “What I’m about to tell you doesn’t leave this house—actually, I don’t want it leaving this room. Got it?”

“What’s with the phones?” Asher asked. “What’s wrong?”

Dad pinned him with a look. “A precaution. Microphones can be turned on, and what I’m about to tell you two…I’ve seen men killed to keep this secret.”

A zing of adrenaline shot down my spine. Asher and I exchanged a freaked-out look.

I couldn’t help it. “Is this about the SAFEsites?”

Dad nodded. “There are more sites than the public knows about. Exclusive sites with different approaches on staying alive after Betty hits—I can’t tell you about it because I don’t know all the details myself, but I do know they’re going to need military personnel to keep the peace. It’s going to be a long few years.” He paused. “I’m working to get us into one.”

Asher turned and pumped the air with his fist. “Yes!”

“Nothing is guaranteed,” Dad warned.

“I won’t have to marry Connor?”

The sheer relief I felt swamped every other emotion and surprised even me.

I had told myself that I was okay with this, that I could make it work, that I would grow to love him…

…but in my heart of hearts I knew I would be marrying him under duress.

Unexpectedly, I had to blink back tears.

I tried to hide it, but my dad saw anyway. He pulled me into a rough hug.

“I’ll know one way or another soon enough. Meanwhile, I’ll be speaking with Richard Schneider about boundaries.”

A chill equally as strong as the relief went through me. His answer hadn’t been a no. It had barely been a maybe. I wasn’t off the hook yet.

My dad hadn’t been able to bring himself to say it.

I forced the relief down into a small spot in the pit of my stomach. It tasted bitter.

I nodded and stepped away. “I understand.”

Asher’s hand was back on my shoulder. He understood, too.

“Is there anything we can do to help?” Asher asked.

“Stay out of trouble,” Dad answered. “They will not allow problem personalities into the SAFEsites. Watch out for each other and be ready. If we get in, it will be at a moment’s notice and it won’t be a glamorous existence. We’ll all have to pull our weight to keep the community running, and that might mean taking on jobs we won’t necessarily want to do.”

“Okay,” I said. “We can do that.”

Dad opened his arms and pulled us both into a hug this time, even Asher who usually huffed at that sort of thing.

We stood there for a long time—our little family. Small, but not broken. Not yet.