Chapter 172: Chapter 172 - Jealousy
The music grew louder as the night settled deeper over Hydetown.
Someone dragged another table into the square while people kept dancing in the open space between the fire pits. The lanterns overhead swayed slightly in the evening breeze, throwing moving shadows across the street.
Iyisha stayed where she was beside the porch.
She hadn’t realized how long she had been staring at the same spot until Marybeth nudged her elbow.
"You’re doing it again," Marybeth said.
"Doing what?"
"Watching him."
Iyisha looked away immediately.
"I’m not."
Marybeth snorted quietly but didn’t argue.
Before Iyisha could say anything else, a voice spoke behind them.
"This you friend?"
Iyisha turned.
A man stood there holding two cups. He was tall, broad-shouldered, maybe a little older than her. His hair was shaved close to his head and a crooked smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.
"Hi. I’m Mateo," he said.
He held out one of the cups.
"Figured you might want something stronger than whatever they gave you earlier."
Iyisha hesitated, then took the drink.
"Thanks."
Mateo leaned casually against the railing beside her.
"So," he said, glancing toward the crowd, "you traveling with Marybeth?"
"Yeah."
"And the tall guy?"
Iyisha’s fingers tightened slightly around the cup.
"Yeah."
Mateo nodded thoughtfully.
"He doesn’t look very fun."
Marybeth chuckled beside her.
"You’d be surprised."
Mateo smiled.
"Well if you want someone who actually dances—"
He extended a hand.
"—I’m available."
Iyisha looked at the offered hand.
Then her eyes drifted across the square again without meaning to.
Lucía was still laughing.
Malcolm stood beside her, one shoulder resting against the table as she talked animatedly about something.
His head tilted slightly as he listened.
Iyisha felt something sharp twist in her chest.
Mateo followed her gaze.
"Oh," he said slowly.
"So that’s the situation."
Iyisha blinked and forced her eyes back to him.
"There’s no situation."
Mateo raised an eyebrow.
"Right."
He withdrew his hand with an amused smile.
"Tell you what," he said. "If you decide there isn’t a situation later, I’ll be near the fire pit."
He tapped the railing lightly and stepped away.
Marybeth watched him go.
"Nice guy," she said after a moment. "And huge."
Iyisha raised a brow at her.
Marybeth lifted a hand with a small chuckle. "Hey, I just heard."
Across the square Malcolm glanced up briefly.
Their eyes met.
Only for a second.
Then Lucía said something that made Malcolm turn away again.
She let out a breath.
Jealousy settled in her chest like a stone.
"You could seduce him if you wanted," Marybeth said lightly.
Iyisha’s lips pressed together.
"We don’t even know if I can infect someone."
Marybeth didn’t answer right away.
They stood there drinking while the music and laughter from the square filled the silence between them.
The alcohol burned down Iyisha’s throat and she coughed softly.
Marybeth glanced at her.
"You won’t," she said quietly.
Iyisha turned to look at her.
Marybeth’s gaze had gone distant again.
"You remember that night I stayed with Reya?" she asked.
Iyisha nodded.
Marybeth cleared her throat.
"I saw Ishmael with some of the women from The Chosen."
Iyisha blinked.
"And Reya..." Marybeth shook her head faintly. "She was just standing there. Talking about how we should follow their beliefs."
Iyisha frowned.
"Are they..." she started, then stopped.
Marybeth let out a slow breath.
"Yeah."
She took another drink before glancing back at Iyisha.
"So yeah," she said quietly. "You probably wouldn’t infect someone."
A small grin appeared on her face.
"But if you wanted to try... maybe start with Mateo. I hated how he tried stealing Reya back then."
Iyisha laughed under her breath.
After that they settled into a comfortable silence, watching the crowd move around the firelight.
"Thank you," Iyisha said after a while, turning toward her.
"For telling me."
Marybeth smiled softly.
"Yeah."
Someone shouted Marybeth’s name from across the other side of the road.
Marybeth lifted a hand and waved.
"You wanna come?" she asked.
Iyisha followed her gaze. A group of men were waving Marybeth over.
"No," Iyisha said.
Marybeth studied her for a second, then nodded.
"Alright."
She headed toward the group while the music continued to rise over the square.
Iyisha stayed where she was.
And across the crowd, Malcolm was still standing with Lucía.
Malcolm never came back to her side.
He stayed where he was, still talking to Lucía.
Iyisha watched for another moment before irritation finally won.
"Whatever," she muttered under her breath.
She pushed away from the railing and walked toward the group Marybeth had joined.
They were gathered around a rough wooden table near one of the fire pits, laughing loudly while passing bottles back and forth.
Someone told a joke in rapid Spanish and the entire table burst into laughter.
Iyisha reached them just as Marybeth noticed her.
"Iyisha," Marybeth said, sounding a little surprised.
She lifted her bottle toward the others.
"Everyone, this is Iyisha."
A chorus of greetings followed.
"Hola."
"Hey."
"Nice to meet you."
One of the men sitting beside Marybeth stood up immediately and pulled his chair back.
"Here," he said, offering her the seat.
Iyisha smiled politely.
"Thanks."
She sat down with them, taking the bottle someone passed her.
The drink burned going down, sharp and rough, but she swallowed it anyway.
She made sure to keep it slow.
Alcohol had never made her a better person.
Still, Malcolm’s attitude tonight made her want to drink more.
She sighed quietly.
The group around the table kept talking and laughing, pulling her into the conversation easily.
Stories about broken engines.
Arguments about who was the worst mechanic in the machine yard.
Iyisha forced herself not to look at him.
He could do whatever he wanted.
And she could too.
She took another small drink and joined their laughter.
Mateo was there too.
He leaned back in his chair beside her, grinning as the others argued about something.
"Well look at that," he said lightly. "She came."
The group quickly turned their attention to Mateo.
"So, Mateo," one of the men said with a grin, leaning forward on the table, "you finally have someone interested in."
Another man laughed.
"Careful," he added. "You scare them away every time."
Mateo lifted both hands in mock offense.
"Hey, stop. You’re making me blush."
The table erupted into laughter.
Marybeth leaned closer to Iyisha and whispered quietly near her ear.
"You can drink, you know."
Iyisha glanced down at the bottle in her hand, glaring at the dark liquid like it had personally offended her.
Marybeth followed her gaze.
"You saw the pit, right?" she said softly.
Iyisha nodded.
Outside the inner streets of Hydetown, a deep trench circled the settlement. Old cars, twisted metal, and sharpened spikes lined the bottom. The walls behind it were stacked with welded vehicle frames and scrap steel, guarded constantly by watchtowers and patrols.
No infected were getting through that easily. No man either..
"We’re safe here," Marybeth said.
Iyisha nodded again.
"Yeah," she muttered.
But she still didn’t drink.
Mateo settled into the chair beside her, easily joining the conversation again. He told some story about a broken loader they’d tried to fix earlier that week and how it nearly crushed someone’s foot.
The others argued loudly about whose fault it had been.
Iyisha found herself laughing along with them despite everything.
For a while, she actually forgot to check on him.
But the exhaustion crept in slowly.
The kind that came after too much emotion, too much noise, too many people.
Eventually she leaned toward Marybeth.
"I think I’m going to head back," she said quietly.
Marybeth nodded.
"Alright."
Iyisha stood up from the table.
"Good night," she said to the others.
A few of them lifted their bottles in farewell.
Iyisha turned toward the street that led back to Marybeth’s house.
And then she saw Malcolm.
He was still across the square.
Only now he was talking to two women.
Iyisha rolled her eyes.
Of course.
Mateo pushed his chair back and stood.
"You want company walking back?" he asked.
Iyisha hesitated.
Her eyes drifted across the square again.
He hadn’t even looked over.
Iyisha turned back to Mateo.
"Yeah," she said.
They had only taken a few steps when Iyisha suddenly felt a hand close around her wrist.
She stopped.
Mateo stopped beside her as well.
Iyisha turned.
Malcolm stood there.
She hadn’t even heard him approach.
His grip wasn’t rough, but it was firm enough that she couldn’t keep walking.
"Where are you going?" he asked.
Irritation flashed through her instantly.
"None of your business."
The sharpness in her voice surprised even her.
She saw Mateo glance between them awkwardly.
Iyisha exhaled slowly and forced herself to calm down.
"I’m tired," she said, more evenly this time. "I’m going to rest."
Malcolm studied her for a second.
"I’ll come with you."
Iyisha blinked.
Then she looked past him.
Lucía stood a few feet away with the other woman. Her arms were crossed now, her expression clearly annoyed.
"Leaving the women already?" Lucía said, her voice dripping with sarcasm.
Malcolm didn’t even look at them.
"Let’s go," he said.
Before Iyisha could respond, he took her hand and started pulling her forward.
Iyisha stumbled half a step before finding her balance.
Mateo stood there watching them, looking more amused than offended.
Iyisha glanced back once as Malcolm guided her away.
Lucía was still standing where they left her, arms crossed, eyes following them.
The music and laughter of the party faded behind them as Malcolm continued walking.
And he still hadn’t let go of her hand.
