Save Me, page 8
I tilted my head back to look up at him. "I remember hearing a gunshot." It was more of a question than an actual statement. I couldn't be sure about the details of that day thanks to the concussion.
"Yeah. When Bo went inside, I knew there really was no other choice. Having them separate like that, with the element of surprise, was my best shot. As soon as I heard you scream, I shot Lucas in the head and waited for Bo to come outside."
"I screamed?" I really couldn't remember much, just pieces.
"Yes. I don't know what happened, or when, but I'm guessing that scream was right before he cracked your head into whatever it was that caused this concussion."
"The wall." The memory shard came back, blurry in my mind.
Will winced.
"I'm so sorry I couldn't get to you sooner Andi. The thought of you being with those two animals all night sickens me." Will's hands balled up into fists with the thought. I'm sure he was imagining all the horrible things they might have done to me.
"It's fine Will. I'm okay. Nothing happened to me." I placed my hand over one of his fists, trying to relax him a bit.
"Andi, how can you say that? Look at you. You're covered in bruises and cuts. You have restraint marks on your wrists and ankles. You're clothes were nearly ripped off. You have the worst concussion I've ever seen. Plus, God knows what else they did to you that didn't leave visible marks." Will stood up, leaving me alone on the sofa, and paced back and forth across the room.
"Nothing else happened. I'm okay, really."
"You hardly remember what happened. You don't know that." He couldn't bring himself to look at me again. He was right though. I didn't have a clear memory of that day and I wasn't sure I wanted to, but I knew what he was afraid of. I got up and walked over to Will, taking his hands in mine and looking up into his beautiful green eyes.
"You're right. My memory is a bit fuzzy, but trust me, it's just the cuts and bruises."
Will looked me over, trying to decide if I was being honest or just trying to make him feel better. "I promise. If you hadn't come in when you did, I know it would have been different."
"You were with them all night. Are you telling me they just went to sleep?" Will's skeptical look told me he wasn't quite convinced.
"I don't know what they did all night. I got sick and they stuck me in a cage out back until morning."
Will searched my eyes for a hint of anything more. Finally, he relented and wrapped his arms around me in a tight embrace, my face pressed against his shirt.
"I'm so sorry I didn't get you out of there sooner," he said kissing the top of my head, still squeezing tightly. Somewhere in the back of my head a little voice wished that kiss on my head had been on my lips, but I told her to get lost.
"Will," I whispered, trying to get enough air in my lungs to speak. "I can't breathe."
Will loosened his grip and smiled down at me. It was the first real smile I had seen in awhile and after how angry he was with me earlier, I was thrilled with it.
After Will finally agreed to let me go, he reheated the food we never got to eat, and we settled on the sofa for dinner. My most recent dose of pain medication was finally taking the edge off the headache from hell and the dizziness had passed, at least for now.
"You must be starving. When was the last time you ate something?"
"I think maybe some crackers at the cabin." If not, I couldn't remember.
"Listen Andi, I think we need to set some ground rules." Oh here we go again with the bossiness. If you had told me two weeks ago that I would not only be living in my old basement with some boy, but that I was letting him boss me around, I would have told you to screw off. I wasn't the kind of girl who let boys be in charge. Dad had taught me to be independent and take care of myself. And so far, that served me well. Due to some great cosmic joke however, lately I have had to rely on a boy to keep me alive. I wasn't exactly thrilled with this new set up.
"Oh?" I raised an eyebrow at Will, letting him know I wasn't about to take orders from anyone.
"Yes. And, we both need to agree to abide by them." Will wasn't about to be intimidated by my feeble attempt at asserting my independence. He certainly wasn't the same sweet, meek boy I met so very recently.
"And what exactly are these new rules?" I asked, rolling my eyes at him.
"I'm serious Andi. This is for both our sakes." Will gently grabbed my chin, ensuring my full attention.
"Okay, okay, let's hear it." I suppose I could at least listen to what he had to say since it seemed to mean a great deal to him.
"First of all, we have to stay together. No more going off on your own without telling anyone. No one leaves this basement alone."
"Agreed." It wasn't the worst idea in the world so I refrained from additional eye rolling, at least for now.
"Second, we have to trust each other. I know that's difficult for you, but you really do have to try. Andi, I'm not going to screw you over. I would never abandon you, even when it might seem like I have."He lifted my chin again, making eye contact on that last part. I could tell he still felt guilty about not being able to do anything as the cousins dragged me away from him. I know now that he was doing what was necessary in order to live long enough to actually get me away from them. I just wish I had known then that he knew where to find them.
"I'll try." I meant it too. Trust wasn't something that came easily for me these days, but after what my mother had asked of me in her letter, I knew I had to try. "Anything else?"
Will smiled. "Do you need more?"
"Well no, but I figured since you appointed yourself King of the world, you might have more rules." It was Will's turn to roll his eyes at me this time.
"Andi, this is serious."
"Yes, Will."
"Promise?"
"I promise."
He still had his arms wrapped around me, our faces only inches apart. For a moment, his eyes focused on my lips and I thought he might kiss me. My breath caught in my throat at the thought. Any thoughts of Will in that way were pushed aside quickly up to this point. Here in this moment however, I let my thoughts linger. My mind joined forces with my body, nearly begging to be kissed. He brought his hand up, brushing stray hairs off my face and stroking the back of his hand over my cheek. My stomach flip flopped a few times, bringing back the nausea but as I looked into those sparkling emeralds, nothing else mattered.
"We should probably get some rest." Will gently pushed me back, releasing me from his arms.
I swear that boy just lived to confuse me!
~Chapter Nine~
"Andi, you really are going to have to try." Frustrated, Will dropped his bow to his side and let out a sigh. He had been trying to get me to hunt with him all week. I had no trouble with the bow when it came to members of the undead, but when it came to fuzzy woodland creatures, I missed every time. I really wasn't doing it on purpose, at least not consciously. Every time I lined up the shot, and saw little Thumper or Bambi in my sight, I missed.
"I am trying!" We were spending more time chasing down arrows than finding food. Will could have easily handled this on his own, but he insisted I needed to learn. Honestly, I think he just didn't want to leave me alone. Since that night he found me upstairs, things were different between us. He insisted that I learn different weapons and has even been teaching me some basic self-defense moves. He was always around keeping an eye on me, yet he seemed distant at the same time, like he didn't really want to be around me.
"Fine. Let's take a break." Will's patience was at an all time low. He found a rock to sit down on a few yards away from where we were practicing. Closer to where we were, sat a larger rock with smaller ones beside it. There would have been enough room for us to sit together but instead he chose the one where I'd have to stand if I wanted to follow, or sit in the wet grass. Will had been doing whatever he could to keep some space between us all week. He went back to sleeping on the sofa and even ate breakfast before I woke up to avoid sharing the meal with me. He spent most of his free time reading, avoiding all but the briefest of eye contact or conversation. I was beginning to wonder if he was teaching me this stuff so that I could take care of myself after he left. Maybe he didn't want to stay with me after all and he just felt guilty about leaving me unprotected.
I sat down to eat some of the lunch we packed, alone in silence. If this was how it was going to be, he should just leave already. Despite a few minor situations since we met, I did just fine on my own. The last thing I needed was some boy hanging around out of imagined obligation. Will snuck up behind me, nearly knocking me onto the ground from the surprise.
"What are you back to being a ninja?"
Holding one finger to his lips, Will pointed about 20 yards away at a mother-daughter zombie team approaching from the trees. I hated kid zombies. They were the hardest to disassociate from. It sucked killing a kid, even if they were already dead and looking at you like you're dinner. She was in good shape too. She had that typical gray pallor and gazed over white eyes, but other than that, she looked fresh. The mother wasn't doing quite so good. Half her face was blown off and her clothes were pretty ripped up. She kept up just fine with the kid so she must not have been around that long. Guessing from the speed of the two, it couldn't have been more than a few weeks, maybe less. I could hear the little one growling as they got closer.
"You gonna be able to do this?" Will looked at me skeptically. He knew that the one thing I hated killing more than forest creatures was zombie kids. I'm sure it wasn't his favorite pastime either but when it came down to it, we both knew Will would be able to make the shot if he needed to. I looked back at the mother and daughter. The kid looked like my cousin Sophie.
"Can't you do it? I can take the mother." My eyes pleaded with Will. He wasn't big on sympathy these day, but I hoped he would make an exception. He thought about it for a moment, then handed me the bow.
"No. I got the last one. It's your turn." He nudged me up. "Let's go they're getting closer." Will took aim and fired at the mother. His arrow landed dead on, right through her forehead, dropping her to the ground. "Your turn".
The kid didn't even notice as the mother dropped to the ground, twitching. Forward she hobbled, hell bent on ripping us apart. Will stood behind me, waiting, his expression unreadable. I don't know why he was being such a jerk. He knew how difficult this was for me. Why did he need to push so hard?
"Now, Andi." Will repeated, frustration growing in his voice.
I brought the bow up, taking aim at her head, and released the arrow toward my target. I missed by about two feet. Will sighed and even though I couldn't see him, I'm sure he rolled his eyes. I looked back at him, hopeful that my miss would prompt him to take a shot. It didn't.
"Try again. She's getting too close."
Jerk. I pulled the bow back up and took aim once again. She was about ten feet away. It was either hit her or run at this point. I pulled the trigger once again, determined to hit her this time and made my shot. I hit her in the neck. Damn. Will pushed me to the side, knocking me to the ground just as she lunged for me. The little brat was about to take a chunk off my leg when Will yanked her up by the hair, throwing her backwards. Before she could get herself up, he buried a hatchet into her small head, spraying her dark, dead blood onto the rock I had been sitting on.
"Are you trying to get yourself killed?" Will yelled, wiping zombie guts off the hatchet onto the grass.
"Of course not!" I pushed myself up from the ground and went to retrieve my lost arrow. Will followed a few yards behind me, not wanting to let too much distance get between us. I'm sure he thought I'd just go and get myself into trouble again. He really was being an ass. How long did I need to be punished for one little mistake? He was being a little ridiculous now, holding a grudge this long over me going upstairs without him knowing. It just didn't make sense. If I was that much of a pain in the ass to him, why was he sticking around? He already saved me enough times not to feel like he owed me anything. Part of me wanted to tell him to just go already, to stop dragging it out. Of course, the part of me that desperately wanted him to stay, stuck her damn nose into it and vetoed that. I just wanted it to go back to the way it was, to hit the rewind button and go back to that night in his arms, to the night I thought he might kiss me. I was starting to think I imagined the whole thing now.
I brought the arrow back, sticking it in the bag with the one Will pulled from the Mother and Kid. At least I didn't have to pull the arrow from her dead little neck.
"Are we done now?" All I really wanted to do was go back home and take a shower. Splattered zombie blood was not the fashion statement I wanted to make.
"You think there's a chance you are going to actually hit anything today?" The irritation in Will's voice clearly evident.
"Probably not." I wasn't about to argue that it certainly was not intentional right now.
"Then we're done." Will gathered our bags and started off for home. I had to practically jog in order to keep up with him. Being about a foot taller than me, his stride easily covered twice the distance than my much shorter legs would carry me. That coupled with his intentional fast pace, left me having a difficult time just staying ten or so yards behind. He didn't usually let us get so far apart. Poor little Andi, she just might get herself killed, or kidnapped, or infected by flesh eating zombies. This pace was too much for me to keep up all the way back to the basement. I was about to call ahead to Will to slow down when I realized my mother's charm bracelet was missing from my wrist. It was there when I took the shot at the kid zombie. I remembered pushing it up my arm a bit to keep it out of the way. My heart beat hard in my chest. I couldn't lose my mother's bracelet. I had to find it!
"Will, stop!" I yelled out to him, unable to actually move from the stop I was standing in.
"What's the problem?" He turned, raising his bow, scanning for any danger in my direction. I was afraid he would be angry with me but there was no choice. I had to find that bracelet. When I didn't speak, he walked toward me confused. "Andi, what's wrong?" Confident we were alone, he lowered the bow. I opened my mouth to speak, but words refused to come. I couldn't bear losing my link to my mother and having Will mad at me at the same time. "Andi?" Will repeated, a little concerned this time. All I could manage was to point to my wrist where the bracelet had been, before I broke down, tears streaming down my cheeks. Everything that had happened in the last couple of weeks boiled up to the surface, leaving me a crying mess in the middle of the street. Will knew right away what was missing. He didn't like me wearing it to begin with. Anything that didn't help us survive, was unnecessary in Will's book. I was sure this was about to turn into a fight. There was no way I was going back without it.
"Your bracelet?" Will asked, his voice more gentle this time, no irritation at all. The most I could manage was a small nod, tears still streaming down my cheeks. Will lifted my chin, looking into my tear soaked eyes, surprising me with his sudden gentleness. "It's okay. We'll find it."
"Really?" I managed, just barely audible. Trusting this unexpected kindness after the past weeks frigid shut out, was difficult.
"I promise." He said, wiping tears off my face and smiling sweetly. It was like the old Will was suddenly transported back, which for some reason, only made me want to cry more. He wrapped his arms around me, holding my tear soaked face against him. "We'll find it Andi. I promise."
We traced our steps back to the field where I remembered last seeing the bracelet. Neither of us spoke since the hug. We searched a good 45 minutes in the grass before Will found it under the dead zombie kid. I'm not sure I would have been able to flip her over to check even if I'd been certain it was there. Even Will put off looking until we felt confident we had searched the area thoroughly. He poured the last of his water over it, washing away the thick, dark blood, and handed it back to me.
"Thank you." It was the most grateful I had ever been in my life. More grateful than the time he saved me from sure death in the dog cage, or even when he had found me in the cabin. This bracelet was the one thing that helped me feel like part my of mother was still with me like she said in her letter. It was also the reason Will had gotten so angry with me leading to this unbearable distance between us. If I lost it, not only would I be losing part of my mother, but ruining my friendship with Will would have been for nothing.
"No problem. We better get back now. It's gonna be dark soon" He started turning to leave.
"No, really. Thank you." I stressed it, trying to convey just how much this meant to me. Will looked back at me, one eyebrow raised. He wasn't used to seeing genuine gratitude from me.
"It was your mothers?" He asked.
"Yeah. It's what I went upstairs to find that day."
He opened his mouth as if to speak then closed it again, looking down toward the ground in thought. "You...didn't already have that?"
"No. I saw the photo album you left out and it made me think of her. I was missing her a lot and just wanted something personal of hers. She didn't really bring anything like that down with her. It was upstairs in the safe, with a letter."
"Letter?"
"She wrote me a letter the day we moved into the basement, something I would find after she was dead." I fought back a tear at the memory, not wanting to break down again in front of Will.
"That's why you were crying when I found you?" He grimaced at the memory. I managed to nod, not wanting to risk speaking for fear tears would follow. "Oh Andi, I'm so sorry." He took my hands into his. "Why didn't you tell me that?"
"You, you were yelling at me." My voice cracked, threatening to betray me.
Will closed his eyes, hanging his head, his hands warm in mine.
"I'm sorry about that. You really worried me. When you were with the cousins, I was so afraid. I couldn't stop imagining all the awful things they might do to you." Will swallowed hard. "When I got you back, you were a mess. I was afraid to sleep because I didn't want anything else to happen to you."
