The obnoxious ringing of her cell phone woke Bree from a deep sleep. The clock read 4:09 a.m. She grunted and hit ignore. Jake was drunk again. Why did he insist on calling her at all hours of the night?
The phone began ringing again. Bree was already losing patience. She had to be up in two hours for work. The last thing she wanted to do was carry on some ignorant conversation with her drunk boyfriend.
"Hello?" she almost yelled into the phone.
"Baby, hi. I mish you," he slurred. He was tanked.
"Hi. I miss you too. But, I'm really tired and have to be up for work soon. I'll talk to you tomorrow, OK?" She was trying so hard to be nice.
"Wait, I want to talk to you!"
"Jake, I have to be up in two hours. You're drunk. Go to bed. I'll talk to you tomorrow."
"Why don't you ever want to talk to me? Do you not love me anymore?"
"Jesus, Jake. Of course I love you, but you're being ridiculous and I have to be up soon. Goodnight." She hung up and turned off her phone. She knew she wouldn't be getting any sleep if she left it on.
She woke up two hours later, groggy and grumpy, with 16 missed calls and four voicemails from Jake. She decided to return the favor and called him to wake him up. It went straight to voicemail.
"Hi, Jake. Thanks so much for those 16 missed calls and four drunken voicemails. You are one of the most needy and inconsiderate people I've ever met. This isn't working. We're done. Go ahead and lose my number," she said after the beep.
Bree walked to the kitchen area of the CDC after her bath. Daryl was already sitting on the counter drinking whiskey. A sly smile played across his lips when she entered. Lori immediately looked away when Bree took a seat next to Shane. Dale offered her a glass of red wine, which she happily accepted.
"Did you enjoy the hot water?" Dale asked.
Daryl snorted when Bree glanced at him. "Yeah. That's definitely something I've missed."
"Well, I think I'm going to check out the library. Come on, Carl," Lori said. She escaped quickly, followed by Rick. Many of the group members trickled to their rooms, leaving Bree, Daryl, Glenn and T-Dog drinking for the first time in who knows how long.
"I don't know if I've ever asked you, what did you do before all this, Bree?" T-Dog asked.
Bree took a gulp of wine before answering. "I was a stripper."
Glenn choked on his drink. "Oh…" T-Dog said.
Bree tried to hold in her laughter, but couldn't. "I'm just fucking with you. I was a high school teacher," she said.
Glenn let out a loud laugh. "Were you seeing anyone?"
"Was I seeing anyone?"
"Yeah."
"I had been single for two days before the outbreak happened. I broke up with him in a voicemail," she said, filling up her cup.
"Are you fuckin' serious? You broke up with a dude in a voicemail?" Daryl asked, hopping off the counter and sitting across from her.
"Yeah. He was unemployed, always getting wasted and waking me at 4 in the morning when I had to work the next day. We fought all the time. He wasn't worth my time," she said. "He was too needy. I couldn't handle it."
"Damn girl, that's harsh," Daryl said.
"I just speak the truth."
"Have you ever been in love?" Glenn asked.
"Why are you asking me all these questions?" she responded.
Glenn shrugged. "I dunno. You just seem like such an independent person. I'm just curious."
Bree smirked. "Independent women can fall in love too."
"So you have been in love?" T-Dog asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Of course. And he broke my heart," she said. "Guess that kinda explains a lot, huh?"
"What do ya mean?" Daryl asked.
"It kinda explains why I don't often let people in," she said. "OK, enough with the personal questions. I'm going to bed." Bree grabbed the half-full bottle of wine and left the kitchen. She sipped from the bottle as she walked to her room.
"Bree!"
Bree sighed, hearing Lori's voice. She turned and waited for Lori to approach her.
"Bree, I wanted to apologize," she began. "Your personal life is none of my business and it was rude of me to speak to you that way."
Bree waited for her to continue.
"I'm just a worrier. I want what's best for everyone, including you."
Bree sighed again. "I do too. I'm a big girl, Lori. I know I look young, but I can take care of myself. The decisions I make are mine to make. I would never do anything to hurt the group. I hope you know that," she said.
"I do. I'm so sorry," Lori said, placing a hand on her shoulder. She hugged her before continuing down the hallway.
Bree rolled her eyes at Lori's back. "Crazy bitch," she mumbled to herself. She let herself into her room and turned on the light. It felt so weird to have electricity again. She placed the bottle of wine on the nightstand and sifted through her backpack looking for a t-shirt to change into for bed when her hands found her iPhone. She pulled it out, smiling to herself. She didn't have the heart to leave it behind once it had finally died. She hoped one day she'd be able to turn it back on and flip through her photos. Then it dawned on her. They had electricity. She could charge it and do just that.
Bree dug through her bag to find the charger and plugged it into the wall. She actually had butterflies in her stomach when she saw the white Apple logo appear. She slowly typed in her passcode and smiled when the screen unlocked, showing a photo of her border collie, Steve. A tear slid down her cheek as she browsed through her music, choosing her favorite band, The Avett Brothers.
Daryl opened the door with a quizzical look on his face. "Music?"
Bree held up her phone as she sat on the floor next to the outlet. "I couldn't get rid of it. Too many memories."
Daryl sat next to her as she flipped through photos. She began explaining who people were, giving him a glimpse into who she really was for the first time. Ever since she had joined the group, she'd been distant. She was friendly, but never divulged a lot about her past. Daryl understood. He never did either.
"So you are a real human being," Daryl said finally.
Bree looked up from the phone. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"No one really knows anything about you. It's just weird to see all these pictures and hear you actually talk about your past."
"Like you talk about your past," she retorted defensively.
"I know, I know. I was just making a comment."
Bree stood. "I don't want this to be weird, but will you stay with me tonight?"
Daryl brushed a hand through his hair. "I dunno, Bree. We wanna keep this casual, don't we?"
Bree turned, walking toward the bathroom. "You're right. Forget it. See you tomorrow."
What was she thinking, asking him to stay with her? She scolded herself for showing so much weakness. When the door clicked closed after Daryl left, she sank to the bathroom floor and began to cry. She couldn't allow herself to become weak in this world. She needed to be strong and independent. She needed to stay alive. Bree punched the wall in front of her and cried harder as blood ran down her hand.
