Love Quote #17 - "All I want is for someone to hold me and tell me that everything is going to be okay."

Hold Me

Shane kept driving into the night while Andrea slept on the passenger side. They had originally planned to drive up to Maryland, but at the last minute they did a turnaround—and headed down to Florida. It was Andrea's request to find her parents' home in Tallahassee. The journey would take six to eight hours and they were already halfway there.

"Wake me up when the sun comes up," had been Andrea's request.

They wouldn't cross over the Florida state line for several hours, so Shane let Andrea continue to sleep. She had described to him the house her parents lived in. Shane remembered traveling down there once before with Rick, Lori, and Carl for vacation. It shouldn't be so hard to find the place. By the time they were in Florida, the sun would've already risen for a new day.

oOo

Andrea woke up and thought it was strange that they had stopped moving. It was only then that she realized that Shane had parked on the side of a road. The sun was steadily rising in the sky among the clouds. Andrea looked around, her eyebrows rose in shock. The pristine street her parents lived on was littered with trash, clothes strewn on the grass, and two cars turned over on their sides. She tried not to imagine the scene when the residents realized that the undead had come back to life. Pure pandemonium.

Then she turned and saw her parents' a one-story house. It was the right address—316 Tulip Lane. It was a pale blue house with black trim. As she glanced at the property, she was surprised to see other signs of chaos. She remembered that her parents used to enjoy planting flower beds along the walkway—they had been trampled on. It was a subtle difference from what Andrea was used to seeing at her parents' home, but still noticeable.

"How'd you know?" Andrea asked.

"How'd I know what?" Shane's eyebrows furrowed, unsure of what she meant.

"The address, how to get here." She was aware she was stalling because it suddenly hit Andrea—she didn't know what she'd find.

"You gave it to me, remember? An' I been down here before with Rick, Lori, an' Carl." He chuckled and then pointed at the gun sitting on her lap. "You better take Sweet Piece, get her ready."

Andrea reached for the gun her father gave her. The very same gun Shane had taught her how to disassemble and reassemble. She stared at it, wondering if she'd have to use it…she hoped not.

"What do you think I'll find in there?"

Shane didn't speak for some time as he looked out the window. Andrea noticed he didn't look her in the eye when he finally responded.

"No idea, Drea. Jus' want you to be safe an' prepared for any an' everythin'."

Andrea nodded. "Guess I gotta find out for myself, huh?"

Shane turned to her, a thoughtful expression crossed his face. "I'll be right behind you, darlin'."

Another tense period of silence passed before Andrea got out of the Hyundai and slowly approached the front door to her parents' home—the home she had grown up in after her parents relocated from Jacksonville when she was five years old. She heard a car door slam behind her, but didn't turn around to face Shane. No, she had to do this herself. She finally made it to the door and knocked.

No answer.

"Mom?!"

"Don't be so loud, Drea. We ain't tryin' to advertise ourselves as lunch for stray walkers."

Andrea nodded quickly and knocked on the door again, gently this time. Again, she received no answer. It was strange, since she noticed their car was still parked in the driveway—and they only had one car…What if they had evacuated the area? But wouldn't they have tried to reach out to her to tell her their plans? Then again, how would they be able to reach her, now that everything was gone? They couldn't call her, text her, or send her a letter…

Deciding to find out, Andrea pushed herself to open the door. She grabbed the knob and it wouldn't budge. Without a second thought, she pulled out her gun and shot the doorknob.

"Drea! I told you not to—"

Andrea paid no attention to Shane as she kicked the door open and entered her family's home. As she glanced around, she was surprised to see everything was still the same. Her parents had always been orderly, her mother focused on cleanliness and her father on organization. Nothing was out of place. It was exactly how she had left it. The floors were clean, the books were situated in their shelves in the living room. As she turned the corner and headed to the kitchen, she was shocked to see a pot of water sitting on the stove. It was as if her mother had wanted to boil the water, but had forgotten about it…

She decided not to give it further thought as she went down the hallway and checked her old bedroom that had been converted to a guestroom. Nothing unusual. Same with Amy's bedroom—Amy's paintings of mermaids still decorated the walls. Andrea would've felt comforted by the familiar sight of her sister's bedroom—especially the mermaids—but then the memory of holding her dead sister in her arms crowded her mind and she slammed the door closed, wanting to free herself of that horrific experience.

Then she thought of where she'd find them…

Andrea tiptoed to the master bedroom of the house. They had to be in there. The door was slightly ajar.

"Mom? Dad?"

Why she called out to them, she didn't know. Maybe some last strand of hope that they'd respond if they were in there. Andrea opened the door slowly and stepped inside. It was dark in the master bedroom, although the day was still new. Her parents must've shut the blinders, but even so, some light streamed inside, illuminating a completely empty room. The bed was made, neat just as her mother would've done.

Andrea sighed as she sat on the bed. There was no sign of any of them. Their car was in the driveway, but where were they? Did they leave to find shelter? Did their friends or neighbors drive them away to safety? Did they opt out in such a way that she'd never be able to find their bodies? Did they get attacked by walkers? The questions swirled in her mind with no answers. It was torturous to be inside the house she grew up in and have no hint of what had happened to her parents. It would almost be a relief if she knew they were alive far away or dead close by—but there was nothing. Then a weird thought flashed through her mind: she was the only one left in her family of origin.

The only one…

Everyone else was gone…

The thought terrified her. She had lost Amy. She had no idea where her parents were—if they were dead or alive. The unknown left too many frightening possibilities to consider. It occurred to Andrea that maybe Rick was also wondering where her and Shane had went. They had told Rick they were going on a supply run, but then left the farm and never returned. What if Rick was going through the same frustration of having only questions, but no answers about why she and Shane had never returned?

Andrea took deep breaths as she stood up from the bed, trying to keep calm. Her body was shaking. She couldn't control it. Images of holding her dead sister kept flashing in her mind, only now it was replaced by images of her mother and father… She knew she was imagining the worst, but she couldn't stop it. Andrea felt herself back up against the wall and slide down to the floor. Just then the door burst open and Shane rushed in and quickly turned to her.

"Andrea?! What'd you find—?!" Then he saw her on the floor, holding herself together. "Drea…"

She couldn't articulate the words, although she wanted to scream. He had to know what she meant. She hoped he did. He probably didn't and right now she was too shocked and upset to tell him that her parents had disappeared, they were gone forever. Before she knew it, a monstrous sob from deep within erupted from her and that was it—she was crying uncontrollably. Her arms flailed wildly, indicating the empty room that betrayed no hint of her parents' whereabouts.

Shane stood in the bedroom's entrance. Quietly, he went over to her and knelt down so that he was right beside her. Andrea couldn't get her words out, although he had a gut feeling of what she was trying to say. Either way, he knew no matter what he said, it wouldn't help the immense grief she was experiencing. Grief from having to put down her younger sister. Grief that her parents had vanished with no explanation.

Shane decided to hold her without uttering a word. He knew she wanted him to hold her, to tell her everything would be okay. He wouldn't tell her that though—that everything would be okay. It was a shallow promise, designed to make him feel better and it would only make Andrea feel worse. He knew what he had to do. Shane let his body language do the talking as he gathered Andrea in his arms and held her convulsing body as she sobbed for the next hour…