I could feel Rick kneeling in front of me, hearing him repeating my name over and over again.
"Isabelle!" He called again, with one hand on my shoulder, "Isabelle, are you okay?"
"Get me out of here." I pleaded.
And with that, he hooked his arm into mine and brought me up. With his arm slung around my waist and my arm hooked around his shoulders for support, he led me back to the guest house and brought me back inside.
"Thanks." I mumbled quickly before running off to the bathroom. Before he could follow or say anything, I slammed the door and locked it. I can deal with him later. I needed to get my head on straight.
I held my stomach, worried that I was going to throw up again from this unsettling, queasy feeling I had. I waited for several moments before dry heaving a couple of times, but nothing came out. Well, that's a start, I suppose.
Didn't mean I felt any better though, I was getting a headache so I moved to the sink to splash some cold water on my face. I took in the cold feeling, enjoying how it contrasted with my sweaty skin. Everything felt a little clearer.
I might as well take a quick glance in my mirror since I'm here, even though the last time I checked was yesterday. Not sure what I was expecting exactly since I didn't look too different. I expected a little more darkness under my eyes, but they weren't as sunken as they were before - a sign that my sleep habits were improving somewhat. Same with the cheeks, I remember the first week or so (from what I could remember), I was a little gaunt.
I was pretty annoyed with my hair though now that it was starting to grow out. It wasn't too much of a change, a little messier and shaggier and all I'd have to do is trim the back so it wouldn't turn into some sort of mullet, but it was still manageable. I feel like I really lucked out by keeping short hair though. I really need to fix my brows though. First world problems, am I right?
I turned to my side, wondering if my body had changed much. Lost a couple pounds, I was glad I wasn't getting the ribs-sticking-out look yet; I was still mostly in shape. Wouldn't hurt to fill out a little more, but that'll be highly unlikely.
I opened the door and was met face to face with Rick, with one arm extended to keep me in there.
I smoothed out my shirt before speaking up, "Hey." I said quietly.
"You should get some rest, I can take watch the rest of the night." The tone he gave was a don't-argue-with-me tone, but still, we both needed rest. And I never go down without a fight. You can blame my mom for that.
"No, no." I weakly fought back, "You need to get some sleep too. It's not a big deal."
He sighed, "Figured you would argue." He gave a small smile, "Come on, we can take watch outside. If you get tired though, you'll have to come back in here. Deal?"
I had to give a smile back, I was already feeling somewhat better, "Deal."
We sat outside, mostly in silence. Still had no gas for the car so I was going through my head about our options for leaving tomorrow. My mind also wandered to the possibility of going back into the main house to see if there was anything we could use. But, I don't know, seems like every time I go near the damn thing I have some sort of reaction.
My mind then wandered back to my family. Fuck, I miss them so much. I frowned at the fact that I hadn't been thinking about them recently, but my mind had been so preoccupied with trying to stay alive. They're probably safe, I kept telling myself. My brother is super protective of my mom and I know for a fact he wouldn't let anything happen to her. But it's still technically my job to worry as a sister and a daughter. Why couldn't I have been home with them?
If I could have anything right now though, it'd probably be to hear my mom's voice. I wouldn't want to see her right now, I wouldn't want her to see the shape I'm in right now and where I'm at. But I'd do anything just to hear her tell me everything will be okay and that she loves me.
I thought about the phone I kept in my bag, hoping that it would miraculously power up soon. Some would probably think it's dead weight, but I think it'd be stupid to just throw it away. I'm well aware that the chances of charging it or even getting service are very slim, but I'm not going to just get rid of it. You never know what could happen. I could get to Fort Benning or the CDC and I could miraculously get a signal and be able to contact my brother – the dead are coming back to life, anything can happen, really.
I looked back over to Rick, who had his eyes closed and also seemed to be consumed by his own thoughts. And then the realization hit me, this whole time he's asked about how I was doing, but I hadn't been returning the favor.
"Hey." I broke the silence, have I mentioned I can be bad with silence even though I like to overthink myself? He opened his eyes and looked over, "How's your wound been feeling? Don't you have to clean it?"
He looked down at his shoulder, where I assumed he was shot, and back to me and shrugged, "Hasn't felt any weird today or yesterday. I think it's mostly healed."
I raised an eyebrow, I knew how guys tended to be, always downplaying their issues. "Look, I'm not an official doctor, but maybe I can take a look and make sure it's not infected, at least."
He gave a deep breath and started to unbutton his shirt, "You should take me out to dinner before making me undress." He muttered and gave me a crooked grin before resuming and I tried my best not to blush. Why did he have to make this weird?
I cleared my throat, pretending I didn't hear what he said as I moved closer. He pulled up the side of his undershirt and leaned away for me to get a better look, "Do you mind?" I asked as I reached for his bandages, "I have some more in my bag anyways." He gave a small nod and I continued my examination. It definitely was still in the healing process but there weren't any signs of infection, thankfully. "Well, looks good to me, no signs of infection at all. Let me go get some gauze to replace what you had." I created some space between us to sift through my bag for some bandages.
When I came back, his undershirt was removed and he was...well completely topless. Well, this was unexpected. I tried to keep my professionalism but ignoring just about everything in front of me. "Just wanted to make it easier for you." He said before I came closer, could he tell?
"No worries, I appreciate the help." I said before getting to work. I gingerly unwrapped the bandages and took care to not get his healing wound dirty, if you could call it a wound anymore. It was starting to scar up, he's lucky he hasn't gotten any infection this whole time.
As I was starting to wrap the new bandages, my curiosity got the better of me (again), "What exactly happened if you don't mind me asking?" Ah, my bedside manner was something else.
"Police chase, me and my partner Shane were at a roadblock, waiting for the driver to hit the road spikes. As soon as his tires blew, his car lost control and flipped over the side of the road. We thought he was a goner, or at least incapacitated. The door flew open and a man came out with a gun. I ordered him to put the gun down and he didn't comply so we took him down. He tagged me in the chest, but I was fine, scared as hell, but fine. I got back up and brushed it off, but another son of a bitch came out and shot me in the left side right under my shoulder." He finished as he pointed to the spot where he'd been shot, flinching a little.
"They got him right?" I was hoping the bastard felt everything he got.
"I don't remember," he hesitated, "I just remember Shane yelling for a medic and then passing out." I could tell this wasn't easy to talk about, and I seriously shouldn't have brought it up.
"I'm sorry for asking." I said faintly.
"You were just curious."
"Yeah, but sometimes I think I get into people's business a little too much." I replied with a small laugh, "You're all set, by the way. I think sooner or later you won't need any bandaging, it's healing really well." I started to fidget with my hands and turned away so he could get his clothes back on privately. Yeah, this was mortifying. I really didn't want to see how red my face was getting.
I had a sense he could tell I was feeling embarrassed since I could hear him chuckling to himself.
"What's so funny back there, officer?" I asked over my shoulder, trying to distract myself from my thoughts.
"Ah, nothing. You're just a funny lady, you know that?" I could hear the smile in his voice, he knew. The bastard.
And I just clammed up. Couldn't even think of a witty comeback, it felt like he caught me with my pants down. Do I really give it away that easily?
I turned around and cleared my throat, playing dumb. I was going to ask what on earth he was talking about but I found himself staring at me and then my lips. I couldn't help my gaze lingering either, it was almost as if we were reading each other's minds.
"Oh the hell with it." I cried and leaned in to press my lips to his, this day could be my last and I was sure as shit going to enjoy it.
