"Here I am, gullible, for now
...
This is only for now
But I'm not so sure.
...
The smell of the matches
The weight of this floor
The way that your hair says
"You don't need me anymore.""
This is Only For Now, Charlotte Sometimes
"Do you even still care for me tha' same that you did when we were killin' zombies together?" Ellis quietly muttered from across the room.
Nick looked up from his iPhone and glanced at Ellis before burying his face back into it. "Sure do. What brings this up, Overalls?"
Ellis's eyes avoided the older man near him. "You sure as hell don't act like it. You act like you don't need me an'more."
Nick sighed and placed his phone on the couch he was sitting on. "...Things are just different now. That apocalypse changed both of us."
"I ain't any different than I was when we first met." Ellis rebutted.
"Then why is it that you wake up screaming every night and I have to reassure you that I'm still here and I'm not being eaten alive by zombies?"
Ellis fumbled with one of the buttons on his flannel shirt. "...Th' doctor called it somethin' like a stress disorder or somethin'.."
Nick's eyes narrowed. "Did you have this problem before we met?"
"No, but I don't remember you bein' this much of a cold ass when we met." Ellis blurted. "What exactly is goin' on with you that you can't tell me about?" He was now staring point blank at Nick, his eyes burning with hurt and tears.
Nick realized that this charade couldn't go on any longer. He stepped over to where Ellis was standing and embraced him tightly. Ellis made no move to hug him back.
"Ellis, I...love someone else."
Without any remorse or hesitation, Ellis shoved Nick off of him as hard as he could. The tears were flowing freely now.
"No, you don't, Nick. Folks like you aren't able to love."