This was planned to be put up before Thanksgiving, but time got away from me… like most of the time. This story has lost my interest and inspiration so much. Of course I'm going to ty and add like at least two more chapters but after that, I'm definitely sticking to one-shots for a while. Sorry for all those who actually waited for this chapter! I hope you like this somewhat short one. As always, special thank you to my amazing beta theblacklister23! (You should check her stories out btw, they are fantastic.) Please let me know what you think by reviewing, loves! 3
Without further ado….
It had been a few months since the attack that made us leave the camp. We found a broken down motel and had killed and burned all the roamers in it. Mr. Kaplan was an expert at making it look like there were no roamers here in the first place. She practically made all the blood and body parts disappear into thin air. I couldn't help but notice that it was finally almost peaceful again. There were a lot of roamers close by, but they were easy to kill and we made sure everything was always locked up closed and tight.
I like it here. Every family got their own room. Of course there was no electricity and we couldn't really open the windows in fear it would attract all the roamers within miles; but we had tons of candles. The deadly smell we were so used to almost went away. Of course there would always be a hint of it, but it was better than it ever was. A team would go out every week to find more food and supplies, more times than not I would be a part of it. I liked to go because it made me feel like I wasn't just dead weight. Almost all the women knew how to cook when we got the supplies to do so , except for myself. For that reason I mostly just stuck with the men.
At first, I got my own room and Ressler got his. But I complained so much about it he let me move my bed into his room. It made me feel so much safer just being in the same room with him. Whenever I felt myself going into a mental meltdown, I always looked to him. When he gives me that small nod, telling me he's there for me, my heart slows down to a normal speed and I feel alright again. I can honestly say that it works every time.
Time went by and in turn Tom had left by himself, leaving a note again.
"You guys don't accept me and I have a feeling you never will. I'm going to leave and see where my journey will take me this time."-Tom.
I wasn't surprised that he would leave again. I guess that was just his way of handling his problems. All I could do for him was hope he wasn't a roamers next meal.
I was lying in my bed one night unable to stop thinking about my father. It was probably the month of November. At least that's what Mr. Kaplan had said. She was the only one of us who tried to keep track of the days and she always had this journal with her. In our old world, Thanksgiving would be soon… One of my father's favorite holidays. My heart ached thinking of all the old memories with him. I fell asleep with a pang of guilt and sadness in my heart.
The next morning, I look outside to see that it was snowing. Not just the light and watery type, it was the thick and sticky type. I walked out to find Ressler standing by himself looking out into the distance. I walked over to him and put my hand on his back.
"Hey." I said taking my hand from his back and putting it to my side. He nodded his greeting, never looking at me. So, it surprised me when he reached out and took my hand. I looked down and stared at our hands intertwined, the warmth of his slowly taking over the iciness of mine. I looked back up at him but he was still just staring out into nothingness. So, that's what I did too. I wondered suddenly where all the roamers were because there would usually be at least three just right outside since we were closer to a city than the forest. It sucked to have more roamers at all times but the place we had was well worth it, especially in the winter.
I felt him lightly squeeze my hand in his before he let go. I watched as Ressler slowly made it back to the motel and I suddenly got the idea to throw a snowball at him. I grabbed a handful of snow and smashed it together and threw it. Ressler jumped a little as it hit his back and turned to look at me. That's when I threw another. I started laughing uncontrollably when he raced towards me with a half smile on his face.
"Liz, you're gonna get it!" He laughed as he picked me up and spun me around on his shoulders. I couldn't stop laughing. It felt like this was the first time I have ever felt so happy and content.
"Ressler!" I laughed. And that's when he lost his footing and fell. I was flung to his side and we just lied there in the freezing snow laughing. I've never heard Ressler laugh like this, which made me think all the other times he has laughed in front of me were only just halfhearted. Or, maybe …I don't know… it's just because he's more comfortable around me now than ever? I saw him looking at me from the corner of my eye and turned to look at him. My heart stopped when I saw roamers not too far away from him.
"Ressler, get up! Roamers are coming!" I yelped out at him and pushed myself from the ground. We took out our knives and raced towards them, taking all of about five out. Their dark blood spilled out on the snow around them making me shudder. My heart was racing and I scolded myself for even letting my guard down for a few minutes. They weren't even that close to us for me to be this scared… we both knew how to kill them easily. We walked back to the motel looking around us at all times. The moment of pure joy and carelessness gone. I looked at Ressler before we got inside and knew why I had gotten so scared. If he were to die, I might as well be dead too. A world without him is not a world I would want to be in. I didn't want another second to go by without him knowing how I felt. So, when we got inside and sat crisscross by the fire place, I leaned over and kissed him.