Thanks for your comments on the first chapter, feedback is always appreciated. I'm glad you guys like the story! Here's chapter two, enjoy!
Chapter two: Shut You Out
The team walked for hours in complete silence, with Myka refusing to speak, and Pete and the new girl too intimidated to say anything to her. Pete knew better than to cross Myka when she got like this. The silence made for a pretty boring trek across the state, but thankfully there were no more encounters with zombies. When the sun started to set, they found a nearby neighborhood and picked a random abandoned house to stay in for the night.
After they set their stuff down in the living room, Pete headed back outside and attempted to get a fire started. Myka sat on the ground with her back against the wall, the hood of her sweatshirt pulled over her head, hiding her face. She pulled a book and a flashlight out of her backpack and began to read.
Myka became so immersed in the words of JD Salinger that she didn't notice when someone sat down in front of her, and began to watch her. It was a while before Myka sensed the new presence by her. When she did, Myka lowered her book to find Agent Wells sitting there, watching her intently. She smiled.
Myka eyed her suspiciously. "How long have you been there?" she asked.
"Not long," the woman lied.
"What do you want?" Myka asked, closing her book.
"Well, I just thought that we may have gotten off on the wrong foot earlier, so I wanted to introduce myself." She stuck out her hand. "I'm Helena G. Wells."
Myka did not shake Helena's hand. She raised an eyebrow and stated, "Your name is HG Wells."
Helena retracted her hand and nodded. "My parents, big literature fans, got a kick out of it. My nickname as a child was HG."
"Alright." Myka lifted up her book again and continued reading. When Helena didn't leave, Myka kept her eyes on the page and asked, "Is that it?"
Helena tried to hide the fact that she was a little hurt by Myka's behavior and simply shrugged. "I suppose so." She hesitated for a moment, and tilted her head to study Myka, who was still staring intently at her book, making no move to acknowledge the other woman's presence anymore. Eventually, Helena stood up and headed back outside where Pete had finally gotten the fire started.
Myka slightly lifted her head to watch Helena walk away a bit dejectedly, and she felt bad for being rude. She wasn't going to let this new person into her life though. She wouldn't let herself get close to anyone anymore, and sometimes the only way to do that was to shut them out. That was the safest option. That was what Myka told herself, at least.
She dove back into her book, but after a while, Myka became distracted by the sound of Pete and Helena chatting pleasantly by the fire. Their voices were echoing into the house through the open door. She tried to tune them out, but it didn't work. Myka stared blankly at the same page of her book as she listened to them converse. There wasn't anything special about the conversation, it was just small talk, but Myka was still intrigued. It could have been Helena's accent, but it was also the normalcy of the moment that she enjoyed so much. She couldn't remember the last time she or Pete had to partake in small talk with someone new. It was a refreshing. She tuned out the meanings of the words they were saying and started only listening to their voices, soothed by the sound.
Myka froze when she heard her name, probably uttered by Pete. Soon after which, the conversation stopped. After a few moments of silence, Myka heard footsteps approaching her, so she turned the page to make it look like she had been reading (although she still had half of that page left, and couldn't be bothered to remember what happened on the first half, even though she had already read Catcher in the Rye three times). Thankfully the person that sat down next to her was Pete, not Helena.
Myka pretended to finish a paragraph and then set the book down in front of her. "Yes?"
Pete took a breath. "Please don't hate me for saying this, but you could try being a little nicer to her."
Myka's hard gaze softened a bit. She sighed and looked down at her lap. "I know."
"Well then why don't you?" Pete asked.
"You know why."
"No, I don't," Pete lied, but he knew Myka needed to say it. "Please, enlighten me."
Silence. Myka didn't want to say anything, but she knew Pete well enough to know that he wouldn't leave until she did. She took a deep breath. "I don't want what happened with Sam to happen again."
"Myka, that was months ago."
"I know, but it was my fault!" she snapped.
Pete tried to reassure her. "No, it wasn't. It was bad luck."
"Yes it was! I was supposed to have his back, and I didn't." Myka's voice broke on the last word as she tried to hold back tears. She looked down and shut her eyes, fighting off the pain that was coming back.
"Mykes, look at me." Pete tilted her head up so their eyes met. "It was not your fault, I was there. It was nobody's fault. You just miss him. But you can't blame yourself as an excuse to not get close to anyone." Myka looked away from him and didn't reply. A few tears silently trailed down her cheeks. "You know I'm right, Myka. Letting people in isn't a bad thing. We trust each other, that's why we make such a great team."
Myka tilted her head slightly to look at Pete. She managed to force a small, smile of gratitude on her face that you almost couldn't notice. "Thanks Pete," she muttered, barely audible. But Pete heard her. He put a comforting hand on her shoulder.
"I'll let you get back to reading now," he said, and stood up. "Or, if you want, you can join us by the fire. It's warmer over there. And the view is much better."
Myka nodded as she wiped her eyes. "Give me a minute," she said. Myka watched Pete walk back outside and to the fire, which was just visible through the front door, then he sat down again next to Helena. Their eyes met, and Helena smiled and gave her a small wave. Myka was surprised when she found herself smiling back.