Chapter 40 "Cherries"

Day 98; Group A

Beth and Patricia were in the back room, taking stocking of the food they have stored up. They stood on the opposite side of the wall from their beds, because they slept in this room, as well. Very few cans were left; all that is left is the "gross" stuff, like unseasoned refried beans, squash, peas, green beans, and spinach.

Then, as she searched the very back of the bottom shelf, Beth found something: a can of cherries. She smiled deviously to herself and quickly shoved it down her boot before Patricia noticed.

She felt guilty holding out on food from everyone else, but she had plans, and she wanted to see it come to fruition.

The girls finished their business and reported back the very few things that were left in the house. Malcolm frowned to himself. "Should we go on a run?"

"No!" Beth yelled, but instantly regretted it. She looked to the others and smiled. "Not tonight. We're fine for now. Maybe tomorrow, huh?"

Malcolm lifted a brow at the girl. "Sure. Okay."

"I'm sorry," she covered. "I just don't want us splitting up. Not so soon."

Patricia, Malcolm, Taylor, and Lyrik gave confused faces, unsure what had Beth acting the way she was.

"Are you alright?" Patricia asked the teen, concerned she might be feeling upset about something. "If you need to talk to me about something, you know I'm here for you. You're like the daughter I always wanted."

Beth smiled, a genuine smile that she hoped would break the awkwardness she had created. "I know," she smiled, giving the elder a big hug. "I love you," she said, breaking the hug and heading out to the back porch.

"I love you, too," Patricia called as the girl walked away. When the door closed, she turned to the others, still confused and concerned. "That was odd."

"Yeah," Malcolm concurred. "It was."

Soon, everyone went back to their own devices, and Patricia took the opportunity to go outside and check on Beth.

"Sweetie?" she beckoned, opening the door gently to not scare the teen.

"It's okay, Patricia."

The old blonde stepped out of the door, closing it behind her, and made her way to the bench Beth seemed to spend most of her waking hours on.

"Are you sure everything's fine, Beth?"

Beth stared out into the woods before her, contemplating. Finally, she turned her head down and straightened her sleeves anxiously. "Did you mean what you said? About me bein' like a daughter to you?"

Patricia smiled warmly and wrapped an arm around the girl. "Of course I meant that," she assured her. "Me and Otis practically raised you right along with your parents. Your parents have been my best friends for years, and I always felt like I was an aunt to you and your siblin's. I love you kids like y'all are my own."

Beth smiled and leaned into the kind soul's arms. "I love you, too. And I mean that."

The two remained like that for a few minutes, staring off into the forest and loving that they were together.

"I'm sorry I was actin' so weird in there," Beth apologized.

"Honey, don't worry about it. We all act weird these days."

Beth bit her lip and considered whether or not she should talk to Patricia about what was on her mind. "Patricia," she beckoned, deciding she needed the advice.

"What is it, dear?"

"I was acting so weird in there because...because I like Malcolm."

"Well," Patricia sighed, "he certainly is attractive."

"But that's not it… He's been hitting on me, and I was scared at first, but…I think I want to be with him."

Patricia furrowed her brows, unsure of what to say.

"And I, um. I wanted to...show him. That I like him, I mean."

The elder sighed, knowing the day would come when Beth would find another boy of interest.

"Do you think that's okay?"

"I don't know anymore," Patricia stated.

"What do you mean?"

"Beth," she said, "you're seventeen. He's, what, like, twenty-five?"

"Yeah…" Beth shrugged.

"Now, normally, I'd be telling you you've gone crazy. That you'd be making a huge mistake and ruining your life."

Beth nodded, feeling dirty, but couldn't help hoping there was a "but;" that she didn't have to feel guilty about liking the man.

"But," Patricia said, much to Beth's, though adamant, delight, "these days, everything's different. There's no laws anymore. And I'm not even sure what would ruin your life no more. You don't even know if you'll have a life past any given moment. You're a smart girl — I saw the way you and Jimmy interacted. You won't let him go any farther than you're comfortable. If he tries something you're not comfortable with, I trust you won't let it happen, so I know you're probably able to handle it. If I had a chance with him, and I knew Otis was gone, I'd go for it. You, however...I'm not sure you really do have anything to lose now."

Beth nodded, understanding what Patricia was saying, but also understanding how hard it was to make a decision like that. No one knew what was going to happen — not anymore. The one thing they were most certain of was that freedom wasn't coming soon. Things wouldn't be going back to normal in the near future.

"So," the elder said quietly, "between you and me...you have my blessing."

The young blonde smiled at the closest thing she had left to a parent and hugged her, happy that no matter what, Patricia would be there for her.

Later that day, not long after the sun had set, Beth sat in the front room, preparing to change the bandage around her fingers. Patricia still wasn't certain if it was too soon to let it out of its wrapping. Sarita wasn't sure, either, since it was fingers and not an arm; but she was fairly sure it would be fine to take the bandages off in a few weeks.

As she unwrapped the cloth, she held her breath. When her hand was free, she sighed. They seemed to be healing well, but she couldn't help but be upset at the sight. Her left pinky and ring fingers were gone, sliced off because of her own carelessness. If her dad was here, he could help. He would know when to take off the bandage, and when it would be healed and fine again.

Despite having been told multiple times not to, the blond reached out with her other hand and touched her finger-stumps. It was strange, and she didn't like it.

Then, Malcolm sat down beside her, startling her and nearly causing her to stab the brunet with a pair of nearby scissors.

"Jesus!" she yelled, jumping in panic.

"It's me!" he yelled before lowering his voice to a whisper. "It's just me."

The girl calmed and tried to get back to what she was doing. "Nearly scared me half to death."

Malcolm chuckled and began observing the things scattered across the table in front of her. "Changing your bandage?"

"Well, I was," she said, grabbing a rag and dipping it in a bowl of water.

"I'm sorry," he smiled. "Need some help with that?"

The blonde continued cleaning the wounds silently for a few moments before she looked back up at the man. "Sure."

"What do I need to do?"

"Well, I already took off the old wrapping, and I just cleaned it. What do you think?"

"Time to put on a new one?"

Beth smiled and nodded, gesturing her head towards the table of assorted tools.

"Which one of these is it?" he asked, picking up many different rolls of tapes and cloths.

"I dunno," she joked, forcing him to guess.

Malcolm ran his eyes over the rolls, not sure exactly what was what. "Uh," he grunted, making Beth giggle for a second. "How about this?" he asked, holding up a roll of tape.

"No," she said.

"Oh, okay, then. I got it now!" He dropped the tape and began moving the softer rolls into a pile. "It's one of these."

Beth hummed, confirming the boy's statement.

"Does it matter which one?" he asked, looking at the different colors and patterns on each one. There were three that were plain white, one in pink, two in black, one a rainbow, and the last a green background with yellow, pink, and white butterflies and flowers.

"Whatever you like," she said.

Malcolm looked at the girl, holding up different bandages to her skin and comparing which one compliments her most, amusing Beth greatly.

He decided on the rainbow one. "Wanna brighten up our lives a bit," he smiled.

"So do I," she said.

The man tentatively unraveled a bit of the gauze wrap and held it to her pinky, just short of the wound. "Do I just, like, wrap it up?"

The blonde nodded, delighted he was being so friendly and kind.

He began to wrap the two fingers up, going slowly and gently, afraid of hurting her. "Let me know if I hurt you, or just...do something wrong, okay?" Beth had a large smile across her face as the scared brunet continued his job. "Okay?"

"Okay!" Beth laughed.

When her fingers were wrapped and taped, she sat there, staring at the man.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"I'm just fine," she said and reached her right hand out to his left.

He smiled at her, his grin getting bigger and bigger as time passed. "I thought you didn't like me."

"No," Beth shook her head. "I was just scared."

"Scared?"

"Well," she shrugged, "you're like, seven years older than me."

Malcolm nodded, instantly feeling a bit remorseful for having made moves on an innocent teenager.

"Plus, look at the world around us. There's a million reasons for me not to get with you."

"I understand," he said, drawing away from the blonde.

"That doesn't mean 'no,' though. I do want to be with you," she smiled.

"You do?"

"Yeah," she smiled genuinely. She then took him by surprise and climbed into his lap, and they began kissing. The kissing became passionate and intense, and she pulled away for a moment, causing Malcolm to ache; he wanted to keep their mouths locked. He craved her with an almost overpowering primal desire.

She reached over and pulled a can of cherries out of her bag. She gave him a devious smile, taking Malcolm off guard once again, not expecting the girl he saw as innocent to be so direct. He smiled widely at her, and they continued with what they had begun.