Ashes (Clementine X Male Reader Book 2)

Aftermath-Babysitting

You pull into the community. Marina has fallen asleep in the backseat. It tells you she's comfortable, even after everything she's been through. That's good. You don't know if she saw Linda get bit or if she knows what's going on. She may be too young. You hope she's too young. You know what it does to you if you watch your parents die.

Don hurries over. "Are you alright?" He looks at Brooklyn as she gets out and then to the backseat where Marina is sleeping. "Where's Linda?" You open the back door and start moving Marina. In a daze, she reaches up and wraps her arms around your neck and then lays her head down on your shoulder.

You shake your head to Don. "We need to figure out where we're putting her." You whisper. You feel bad for Marina. You think she'll forget what happened today when she gets older. She definitely won't remember Linda. You barely remember your parents.

A mother of the community, Jessica, comes and takes Marina from you. It's an easy transition. You pull Don away from the growing crowd and speak hushedly. "We need to figure this out. Linda is dead."

"Are you sure she's dead?" Don asks.

"I put a knife in her head. Yeah, I'm sure." You look over at Brooklyn. She's leaning against the trunk of the car, listening.

"Oh my God... I'll gather the others. We have to meet and talk about-" Don is interrupted. There's screaming somewhere nearby. You push through the crowd that seems to have grown even more to see Jessica struggling to keep Marina in her arms. She puts her on the ground, and Marina frantically looks around. When she spots you, she runs over and wraps herself around your leg. You look at Jessica. She shakes her head and shrugs.

"Hey, Marina." You try to sound as gentle as possible. "Why don't you go with Jessica? You know her, right? She'll take really good care of you." Marina shakes her head. "Why not?" She doesn't answer you. "What do you want to do then?"

"You." She says. "Stay with you."

"You can't stay with me." You tell her. You don't want her to. She pushes her face into your leg and starts crying. Everyone stares at you. You're sure most of them are more qualified to deal with her, and yet it's been relegated to you. "I have work to do."

"Take her to your house. Let her rest. You get some rest too." Don puts his hand on your shoulder. "We'll work this out."

"I can't take her." You mouth to him.

"Just do it. Just for now." He looks around. "We have other things we need to deal with right now. We can deal with this after."

"I'll come with you," Brooklyn says. "I don't think I could be involved in a meeting right now anyway."

-

You close the door to Brooklyn's room. She's donated it to Marina, opting to sleep upstairs until this is all figured out. You rub your face and sit down on the couch next to Brooklyn. "What the fuck?" You let out a sigh and lay your head back.

"We were supposed to protect her," Brooklyn says.

"It's not our fault. Linda said it herself before she died." You feel the same way as Brooklyn.

"I'm sick of losing people." She stands up. "I'm going to bed. I'm tired."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm fine, Y/N."

"Ok. I'll be down here."

Brooklyn ascends the stairs. You stay on the couch. You listen to the silence of the room. How do you get out of this situation? You're practically crippled right now with a three-year-old in the next room that you have to watch. You should be preparing for an attack. Even if they didn't see you, you should be ready. You want to be in the meeting, discussing what to do. This is the last place you want to be right now.

You fall asleep on the couch because it's better than thinking. You don't dream. You don't have long enough to because Marina starts crying in her room.

You hurry over and open the door. Marina is sitting in her bed, face red, tears flowing, crying very loudly. She reaches out to you when you open the door. You stand there for a moment, unsure of what you're supposed to do. Then you walk over and sit down next to her. She crawls into your lap, wraps her arms around your neck, and cries. "It's alright." You start rubbing her back because you remember your mom doing that. It's all you can think to do.

-

Brooklyn's POV...

I open Y/N's door. It's getting late in the afternoon, and we should get busy, but he's not there. I step out and look around. Where is he? Did he leave?

I walk over to my room, where we let Marina stay. If she's here, he should be around. There's no way he left me with her without saying anything. I crack the door and look inside. Y/N's sitting on the floor with his back to the bed, sleeping. Marina is asleep in bed.

I decide to leave them.