Ashes (Clementine X Male Reader Book 2)

Rage-Commence

Clementine is staring at the wall. Sometimes, she gets this faraway look in her eyes, and you're not sure where she goes.

"Are you ok?" You ask her.

"Hm?" She turns to you, still looking kind of distant. "Why?"

"You were staring."

"I was." Clementine looks back at the wall. "The wall looks like shit." The paint has been chipped away to the point that there's not much left, and it looks mostly rotten. It's left in such a sorry state that it's probably just waiting for the day the building collapses.

"Yeah, but you're thinking about something. What are you thinking about?"

"Things." She speaks quietly and then cringes at herself.

"You can just say you don't want to talk about it."

"I'll talk to you about it later." She smiles at you. "After Don looks at your hand."

"Can you at least tell me what it's about?"

The door opens, and Don enters the room. "Sorry for making you wait." He says as he walks over to the cabinet he's been using as a desk. "Let me see your hand." He tells you while he turns toward you.

You hold it out and let him unwrap it. He's gentle with it. His touch is softer than Clementine's because he's got a lot of experience with this kind of thing.

Once your hand is free from the wrap, you open and close it. There are indentations left from the wrap. Other than that, your hand feels and looks fine. Nothing sticks out to you, but Don starts touching it, applying pressure, and rubbing different spots.

"Does any of this hurt?" Don asks.

"No."

"Hm... Nothing feels off?"

"It feels fine to me. Just a little weak." You tell him.

"You haven't been using it much. That'll go away with time." Don lets go of your hand and returns to his cabinet.

"So he's clear?" Clementine asks Don.

"The hand isn't made for punching people. I understand that there are situations where you need to, but try to avoid it if you can. You break the bones in your hand enough, and you'll ruin it... He's clear as long as he understands that he needs to be careful."

"I'll do my best." You're not always punching people. Usually, you just stab them. "Has Richmond given you any more trouble, Don?"

"Not yet. I assume it's only a matter of time." It's been three days since they attacked Lizzy. You don't know how to manage the situation.

"We're going to have to leave Lizzy here eventually." You point out. "And none of us will be here to stop them from killing her."

"We'll figure it out." Clementine stands up. "We've got to go, Don."

"Alright. Let me know if you need anything." Don goes back to his cabinet and begins organizing his things. You think Lizzy is coming soon to talk about her leg. You doubt he does anything until after everything is settled.

You follow Clementine down the hall. You're unsure what she wants, but she's in a hurry. She leads you to your room and closes the door behind you. You lean against the desk and watch her. She's got something on her mind, and it's likely still the same thing.

"I went to talk to Cas earlier. He said he felt good and that Don said he'd be fully recovered soon." She stops in front of you and crosses her arms. "Emma is recovered too; she's just resting."

"That's good." You're glad they're ok. "I haven't checked on them in a few days."

"I also had Louis, Violet, and Aasim leave the community."

"Why?" You weren't aware they were gone. You realize you haven't seen them in a few days. The last time you saw them was the day Richmond attacked Lizzy. Clementine should have told you.

"I'm having them scout a place out. There might be a group of raiders."

"So why didn't you send me with them?" You're not sure you like sending some of your people off to scout some raider's camp at the moment.

"They can handle it. And before you ask, I didn't tell you because you'd have wanted to go." Clementine walks over to the balcony and opens the door. "We need vehicles. We don't have enough gas to take the ones we have here."

"So you want to hit them before we move on?"

"Yep."

You step up behind her and wrap your arms around her. "You know we need to have a conversation with the others, right?"

"Yes. I just wanted to talk to you first."

"And you have a plan?" This must have been what she was thinking about.

"I have ideas. Nothing concrete."

"I trust you."

"Good." She moves out of your embrace and starts for the door. "Let's get ready. We're leaving when Violet, Louis, and Aasim get back."