Undead Rises

ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ᴛᴡᴇɴᴛʏ

ᴄᴏʀᴀ ʜᴇɴᴅᴇʀꜱᴏɴ

My knuckles slammed against the hard wooden door of Aria's room. My hands felt slightly clammy causing me to wipe them on the side of my pants. I didn't know why I was nervous. "Come in." I heard her voice beckon from inside, I opened the door, and she was the first thing I saw.

Her skin was dampened with sweat, her muscles looked even more toned than before. Aria's hair was slightly messy, and I though it suited her. She sent me a small smile before grabbing a shirt that was laying on her bed. She pulled it over her body, hiding her torso and sports bra. "How was basic training?" she asked while sitting down on the bed, it took me a second to register the fact that she asked me a question.

"It was literal hell." I leaned nervously against the door; my hands pressed behind my back. "It gets easier, I promise." Aria's eyes traced over me, examining me. It suddenly hit me; Kai wasn't going to be able to distract David for very long. "Where on this base is the most hidden, and no one ever goes?" I questioned while pushing myself off the door and walked towards her bed, she looked up at me.

"Probably the archive sector, they usually throw things in there and forget about it. Why?" she questioned, her eyebrows furrowed together as a sliver of mischievousness glistened in her eyes. "Let's just say that my distraction won't last long, we should get going." I bit my lip as I smiled, she stood up and looked down at me. "Let's go." Aria held out her hand, and without a second thought, I grabbed it.

We left her room and ran together down the hallways, softly chuckling along the way. Even though my legs were screaming at me to stop, I wouldn't. Aria pulled me down the hallways and while she was looking around corners, I was looking at her.

She was the woman who helped carry my brother and gave us shelter. She was the woman who saved my life from catching me when I was handing over a crowd of the undead. She was the woman who held me and made sure I wasn't alone when I was bit. She was the woman who protected my family when I couldn't. She is the woman who brought us here despite not wanting to be here herself, just so she could keep us safe.

Aria is the woman who I had begun falling in love with.

I didn't understand why it had taken me so long to admit that to myself, but I was admitting it now. I was falling for her. "Here we are." Aria whispered pulling me out of my thoughts as we entered a dark room before closing the door behind her. She switched on the dim lights so we would be able to see. 

The room was still dark, the light wasn't able to reach every corner, but the orange glow didn't feel eerie. Maybe it was the fact that I wasn't here alone or the fact that Aria was still holding my hand. The room was filled with cabinets, old military equipment as well as old furniture. 

Aria pulled me by my hand towards a couch that looked like it used to belong to a doctor's office. When we took a seat, she let go of my hand and almost every part of my being didn't want her to. I looked up from my hands and noticed she was staring at me; I didn't feel as nervous anymore. "How'd it got with your dad? After I left." I whispered, leaning against the couch, putting my head down and watched her.

I knew what it was like to have parents who didn't accept you, I wish she didn't have to go through it now.

"We had words. After I told him I was bi, he never saw me the same again. Last night wasn't any different to what he has done before." Aria's voice was low, soft, and laced with hurt. I stretched out my cold hand and gripped her warm hand in mine. "I'm sorry. For everything. I should've listened before reacting." I sighed while sitting up and running my hand through my hair, even though we had this discussion, after last night my guilt would always be there for forcing Aria to come back to a place she never saw as a home.

"It's okay." she reassured me. "No, it's not. I was being a complete asshole and-" Aria cut me off before I could continue. She placed both of her hands on the sides of my face, making me look at her. "It's okay." she whispered, and it was like the guilt that had been keeping me up last night, nagging me throughout the day vanished in the blink of an eye.

I noticed my hands were on hers, and I was transported back to the moment when we were in the woods. The moment I should've kissed her. My eyes dropped down to her lips and back to her beautiful eyes. Without giving myself a chance to think twice about it, I placed my lips to hers. 

Aria's lips were soft, the kiss was gentle and sweet. It only lasted a second before I pulled back, suddenly aware of the fact that I didn't know if she felt the same way. I felt like a deer caught in headlights when her eyes opened, and she stared back at me. A blanket of silence wrapped around us. I was about to profusely apologize until I saw the edge of her lips tilting upward.

"You didn't tell me this was a date." she whispered, and I felt the heat rush up to my face. I covered my face with my hands as I tried to shy away from the embarrassment. Aria pulled my hands away from my face and watched me with a smile before she leaned in and kissed me. My skin felt like it was electrified and know that I've had my first taste, I wanted more. 

My stomach felt like it was doing flips when her hand traced down my body to my side, and when her teeth gently tugged on my bottom lip. My hands had a mind of their own as they touched the back of her neck and tugged on her hair gently when the kiss became more heated. "You are going to be the death of me darlin'." she said against my lips before grabbing my sides and pulling me into her lap. My legs on each side of her, straddling her waist. 

Aria pulled away, tracking small gentle kisses from my jaw down to my neck. My hands felt to her back, and I gripped her as I resisted the urge to make any noise. However, Aria hissed and pulled away. We stopped immediately. "I'm sorry, did I hurt you? Are you okay?" I asked immediately getting off of her lap and sitting beside her. Aria shook her head as she furrowed her eyes. "I'm fine." she practically groaned; she was clearly in pain.

My eyes trailed down the bottom of her shirt which had risen up her back, exposing a large bruise. "What happened to your back?" I questioned as I reached for her shirt, Aria immediately jumped away. She stood up and walked a few steps away from me. "Nothing, I'm fine." she said again, but I didn't believe her. "Show me your back, Aria." I whispered as I stood up, I knew what it was, but I was hoping I was wrong. 

Aria sighed before turning around and lifting her shirt, I felt my heart sink.

Bruises and scabbed wounds were all over her back. I took a step forward and looked closer, by the weird, shaped wounds I could tell that the damage was done with the buckle of a belt. That was the moment I felt it, the blind white rage that seeped into my blood with only one goal in mind, beat the living shit out of the person who did this to her.

I already knew who did this, but I asked the question anyway. 

"Who did this to you?" I said in low tone as I gently pulled her shirt down, careful not to touch any of her injuries. "Come on, darlin', you already know." Aria sighed as she scratched between her eyebrows. Without saying another word, I turned around and started marching towards the door. 

I was pulled back into her chest before I even made it near the exit. I struggled against her arms. "No one gets to hurt you like that! He needs to pay!" I yelled as I tried opening her arms to free myself. "Don't be stupid, Cora. He has an army and he'll kick us out." she whispered in my ear, trying to get me to calm down. "Out there is way better than in here! Let go!" I yelled but she didn't.

She held me firmly in her arms until eventually I had no more energy to fight back. "You know that's not true." she whispered.

Author's note: we are approaching the end of the book so chapters will be shorter.