Already Gone [SlyPKC]

Side Bonds 3

We had filled the car up with gas when we returned, but we didn't bother to drive.

Bek sat in the car with Peony as she slept. The girls' had a long night. James and Aleks took this time to straighten up the hummer and make it less cluttered.

I leaned against the bumper and Seamus dug out the first aid kit. I hadn't taken my hand off my cheek since the moment after bitch slapped me, so when I peeled it off, my palm was smeared with blood. I don't know how big that diamond was, but it left a hell of a cut.

Working only with the ceiling light of the car, Seamus got a towel from the back and poured some water on the corner. "Brace yourself," he warned.

He warily patted the wound, and I winced. I then remembered Bek's wound, soon questioning how she was able to bear all of the pain she'd gone through. However, those thoughts led the the contemplation of how her bite healed so quickly. My head started to hurt with all of the theories cluttering inside.

"This isn't the worst of what you're getting," Seamus said, bringing me back. But after processing his remark, I groaned in realization of what was coming for me.

"You can't do this to me," I whined, but he was already digging out the brown bottle of hydrogen peroxide. Twisting the cap open, he poured a decent amount of it onto the other corner of the cloth. "Seamus-" I tried.

"Stay still," he hushed softly, which I actually found quite soothing.

Squeezing my eyes shut in preparation, I flinched when cloth touched my cheek.

Before I knew it, Seamus took out a large bandaid and stuck it over the cut. After seeing the size of the bandaid, I realized I had overestimated how big the wound was. Although it was deeper than a paper cut, the bleeding had stopped sometime between us leaving the house and making it to the car; therefore, it couldn't have been too deep.

"Does it feel any better?" Seamus asked, as if the cleansing worked as a painkiller.

"It burns." I said in monotone.

The blonde sighed and rolled his eyes. "What am I going to do with you?"

And unexpectedly, he leaned forward and kissed my cheek, with the bandaid acting as a barrier. My face flushed, and my mouth fell slightly open- speechless. For a split second, I cursed the bandaid and wished that it wasn't there.

Seamus noticed my flustered state and simply chuckled, then patting my shoulder twice. "You're so lame," he laughed, reaching for the handle to open the back of the hummer. "I'm going to sleep. See you on the flip side, Mr. Cardona." He saluted me and hopped into the back.

I had to have stared at the snow beneath my feet for at least ten minutes before I followed him inside.

...

My sleep was interrupted when James recklessly sped over a speedbump in an abandoned neighborhood. Looking to the blonde beside me, I noticed he was still sleeping. I then peeked my head over the back seat and looked into the rearview mirror, only to find a terrified pair of eyes.

Suddenly, with a short gasp, mixed with a breathless, "Oh my god," James made a sharp right that sent Seamus flying into me.

Even that didn't wake the heavy sleeper. He must be havig a hell of a dream, I thought, pushing him away as I pulled myself up.

"James," I asked, "What's going on-?"

Bek then interrupted with, "To the right!"

I jumped at a quick shot that was fired, and I soon realized it was Aleksandr's doing.

"Thanks," James sighed in relief as he drove around the fallen body.

My gaze traveled to Peony, who seemed to be fumbling with her sweater pocket

"Eddie, look outside your window," Aleks said.

I wearily looked to my left at neighborhood that I mistook for being abandoned. It was nothing close to desolate.

"Jesus tapdancing Christ," I said under my breath.

Zombies were lurking around every corner, five feet apart from each other at the most. Four or five crowded in each passing yard, and a herd was already on our tail.

That explained the erratic driving.

James made a sharp left, which abruptly threw me to Seamus this time. My scapula colided with his chest, and it knocked the wind out of him. What a pleasant way to wake up, I thought.

"Damnit, sorry," I apologized quickly as Seamus gasped for air. However, as I tried to scoot away, I felt a pair of arms wrap around my waist. And after I was pulled back, Seamus nudged his head into my shoulder.

I frozed in place. "You're half asleep?" I hissed in annoyance but surprise. "Seamus!" I loudly whispered, turning my head to catch sight of him.

And either she had heard me, or it was just coincidental timing, but Peony decided to rotate and look over her seat. She'd initially opened her mouth to say something but paused when she caught eye of what we were "doing."

A blush crawled up my cheeks as we made eye contact, and she curiously stared.

"I... Uh..." I tried, but unexpectedly, the corners of Peony's lips curved into a grin. Her eyes traveled from me, to Seamus, and then back to me- resulting in her smile widening.

"You go, Sly," she whispered, and my eyes widened.

"What?" I almost yelled, quickly releasing myself from Seamus' arms and swiftly rolling to the other side of the car. The sleeper's content smile formed into a frown as his arms lay limp on the bed of the hummer.

Peony rolled her eyes, sighing, "Aw, look. You made him sad," before turning back in her seat to face forward.

"Oh, hush," I said under my breath, sitting up and leaning over my knees.

After a minute or two more of driving, James let out a sigh of relief, and my shoulders suddenly felt relaxed.

We escaped the crazy neighborhood.

And throughout all this, I still couldn't understand how Seamus remained asleep.