Buzzkill (A Lesbian Story)

24: I Love People

  My mind stayed on Max's new plans for the evening. It bothered me for some reason and I didn't really know why. Maybe it was the whole drinking thing. I knew how Max got when she drank. She would get really reckless and belligerent. Plus she's going to be drinking with a guy that we hardly even know. Sure, he's an army guy and he seems nice enough, but I still don't like the situation.

  Plus I really wanted to talk with her about what happened last night. After not saying anything to me, she just goes ahead and kisses me. I wasn't exactly complaining, but I want to know her thoughts. A kiss can mean different things to people and I just want to be on the same page, I guess. It would be easier to be on the same page, especially after the passed years.

  After lunch, both Steve and Max disappeared. Max went back outside the hotel to hang out with her Army friends while Steve either went with her or went to roam around the hotel. I was left to my own devices so I decided to walk around to see the setup of the hotel. Families walked around like it was an actual hotel. They didn't look like they were expecting zombies to bust in at any moment. They actually looked happy and calm like they were at a hotel on winter vacation or something. Not a zombie apocalypse.

  I wish I could calm down like that.

  I walked out into this outdoor courtyard area. Many people were out here making items it seems. Over with the plants, it looks like they cleared it out and planted crops. On the cement, people were folding clothes and hanging them up in the sun. It was basically a new community thriving inside of a hotel. Humanity after the end of the world.

  I smiled softly as I started walking around. The people I passed seemed like this was just normal. It gave me some hope almost.

  As I passed by a group doing laundry, a woman saw me and came towards me. She was in her 40s maybe with dark brown hair and a plump frame. Her face was kind and welcoming like a Home Ec teacher I once had. The woman looked like she could bake some awesome cookies.

  "Hello there!" The woman had a thick southern accent and a warm smile. "I don't think I've seen you around before!"

  I couldn't help, but smile back. "My friends and I just arrived."

  "Welcome to the homestead!" The woman engulfed me in a hug, which surprised me. She held me at arms length, "That's what we've decided to call this place 'The Homestead'. It should be homey, right?" She laughed and rubbed my shoulders, "Im Paula."

  "Ashley." I nodded, smiling.

  "So nice to meet you, Ashley! Paula chirped before going back over to her table, beckoning me forward. I stood next to her at the table as she folded clothes. I took the clothes she folded and sat them next to me as she talked. "I was one of the people who were already here when it all started. My brother owned this hotel." She let out a breath, "He didn't make it through this ordeal."

  "Neither did my mother." I said quietly. That was the first time I spoke of it since the first day. Wiping it from my mind as Paula looked at me with sadness, I sat another piece of clothing down. "Did you ever hear how exactly it all started?"

  Paula tilted her head, but kept quiet. That was when the guy infront of her spoke up, "I heard that it's a mutated form of the strep."

  A girl snorted as she took a shirt out of the bin and threw it at the guy. "No, you idiot. Strep doesn't mutate like that. It has nothing to do with your tonsils." She smiled and rolled her eyes as she looked at me. "Don't mind him. He's a dimwit."

  "Now, Trish." Paula gave the girl a light slap on the arm. "Leave your brother alone. Its not his fault he was given the short end of the stick."

  "Mom!" The guy exclaimed.

  Typical family.

  All three of them had the same dark hair and warm smiles. The kids were tall and slim, the sister a little bit shorter. She had the rounded face like her mother, but her eyes were hazel instead of blue. The brother had a square face with a sharp chin and nose. Each with their own variation of a southern accent, Trish's being the softest.

  Paula laughed a hearty laugh, "You know I'm only joking with you, Al." She looked back to me, "No one really knows how it started. No one around here at least."

  "What about the rest of the world?" I asked. "Anything on where this has spread?"

  "Ever since the satellites went out, we haven't heard anything." Paula shook her head as she rolled socks together. "Damn technology."

  Trish scoffed and looked to me. "She always blamed technology for wrongs in this world. Now she's glad she's actually right."

  "I'm always right." Paula winked at me, nudging me with her elbow. She handed me the last folded shirt. "Trish, will you take Ashley with you to go grab the next batch of clothes?"

  "Sure thing." Trish said before starting off towards the door, waving a hand for me to follow.

  She's great at communicating.

  I followed her out of the courtyard back into the hotel. She slowed down so that I could catch up with her long legs.

  "So." Trish started, "You said you came with friends. Where are they?"

  "Outside playing Black Ops." I snorted. "They became fast friends with the Avengers task force."

  "Any hot guys wih you?" She jokingly asked, however I could tell there was truth. She was still a teenage girl in this apocalypse.

  I nodded with a smile. "Yeah. Steve. He's a football player. If you see him walking with a tall blonde, they aren't dating. Don't worry. That's just Max."

  "A blonde and a football player." Trish led me down a hallway, "Sounds like the perfect fit. Is she a cheerleader?"

  That made me laugh as I tried to picture Max as a Cheerleader. She would look great in the uniform, but she would hate it to fucking much. "No, I was actually the cheerleader out of our group."

  She turned her head to look me over as she put her hand on a door handle. "Yeah. I can see that. Did you stereotypically date jocks?" She led us into a room with many different washers and dryers. It smelled like laundry detergent and warm fabric.

  "No..." I trailed off. "I did a little bit, but it didn't exactly work."

  "Why didn't it work?" Trish opened the nearest dryer and started filling up one of the empty baskets that stood in a corner.

  "It just didn't feel like me." I said truthfully. My fingers fiddled with a shirt as I started doing the same thing with another dryer. "I felt like I was doing it more for my friend. She was the stereotypical cheerleader. Tan, blonde, dated jocks. She wanted me to do the same. But I couldn't." I let out a deep breath. "I didn't like them."

  "Like who?" Trish looked over at me.

  I kept my eyes down, "Boys."

  "Oh." Trish didn't miss a beat. "Well, I understand that. You can't just lie to yourself like that. It's not good for you." She continued to fill up baskets. "I tried dating this one guy, but I felt no spark whatsoever. He was hot. Like hella. But there was nothing. I met this other guy and boom. Spark. That was while I was dating the other guy and I kept repressing feelings because the guy I didn't like would've been better for me, but God was he boring. He thought he was in love, however." She sighed and shook her head. "Lying wasn't good. It hurts people."

  "It hurts people." I nodded.

  I just told someone that I didn't like boys. A stranger whom I just met. And she didn't freak out. I breathed out and felt a huge weight get lifted off my chest. It was nice. So very nice. I smiled to myself as I closed the dryer and grabbed my basket.