𝐢𝐧𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐝 | 𝐜.𝐛

7

"Nice," I answer. Walking into the bathroom, I put the towel away. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Colby's eyes take me in.

"I might take one myself," he admits. 

"I'll get out of your way then." Walking out of the bathroom, I walk out of the room. Tara and Kat are in the living room. 

"I see you've used the hot water to your advantage," Tara smiles. Nodding, I sit next to her.

"Have you and Colby done anything yet?" Kat interrogates, scooting closer to me.

"No," I laugh.

"I think you all will before the week is over," Tara bets.

"What makes you think that?"

"Have you seen the way you two look at each other?" Kat laughs.

"Plus, you're sharing a bed," Tara teases, nudging me.

"Nothing's going to happen," I laugh. It's mostly to myself. Every time I've let someone in, they've hurt me by leaving.

"Well, I want it to happen," Kat giggles. The shower water shuts off and I stand up. "Go get him."

"Yeah, go get him," Tara copies. Laughing, I roll my eyes before walking into the room. When I open the door, Colby is there pulling up his pants. He turns to face me, exposing his toned abdomen.

"Sorry," I excuse, covering my eyes.

"You're good," he chuckles. When I uncover my eyes, he's in an old tattered t-shirt. 

"Sorry about that," I laugh, I can feel the fire burning in my cheeks. To hide my face, I pretend to be looking through my backpack. He chuckles quietly. "Damn, it's already dark."

"Yeah," he sighs, looking out the window. "I gave them a walkie-talkie."

"Who?" I ask, standing and walking over to him.

"My family."

"They're out there," I whisper, leaning against the wall. He looks up and out at the sky. Rain races down the window.

"I hope you're right," he sighs, looking down at me.

"Come on, we should lay down," I prompt. He nods and piles blankets onto the floor before laying down. 

"Night," he sighs.

"Night," I reply back.

Sleep has always been a challenge for me and being in an apocalypse doesn't help. Sighing, I push the covers off of me and get up. Quietly, I walk over to my bag and pull out a jacket before tiptoeing out of the room.

When I go outside, the rain is still coming down. It's a comforting sound to hear. Sometimes all there is to heard is quiet. Sometimes we need something to break the silence.

"You okay?" I hear Colby's voice ask, making me jump.

"What are you doing up?"

"I heard you get up."

"Shit, I didn't mean to wake you, I'm sorry," I ramble. He chuckles and gestures me over to a bench on the other side of the porch. We sit down and I pull my legs into my chest.

"You're fine," he grins. "I've always had trouble staying asleep."

"Me too," I sigh. "And the world ending isn't helping."

"What kept you awake?" He asks softly.

"I was thinking about my family," I reply even quieter. 

"What about them?"

"About how they died." It comes out as a croak and I mentally curse at myself. He takes my hand into his. 

"Do you want to talk about it?" His voice is so gentle it almost makes me break. Slowly, I take a deep breath and look out at the storm in front of me.

"I had to..." my voice shakes and I take another breath. "I had to kill them."

"Bella," he coos. Butterflies erupt in my stomach when he says it. Tears are fighting to fall. 

"I'm sorry," I whisper, putting my head in my hands as tears fall one by one.

"Don't be," he assures, placing a hand on my back.

"I hate getting emotional in front of people," I confess.

"How come?" He rubs his hand in circles on my back.

"I don't know," I sniff. "I never saw my mom or my dad cry. I guess I always related it with being weak."

"Bella," he begins. He squats down in front of me and cups my cheeks. "You are anything but weak. You fought off a two hundred pound guy and then took down three people. I haven't known you that long but you have to be one of the strongest people I've ever met."

"You don't have to say that stuff," I croak. He wipes under my eyes with his thumbs.

"I know, that's exactly why I'm saying it." His icy eyes scan my face and for a second, I want him to kiss me. Then, I remember everyone who's ever hurt me in the past and I stand up. He stands as well.

"You're the first person who's seen me cry in two and a half months," I admit softly. He doesn't respond, instead, he pulls me into him. He wraps his arms around me and I reciprocate the action. Being in his arms makes me feel safe, for once in this hell of a world. Don't get attached, Isabella, I tell myself. What if I already am?

We walk back inside quietly and back to our room. The house is silent and it's just us awake.

"You okay?" He asks, sitting on his makeshift bed. Nodding, I sit on the bed and rest my head on my knees. "You sure?"

"I don't know," I confess. These past days have been a blur of emotions. "I don't know what I should feel."

"What do you mean?" He stands up and sits next to me on the bed.

"I'm feeling so many things that I feel numb, you know?"

"Yeah," he sighs. My head is on his shoulder and his is on top of mine. We stay like that for a while. My eyes begin feeling heavy. He moves carefully and lays me down. My hand grabs his, stopping him.

"Will you stay with me?"

"I'm gonna be right here," he responds, gesturing to the floor.

"No, here," I mumble, pulling him lightly. "Please."

"Okay," he laughs, walking over to the other side of the bed. He climbs in and I roll over to face him. He's warm. His arms snake around my waist and he pulls me closer to him. Just before I fall asleep, I feel him place a single kiss on my head.