Coral
I keep my left eye closed and bring the eyeliner closer, trying to keep my hand steady. The tutorial is playing on my phone and I keep having to rewatch it so I can ace the look.
"Coraline! Coraline!" I sigh and pause the video before tossing the eyeliner on my desk. I pat my hair and walk out my room and downstairs.
My mom is in the kitchen with a mug of tea in her hands. She frowns when she sees me. "Why don't you have any makeup on?" Her fingers trace the scarred side of her face. "I just woke up mom. I'll put it on now." Mom used to be in beauty pageants ever since she was little but then the accident happened and now half her face is scarred.
I never really liked all the beauty pageants and the makeup and the pink clothes but since I'm her only daughter, I have no choice but to go along with it.
"Put it on soon cause we have to go to the hairdresser." I run my fingers through my hair. "Can't I let it grow?"
"Of course not. Look how gorgeous you are with short hair." I sigh and turn around before walking back upstairs to my room.
~~~
My whole body trembles and I bring my hands up to my mouth.
Silas... he got bitten...
I can't get the image out of my mind and I feel something yank on my hair. Lex appears behind me and hits the zombies head with the back of his gun. "Come on!" He grabs my arm and drags me along. My legs seem to have forgotten how to work and I just can't seem to shake the image of Silas out of my head.
There was blood... So much blood...
I'm literally swept off my feet and I hold onto Lex's shoulders as he holds me bridal style and we run. For the first time since forever, I feel the wind in my hair and against my face. I turn to look back and gasp. "There's no one behind us." I tell him frantically but he keeps running.
He stops and I see a horde of zombies approaching us. "Take the gun and shoot."
I look up at him. "What?"
"Shoot!" He manages to toss the gun in my arms and I grab it, noticing how shaky my hands are.
"Come on!" He urges and I hold the gun straight and pull the trigger. I bounce back. "Again." He tells me.
So I pull the trigger again and manage to shoot a zombie right in the head. Now I know what he wants me to do. He wants me to shoot the zombies and create a path so we can run through. I'm still shaking but I take aim and shoot again, gaining another headshot.
"That's it." I hear him mutter and I'm surprised I can actually do this. Actually, scratch that, I'm not surprised. I'm always on top of my game whenever there's a hot guy around.
Wait, did I just call Lex hot?
I look up at him and really take in his features. His sharp, clenched jaw. The rough bit of stubble on his chin and his beautiful clear skin. His long jet black hair and his sharp, piercing brown eyes.
Usually people with brown eyes look so pure and good - hearted but he makes it look sexy.
"The hell are you doing? Shoot." His deep, rough voice brings me out of my thoughts and the gun fumbles in my hands before I point it and shoot again.
We take off running. He runs through the zombies and I hold on tightly to him.
This is insane. Why am I thinking about him like that when danger is right in my face? And why did I have that memory of my mom?
I hope she's okay. As annoyed as I was, she was everything I had.
"Why's your head in the gutter?" His tone is sharp and he sets me down on my feet. Thankfully there are no zombies in sight but I have a feeling they'll catch up to us soon. "Where to now?" I ask giving him the gun. He doesn't say anything and starts walking.
He takes long strides and I have to hurry to keep up with him. My heels click loudly against the ground and I'm surprised they've lasted this long. I'm glad I still have them cause I doubt I'll be able to run in flat shoes. "We need to look for the hospital."
"What? What about the others? We have to look for them."
"We won't be able to find them. It's too time consuming. The hospital is our best bet."
"But how?"
"Look." He points. "There are apartments. If we can get to the roof then we can scout the area for a hospital." My eyes widen. "No way! Don't you watch movies? We'll die. The place will be infested with zombies."
"Then you do what you want but I'm going." He starts walking and I want to scream and hit him but what choice do I have?
It's either be alone or be with him. I mumble a string of curse words at him before I follow suit.
~~~
I hear a loud bang before I see seven people take off running. People start cheering and I watch a familiar figure run much faster than the others. His cherry red hair thrashes about wildly and I cross my arms, waiting for him to finish first like he always does.
I spot another familiar figure and I dart across the field and underneath the pavilion. My friends can't see me here. They'd laugh and I'd never hear the end of it.
I love running. When I'm sure I'm alone, I dress into comfortable clothes - except I keep my heels on - and I run laps around the field.
It feels good.
The wind in my hair and on my face. Plus it's a good way to keep in shape too.
But I'm a popular girl. I'm supposed to keep wearing makeup everyday and go to parties and even sleep around but that's not me. Just because I look pretty, that's what everyone wants me to be and I stupidly go along with it.
The only two people that don't expect all that from me is Darcy and Jay but they're so busy with each other, I don't want to be a third wheel. I didn't even notice the runners had finished until I feel a presence next to me.
Storm smiles his lopsided smile and he pants. "Why don't you join? You can run really fast." I roll eyes. "I told you this before. I can't."
Now he rolls his eyes. "Who cares what other people think? Aren't you supposed to do what you enjoy?" I huff and cross my arms. Storm saw me run one day and I got so panicked thinking he was going to tell on me and laugh but he didn't.
He challenged me to a race and for the first time, he came second. Although I threatened him not to tell a soul. "You're so good and everyone would love to have you here." I sigh. "I know but it's just not me."
"Oh well. I hope you change your mind." He waves and walks off.
~~~
I stumble over my feet and fall to the ground. "Crap." My head is spinning. "What are you doing?" I hear Lex ask.
What was that? Was that a memory?
"I... Never mind."
"If you're done playing, can you get up so we can reach the apartments before nightfall?"
I frown. He's really working on my nerves. Why am I stuck with him? I take my words back. He's not hot anymore. I get up and I'm surprised that we haven't seen a zombie so far. I hope the others are okay.
I catch up to Lex. "Have you had any memories from before?" He shakes his head. I can tell he doesn't want to talk so I keep quiet and we walk in silence. At least it isn't awkward silence. We encounter a few zombies but Lex is quick and has them on the ground before I can even blink. As we walk, I get an all too familiar pain in my abdomen and I let out a groan.
This can't be happening right now.
The large building of apartments loom over us and a chill runs down my spine. This is such a bad idea. There's no way we'll be able to get to the top without bumping into any zombies.
The front door is closed and Lex walks to it. "Stay close." He tells me before he puts his hand on the handle and opens the door.