Waking up the next morning was the worst thing ever. Due to the late night chat with my roommate, I got about 3 full hours of sleep last night. When I pried open my eyes, they felt disgusting from all of the crusty shit in them. My body was sore from sleeping on the hard and cold floor so that was another thing to add to the list of things shitty this morning. Looking over, I see Clementine still asleep and curled in a little ball from the cold air coming from outside. I slowly became more awake and finally worked up the motivation to get up and start the day. Before I left my room, I took the covers from my makeshift bed and placed them over Clem's shivering body. Taking a last glance over my shoulder, I left my room.
Waking up early has it's perks. Like being the first one in the bathroom and dibs on the first shower. That was kinda my routine. Wake up, shower, brush teeth, get dressed, and eat breakfast. The people who lived here before us had one of those big propane tanks and it was 75% full so we lucked out on that. Me and Javi do runs into the town about 30 miles away and I always make sure I have the essentials: body soap, toothpaste, and deodorant. If you're going to be in a apocalypse, you might as well smell good. After I finish my shower and brushing my teeth, I head back to my room to get some clothes for the day.
Me, being the idiot I am, forgot about my roommate that was currently occupying my room and walked in wearing only a towel around my waist. As I walk into my room, I feel something warm collide with my chest and scrambled to keep my towel up. Looking down I see Clementine blushing bright red and rubbing her nose.
"Son of a bitch Gabe. Give me a heads up next time, I think you broke my nose." Clementine swore while tending to her new nose job.
I have the decency to look embarrassed and scratch the back of my neck in a sheepish manner. I move around her to my bag of clothes and grab an outfit that looks suitable. Sensing I'm being watched, I whip around to see Clementine watching me with a peculiar look on her face. I raise an eyebrow at her and she mumbles an apology before stepping outside my room. Now that I'm alone I get dressed and put on my shoes, ready for breakfast.
Walking into the dining room, I see Kate introducing the family to Clementine and asking her what happened and why she was out there. Clementine pales for a moment and her eyes dart across the room before settling on me. She clears her throat and begins her story.
"I was with this really bad group, the final frontier, and they took away the one I loved more than anything in this world: my kid. His name was AJ and he was about 4 years old and he became sick. I had to steal medicine for him or he was going to die but, they caught me before I could give it to him and they shipped him someplace far away. They drove me out into the middle of the woods and left me there to die but, I just kept walking until I couldn't anymore. I hid under that log for I don't know how long and then Gabe found me." Clementine finishes her story, making eye contact with me one last time before looking down.
My family is shocked to here her story and finally offer condolences for her child. Clementine only stares at the ground and they all sit in silence not knowing what else to say. A loud growl interrupts the silence and all heads snap to the cause of the noise: my stomach. The mood lightens and we all dig into breakfast and start on our chores for the day. Clem tags along with me, not really knowing what else to do and helps me out with my duties.
We check the perimeter for walkers and kill any with a hammer before taking them to the burn pile. As the day goes on and the temperature rises, I take off my beanie and stuff it into my back pocket before continuing my wood chopping. I've gained a slight amount of muscle from doing these chores everyday and have developed a set of abs. Javi keeps commenting on how if we were back to a regular world, girls would flock to me like a duck takes to water. I just roll my eyes and ignore him. However, today I'm grateful for the muscles because Clementine can't keep her eyes off of me. With every swing I bring down, her eyes rake over my body and watches the sweat roll down my jaw to my chest. I take a break and run a hand through my hair before facing Clementine and wink at her. She gets all flustered and embarrassed from being caught in the act and walks away with one finger in the air saluted to me. I chuckle and shake my head, wondering how life is going to be now that we have a new addition to the family.