Learning To Live (Zombie Overload Series) (10 page)

He
pulls me to him, smashing me against his chest. He places his
hands-one in a fist, as he's still holding his handgun-on each side
of my face, pulling my head up toward him.

I
put my hands on his chest and look into his eyes. He should have
known then. Should have seen it in
my
eyes. But he never
learns. Never backs away. Never stops. So when he crumbles to the
ground with his hand on his crotch, gasping in between calling me
every name possible, I don't feel bad at all.

I
stand above him, hands on my hips, rage sending hot lava from my eyes
to engulf him as he writhes in agony. Angry at him-but at
myself
,
as well, for the lightning bolts of passion that shoot through my
body just from his damn touch.

In
a low, no-nonsense voice I spell it out for him, "First thing,
Jake, I won't cheat on Will. What happened between us only happened
because I thought he was dead. I may not have done everything I
should have and I never should have allowed things to get as far as
they did with you. I'm
really
sorry about that. Second, you're
damn right I'm happy Will's back! The fact
you
aren't happy is
something you better get the hell over quick." I crouch down so
that we are eye to eye.

"None
of this is about you, Jake. You're not a part of this marriage, in
fact, until just a few days ago, I didn't even know who the hell you
were. You want to be friends, fine. We can be friends. But only if
this shit stops and stops now. If you want to be stupid and childish
and hate me from now on, that's perfectly fine, too. But," I
lean in close. "You. Leave. My. Husband.
Alone
!"

I
stand and leave him on the floor. Making my way upstairs, I clear
each room and then head back down. Jake has moved from the floor to a
kitchen chair and avoids me as I walk through. I shake my head at the
ignorance of the whole thing and go out the back door, letting the
others know it's safe to come in.

I
tell Will to wait for me as I walk to the back of the truck where I
get a set of the military fatigues, underwear, socks and boots in
Will's size and help him into the house. As we walk inside the
kitchen, Jake glares at Will and I glare at Jake. He ducks his head
when he notices my eyes blazing at him but, fortunately Will doesn't
notice.

I
help Will upstairs and into the large bathroom. I help him undress,
start the shower, and he gets in. I sit on the bathroom floor with my
back against the door and wait.

"So
what's with the dirty look from Jake?" he calls out through the
shower curtain.
So he
did
see that.

"Having
a bad night, I guess," I reply with as much disinterest as I can
without it being totally obvious that I know exactly what his problem
is. Aching balls being one of those things.

"Oh,
and by the way, nice hickey," Will tells me, his voice angry. He
punctuates his words with a fist slamming into the shower wall.

My
heart stops and I lose the ability to breath.
Oh God!

"Will,
it's not what you think! It's a bruise...from fighting with a
zombie...he grabbed me by the neck...honest!"

Now, before
you start judging me, what would you do? How would you explain to
your husband /wife/partner that; they were gone, you were convinced
they were dead, and that you were only thinking about your and your
kids' futures? And of course, if you're the suicidal type-that you
were totally lusting after someone else, and since your
spouse/partner was gone, why not? How well do you think they would
take it?

The
shower shuts off and the curtain rattles across the bar as it opens.
Will grabs a towel and and I watch as he dries off.
Of
course I'm watching.
Hello???
For an old guy, he sure
looks good naked. HAHAHA! Had to go there. Sorry.
He's
really not that old, it's just something we tease each other about
because there is a thirteen year age difference between us.

I
get to my feet and walk over to him. I take the towel away and motion
for him to turn around. He does and I take my time drying off his
back. When I finish, I give him a nice smack on his ass. He jumps and
yelps. I grin at him as he turns to me and wraps his arms around me.
Damn this feels nice.
I
thought all this was gone. I will never take him for granted again. I
lean into him and he holds me tighter. Raising my face to him, we
kiss long and hard.
If only we had more time...but we don't
and that sucks.

Will brings
his hand up and turns my face, exposing the bruise for his close
examination. I hold my breath, certain he'll discover the truth. He
turns my face back toward him and lays a soft kiss on my nose.

"I'm
sorry. It was killing me to think
Jake
did this. I'm glad I
asked you about it. I love you."

I let myself
breathe again. "I love you, too, Will."

Stepping
back from him, I hand him his clothes and he gets dressed.

With
Will smelling and looking good again, we leave the bathroom and head
downstairs. We find Bianca, Jake, and the boy sitting at the table
eating something. Getting closer, I see it's canned beef stew. My
mouth waters-it could have been almost anything and my mouth would
have watered-and Jake moves to the stove, spooning large helpings
into two more bowls. Grabbing a couple spoons, he brings them to Will
and me.

I
stare at our bowls of stew, paranoia returning. I watch as Will
raises the spoon and without thinking, I hit his hand hard and the
spoon flies through the air, clattering against the far wall, stew
splattering from top to bottom.

Bianca
cries out in surprise and the boy flies against her side. Jake bursts
out in loud laughter, banging his fist on the table. Will looks at me
for a moment then looks at Jake and back at me. He pushes the bowl
away and sits back.

I
grab our bowls, tossing them in the trash on my way to the pantry.
Finding another can and a new pot, I dump the stew inside, heating it
up. Grabbing us a new bowl and spoon each, I lean my back against the
counter to wait.

I
stare at Jake, hard. He's still gasping for breath and chuckling,
shaking his head. I want to hit him if only because I should be able
to trust him, but I can't. Not now. I look over at Will and my body
jerks, startled at seeing him looking at me and Jake so intensely.
He's got a look of suspicion on his face and I don't like where his
mind is probably going.

Shaking
my head, I turn and stir the stew. Satisfied it's hot enough, I pour
most of it into Will's bowl and take the bowls to the table-set them
in front of us-and drop clean spoons inside. Will and I start eating
and I look around the table.

Bianca
is obviously uncomfortable with the drama and avoids eye contact with
all but the boy, who she's gotten settled back in his chair-although
that chair is now much closer to her own. Jake is finishing his stew
and grinning into his bowl, also avoiding eye contact.

Next
I glance at Will and catch him looking at me. I smile at him and duck
my head, pretending to be totally involved in nothing but eating.
Yes. We will have to talk about all this. Just not now. Now, I
just want to get everyone back to my sister's house...alive.

We
finish eating and then search the house for guns and ammo.
Considering it's a farm house, it's possible they own guns. We hope,
anyway. We do find a shotgun and a few boxes of shells, but that's
it. Bianca has made a pile in the small entry room just inside the
house with food, blankets, towels, washrags, and other items she
thought might be useful. Jake goes over to help her take it all
outside and I help Will get settled into the front passenger seat.
Will seems better, stronger, and that makes me very happy!

I
walk toward the back of the truck to dig out some pain-relievers for
both Will and myself, and just as I turn at the end of the vehicle, I
see Jake give me a quick look and then he laughs overly loud at
something Bianca had just said. She pauses, obviously wondering what
she said that was so funny, and gives him a confused smile.

Looking
at me, she asks how Will is doing. I tell her better and she looks
relieved. Jake ignores me, throws the last item in the truck, and
shuts the door. I roll my eyes at his back as he walks away and turn
back to Bianca.

"Canada,
what's going on?" she asks me, concerned.

"Long
story, Bianca. I'll tell ya when we get to my sisters and get
settled. But right now, lets get the hell out of this rain and get
going." She grins and nods.

I
jump in the driver's seat, take my pills with some water and give
Will his. Finally, we get back on the highway.

I
am so happy and relieved to turn off at the exit for my sister's
home. I'm
tired
. Physically, mentally, and emotionally. I just
want to see my boys, sleep, and spend time with Will and the rest of
my family. That's all I want. Just for one day.
Is that so much to
ask?

I
turn on the dirt road that leads past my sisters drive and slam on
the brakes. Up ahead, the crowd of zombies are thick.
You have
got
to be kidding me!
Now what?
Apparently, the fact she
lives on a hill and we would be safe was just wishful thinking on my
part.
Damn
it!

Wide-awake
now, I shout at the others to wake up. Instantly, four other heads
pop up. I hear each one express their disbelief and horror with
everything from gasps to cursing.

"Now
what the hell do we do?" I ask no one in general.

"Hell
if I know," the others say, each using different words, but it's
all the same.
Ok. Well, first thing is to get the hell off this
road before they come for us...or wait! That might be a great idea!

I
flash the headlights and honk the horn, over and over. The undead
start turning toward me, but only a few of them actually start moving
our way. Everyone in my vehicle, except Jake, start screaming at me
to "stop", "what the hell are you doing", and
other annoying things.

Ignoring
them, I roll my window down and stick out the top part of my body,
and then I start yelling all kinds of obscene things at them.

At
this point, the others-but again,
not
Jake-are screaming at me
and trying to pull me back inside.
Why can't these damn people
just have some faith in me?
And shut the hell up, already!

"Come
on, you maggot-filled jackasses! Fresh food, right here!"

Jake
tells the others, "Leave her alone. She knows what she's doing."
But they ignore him, too.
Thanks for trying, Jake.

The
majority of them are coming for us now. I duck back inside and scream
at the others to shut the hell up or get out.
That
shuts them
up. Well, except for the mumbling from Will and the whimpering from
Bianca and the boy. But I can handle that over the screaming.

Putting
the vehicle in reverse, I slowly back the truck up, turning onto the
paved road so that I'm now horizontal to the undead, who are coming
after us with a hunger only our juicy bodies can sate. I hear Will
praying and when I look over at him, he's crossing himself. I grin at
him, and his eyes bulge when he looks at me and sees the grin.

"Honey,
we're not Catholic," I remind him.

"You've
done lost your damn mind!"
Yeah, well, I think I may have
lost it a long time ago-at least according to my shrink.
But I
just shrug at him with a grin and turn back to the zombies.

They
aren't close enough yet. I need the closest to be about five feet
from us in order for this to possibly work. Finally, the first of
them stagger into those five feet and I slowly drive forward. I drive
about ten miles down the road, which takes much longer than it would
have if I had been able to go the speed limit.

Coming
to the side road I need, I turn and stomp on the gas, fishtailing on
the dirt and rocks. Regaining control, I continue forward, praying I
can remember the back way to Rose's. The GPS can't tell me how to get
there, as these roads apparently only exist in my imagination.

There
are a few turns before I reach the road to turn back to Rose's so I'm
hoping the undead get lost-or at least give us plenty of time to
prepare for them. A thought forces its way into my mind and I do my
best to shove it back out.
What if they had gotten through the
fence at my sisters?
No, I refuse to believe that!

Forcing
my attention back on the road, I come up to what I hope is the first
turn. Things look familiar, although I've only been this way once.
The others have finally calmed down and are now talking among
themselves, expressing how they would have done the same thing.
Bunch
of damn liars!
They would have sat there bawling and waiting to
be eaten! I roll my eyes, shake my head, and tune them out.

Finally,
I get us back on the road to my sisters. As we get closer to the
gate, my heart stops when I see that it's been flattened to the
ground.
Shit! Shit! Shit!
I turn onto her drive and slam on
the gas.