The Zombie Zovels (Book 4): Missouri Madness, page 14
I grabbed my backpack and found my toothbrush and toothpaste and scooted closer to the water to brush my teeth.
"I got sick." I threw over my shoulder at Drew who was watching me from a distance.
"Not surprising after all the alcohol you drank." he said, walking back to me.
He had left me alone to give me some space but he'd stayed close by. I finished brushing my teeth and went back to my spot on the grass.
"You okay?" Drew asked, crouching down next to me.
He had taken me somewhere quiet to think and I was currently sitting next to the stream where the shower cubicles were. There were people in and out of them but we were a little way down the stream so no one was taking any notice of us.
"I'm...I don't know."
Drew hadn't asked me what was wrong or why I had a gun in my hand when I stormed out of the trailer and I hadn't asked him what he was even doing outside the trailer.
"Do you want to talk about it?" he offered.
"You'll just gloat." I said, running my hands over the grass, calming down a bit.
He ran his tongue over his bottom lip but didn't say anything.
"Do you really want to know why I'm upset?" I asked.
"Sure...but I already have an idea." He sat down beside me with his legs stretched out in front of him.
"Really? How could you possibly know what we were fighting about, not unless you were eavesdropping? Probably." I rolled my eyes.
"Nope. I saw Lane with that girl last night, it's kinda obvious you just found out about it."
"What?" My eyes nearly bugged out of my head as I turned to look at him.
"You weren't fighting about last night?" he said confused, pulling out a packet of cigarettes. It was like he had a never-ending supply of cigarettes.
"No. We were arguing over something else that happened months ago. Why, what happened last night?!" I demanded.
"It's really not my place." Drew tipped the box upside down and shook out a cigarette.
"Tell me or I'll punch you again." I threatened.
"You're the only one I let punch me." he said, placing the cigarette between his lips and digging in his pocket for a lighter.
"Drew, tell me!" I pinched his arm.
"All right, all right, hold your horses!" Drew pulled out his lighter and took his sweet time lighting the damn thing.
"Drew!"
"Ok, so I was on my way back from getting some food last night, this was just after you had fallen asleep and I left you with Sophie. I was just minding my own business when I happened to hear this girl, giggling."
"Right."
"And then I heard Lane talking to her. I snuck up on them and caught Lane and this girl getting hot and heavy up against the side of a trailer and then she invited him back to her trailer, and he went with her."
My mouth dropped open.
"That lying shit. He never mentioned that. Who was she?!"
"I dunno what her name is, she's always wearing the same red skirt and she has her face all painted like those other freaks."
"Margoooo." I ground out and Drew shrugged.
Now it made sense why she was acting so strange around me this morning, and then it clicked why Drew had said to me, ‘ask him who he did last night’.
"Why didn't you tell me?" I asked, frowning.
I was annoyed but at this point, Lane could have slept with everyone in the camp and it wouldn't have made a difference. I was already mad at him, what's one more person?
"I wanted to. Trust me, I wanted to, but you were too drunk and sleeping it off. But I also wanted him to admit what he'd done first."
"And if he didn't?"
"I would have told you."
"Ugh. I can't believe this is happening right now. Wait, you didn't know about the others, did you?"
"Others?" Drew frowned.
"Lane slept with Zoe back at the mall."
"Zoe? The girl that was with Ross, the same girl that died in the crash?"
"Yes, that Zoe. And some girl called Clara, do you remember her?"
Drew thought about it for a moment.
"Yeah, she was always with Zoe. She was a bit of a slut though."
"Why do you say that?"
"She tried it on with me a few times."
I frowned and looked down at the ground, picking a blade of grass and twirling it between my fingers, pretending I didn't care.
"She's not my type." Drew whispered close to my ear.
"There are more girls he slept with back at the prison, he just told me everything. Well, not everything, he forgot to mention Margo."
"So what are you going to do?" he asked, taking a drag.
"About what?"
"Lane." he clipped.
"I don't know. I'm still confused."
"Confused? The guy is a total idiot for doing what he did to you. Don't you dare even think about giving him a second chance."
"Of course you would say that." I muttered.
"Yes, because he doesn't deserve you."
"And you do?" I glanced sideways at him.
"I never cheated on you." he said, exhaling smoke away from my face.
"We were never together so how could you cheat on me?" I shook my head and rolled my eyes.
"Yes, but I haven't even looked at another girl since I met you."
"Really?"
"Really. Why would I?"
I got flustered from the intense look he was sending my way and felt my cheeks burning all of a sudden so I looked away.
"Stop it." I said, not turning to look at him.
"Stop what? Telling you how crazy I am about you?"
I sighed and smiled to myself. Even after everything Drew still made me smile.
"Just crazy." I corrected and laughed softly.
Drew scooted closer, bending one leg and leaning on his knee.
"Oi!" He nudged me.
"What?"
"So does this mean you've changed your mind about Washington?" he asked and I gave him a pointed look. "Too soon?" he smirked.
He just wanted me to forget all about going to Washington but I had promised Nick, and Nick hadn't done anything wrong even if his brother was a lying cheat.
"I don't know what I'm doing yet. I need to sort my head out, and I need to talk to Lane."
"What? No! You don't need to talk to him, you just talked to him and look how upset he made you. You should just forget about him."
"You know it doesn't work like that. I can't just forget about him."
"You're not going to get back with him are you?" Drew looked at me with a concerned face. I didn't answer. "He's an idiot." Drew reminded me, frowning and taking a drag.
"My head hurts." I sighed. "I have no idea what I'm doing, or what I want right now. Everything is a mess."
"It's simple." Drew looked at me.
"It is?" I mumbled.
"You want me. So you should just be with me."
"You'd get bored of me. And you're a free spirit, you don't need me holding you back. I know you want to go back to Louisiana and you should go if that's what you want." I said honestly.
Drew rolled his eyes. "And why would I want to go back there?"
"Because it's your home." I reminded him as he stood up and flicked his cigarette into the shrubs behind us.
"It used to be, but since I met you the only place I consider home is wherever you are." he said, holding his hand out to me. The look he gave me set off butterflies in my tummy. I took his hand and let him pull me up.
"So about last night, I didn't do anything stupid, did I?" I asked, watching him carefully.
"Hmm...Like, what?" He scratched his chin.
"Like anything."
"Like...sleep with me?" he said evenly with a serious face.
"What? We did it again?! Oh, my...you have got to stop sleeping with me when I'm drunk, Drew!" I exclaimed just as a girl stepped out of a shower cubicle and her eyes bulged obviously having heard me. Drew chuckled.
"It's not funny!" I gave him a playful shove. "I don't remember anything."
"I'm just kidding." Drew laughed.
"Oh, hey! I believed you for a sec then!" I smacked his chest.
"I know." he grinned.
"So we didn't?"
"No, we didn't. You wanted to and when I turned you down you got in a mood with me."
"Oh, well, I'm glad you told me no."
"Yeah, I had to resist you, it was a struggle...you're so alluring when you're speech is all slurred and you keep falling over."
"Stop it! I will punch you again!" I tried to playfully smack him again but he jumped back, dodging out of the way.
I loved this side of Drew, the playful side.
"Ok, ok!" he laughed. "I'm sorry. You're a cute drunk." he said, flicking me on the nose.
"Call me cute again-"
"Yeah, yeah, you'll punch me again."
"Just you remember that."
"I still have a bruise from last time." Drew pointed to his face where I clipped his mouth the last time.
"I don't see anything, you're being a big baby." I teased.
"Here." Drew pointed at his mouth.
"Where?" I laughed.
"Right here." He stepped closer and I looked up at him and placed my hand on his shoulders.
"Nah...looks like a shadow." I smirked.
"Look closer." he said, leaning down to me and we were suddenly nose to nose. My eyes briefly flickered to his mouth as he chewed on his lip ring. I looked up at his eyes and found them staring back me, and he grabbed the back of my head before I could take a step back and crushed his lips to mine. The kiss was soft but full of passion. His hand let go of the back of my head and cupped the side of my face and his other hand rested on my neck. I held onto his wrist and placed my other hand on his chest.
I wanted to kiss Drew. It felt so natural and easy, but I was so confused. It just wasn't the right time. I pulled away and Drew sensed my turmoil.
"Alex, it's ok if we kiss. Lane cheated on you, and you cheated on him..." he said cautiously, hunching his shoulders, ready to protect himself in case I hit him again but he was right so I just listened. "You can do whatever you want, and you're allowed to kiss me, but only if you want to?" he raised an eyebrow.
"Maybe later." I replied quietly and Drew smiled in response.
He ducked down beside me and lifted my bag onto his back and held out his hand to me and I slipped my hand into his.
I didn't know what was going to happen, or what was happening between us but right now I wanted his company, he was still my friend.
He started to walk but suddenly stopped and turned to me.
"I think this is yours." Drew said, holding my gun out to me and I took it from him. "I thought he was going to use that thing on me." he added.
"He thought about it but decided against it."
"And he thinks I'm the crazy one." Drew scoffed.
I just shook my head and slipped it into the back of my waistbelt. As we wandered around the trailers it suddenly dawned on me where I was going to sleep tonight. I didn't want to spend the night with Lane in his trailer, not yet, I needed space.
"Drew, do you think it would be alright if I stayed-"
"Do you really think I'd let you stay with him tonight?" Drew said as he led me to the trailer he was staying in with Hutch and Sophie. I didn't say anything and let him lead me inside.
Sophie was sat at the table with a needle and thread, mending a hole in a shirt. She glanced up when the door opened and smiled when she saw me.
"Alex is gonna be staying here." Drew told her.
"Oh, ok. She can have the single room." Sophie said.
"No," Drew frowned. "She can sleep with me." Drew pointed to his made up bed at the end of the trailer on the window seats. I didn't think he liked the single room because it was too small and it made him feel claustrophobic and that's why he was sleeping out here.
Sophie looked at me for an answer.
"It's fine, wherever." I said.
Drew dropped my bag off in the single room and told me I could use the cabinets to put my things away if I wanted. I didn't see the point though because we wouldn't be staying much longer, at least, that's what I thought, now I wasn't so sure what was going to happen or when we were going to leave.
"Do you want a drink or anything?" Drew asked, gesturing to the kitchen.
"Um, a water, please." I replied.
Drew poured me a glass of water and I took a few sips, rubbing my eyes. I was feeling tired again. I had been woken up early and I just wanted to go back to sleep to sleep off my horrid hangover.
"You ok?" Sophie noticed me yawning.
"Just tired." I explained.
"You can take a nap if you want. I'm going out after I've finished this sewing. The trailer is all yours until tonight." She smiled and glanced at Drew and he just scratched the back of his neck.
I put my glass down and walked over to Drew's bed area and sat on the edge and pulled off my boots and lifted my legs onto the bed. I laid down and closed my eyes and a second later Drew was nudging me over. I moved over to make some space on his single bed and he laid down next to me. Our bodies were close, but not close enough because when I rolled over to give him some more room he rolled onto his side and put his arm around my waist and pulled me back to him so our bodies were molded together. I closed my eyes again, feeling sleepy and content. I automatically reached for a blanket, even in the warm air I still needed a blanket to fall asleep. Drew grabbed the blanket for me and lifted it over my shoulders and I fell into a peaceful sleep.
Chapter 16
I woke up sometime later. I slowly opened my eyes and noticed it was dark outside. I sat up and rubbed my eyes, the trailer was full of candles and one of them must have been a scented candle because all I could smell was citrus, like lemon.
"She has arisen." Hutch teased.
I looked over at the table area and saw Sophie, Hutch, and Drew all sitting around the table playing cards.
"Are you hungry, hun? We saved you some food." Sophie said.
I stretched and walked over to them and slid in next to Drew, and Sophie slid a plate of covered food my way.
"Thanks." I said and lifted the foil.
I had woken up with a ravenous stomach. I ate as much as I could cram in without looking like a pig and washed it down with a bottle of water, and when they had finished their game I joined in the next one and we spent the night playing cards and getting to know each other. I found out Sophie and Hutch had been high school sweethearts, and they lived just down the road in the nearest town before everything turned to crap. Sophie was twenty-four and Hutch was twenty-five, and for their first date, he took her to McDonald's. They had planned to get married and have children but then the virus hit and everything changed. Sophie still wanted children but not right now. Drew was as quiet as ever and didn't really talk much. I just talked about all the places I had traveled on my way here. I didn't feel comfortable talking about my parents or anything from before, it brought back too many painful memories. It was nearly one in the morning when we finally decided to call it a night and Sophie and Hutch took themselves off to bed. I was surprised that I felt tired again. Drew took off his boots and shoved his pants down his legs. I used the bathroom again and nervously hovered near the kitchen, watching Drew as he pulled his t-shirt over his head and tossed it on the pile of clothes he had left on the floor. I was still in my skinnies and t-shirt. Earlier we hadn't been half naked when he laid down next to me, now he was only wearing a pair of tight black boxers and a pair of socks. He sat down on the edge of the bed and cracked his neck from side to side.
I quickly busied myself pouring myself another glass of water. Sophie did a good job of keeping the water jug filled with freshly cooled, boiled water.
"Pretty," Drew called softly, knowing I was stalling.
I left my glass on the side and tiptoed over to the bed and stood in front of Drew, not sure what to do.
"Maybe it would be better if I slept in the bedroom." I suggested.
Sleeping with Drew, like this, it felt too intimate. I knew we had had sex before, but cuddling all night, that was another thing.
"No, you're sleeping right here, next to me." Drew said, standing up and reaching for the zip on my skinnies.
He unzipped them and bent down to drag them down my legs and I stepped out of them. I reached under my t-shirt and undid my bra and pulled it out of my sleeve and dropped it on the floor. Drew walked around the trailer and blew out the candles as I slipped into the bed, waiting nervously for him to return to the bed.
The trailer suddenly went dark and I jumped when he lifted the covers and climbed in next to me. I squashed myself up against the back of the seat to give Drew enough space, and because I was suddenly nervous about sharing a bed with him. Half naked. In the dark.
"What's wrong?" Drew asked, sensing something was up.
"Nothing."
"Why are you shaking?"
"It's cold."
"It's boiling in here. This trailer is like a tin can." Drew pushed the covers down his body and rolled onto his side to look at me. It was still dark but my eyes were adjusting to the darkness and there was a slither of moonlight coming through the windows.
I continued to shake and Drew moved closer which only made it worse. His leg overlapped one of mine, and he placed one hand on my hip.
"What's wrong?" he whispered. "Don't tell me you've gone all shy?" he teased.
There was no point lying to him, he knew there was something wrong. When it came to Drew I was transparent, he knew exactly what I was thinking. I had tried my best to pretend I hadn't fallen for Drew, and I thought sleeping with him would get him out of my system, but instead, it had only made me realize how much I truly loved him. I didn't know when it happened but I couldn't lie to myself any longer.
"I-I..." My teeth chattered.
"What is it?" He edged closer until his nose was nearly touching mine.
"I think...I think I might...um..." I wanted to tell him I loved him but I chickened out.
"Pretty?"
