Ava And Ivy

20 (Faint)

*Ivy's POV*

I feel asleep against the tree.

When the sun rose, my eyelids flickered open, the sun awakening me with a warm hug. I sneezed, wiping my stuffy nose. My trousers were muddy, and my whole back was soaked. My hair was ruined, but that was nothing new. When I came to properly a new wave of sadness hit me.

I took a few deep breaths and tried to stop thinking for at least a few moments.

Sighing, a new tear fell down my frozen cheek.

I kneeled over the pool surrounding the treehouse and washed my cold face. My brain finally began working logically, how it normally guided me through the day, leaving me to smile at my shaky reflection in the water.

Ava had not come out after a few minutes of silence and birds singing, attracting zombies, so I cleaned my wounds as best as I could and stood up, sneezing from the cold.

The ladder shook under me when I climbed, my hands barely holding on. My heart was pounding and my legs continued to slip.

I gasped for air, exhausted from the exercise of keeping myself together emotionally and physically.

My bruises felt like I was being punched constantly, and my cuts opened up on my legs and arms from using the muscles.

I took step after step, biting down my groans of burning pain as I pulled my frail body from the ladder up the the balcony of the tree-house.

I collapsed onto the ground and took a few deep breaths, letting the agony come and go in waves until I could ignore it completely.

I took the time to think about what to say to Ava, how to explain myself and apologize without sounding selfish in her ears. She did not deserve the trauma of having Elijah, or Reese, die so suddenly. She had enough problems before I got her potential partner killed.

I wanted to tell her how I felt, but it seemed the right words evaded me.

She was great, and impulsive sometimes, but I made far worse mistakes, and they sometimes had negative effects on others. Like this time.

She was perfect in every way for me, and I understood that she was mad and horrified, and most likely wanted nothing to do with me for the rest of her life.

But I wanted to support her in any way I could, and thank her for all she had done for me, for saving me countless times and being there when I needed her.

I wanted to find a a way to say how sorry I was without preaching innocence, or seeming eager to forget, forgive, and move on.

I wanted her to hear me out, yet I didn't know what to say that would fix or at least help the wounds I've caused.

Ava was the type of person that would act as if they don't need any help, and struggle on the inside. I would say that was weak of her, but she was still a strong individual. And it did not matter how many zombies died by her hand, or if she had a strong stomach, or if she could survive on her own, independently. Mentally, she was not prepared for this cruelty.
Neither of us were.

I knocked on the door three times, but no one answered. I then slowly opened it myself and peered inside.

My breath hitched in my throat at the sight of Ava laying on the ground, her body limp.

"Oh crap"

I limped over to her, and sat her legs against the wall, higher than her head to get the blood flowing.

I checked her pulse and sighed in relief, feeling her steady heartbeat.

I stood still for a few minutes, trying to calm my panic.

Just as I was about to look for a first aid kit Ava's eyes opened.

"Where..." She began, her eyes unfocused.

"Ava, can you hear me?"

"Yeah... Did I faint?..." Ava's words were slow and slurred, but when I peered down at her, staring at her eyes she looked straight back at me, making eye-contact.

"Can you see me? Do you remember where you are?"

She nodded slowly, blinking up at me.

"Oh Ava, why?" I whispered into her ear, catching her body into an embrace. She laughed silently and tried to sit up, but I stopped her.

"Give it a few minutes before you get up. Please..." I added in desperation, hoping she would listen.

Ava groaned and let me lay her back down. But she wasted no time in getting up ten minutes later.