UNDER EDITING 𝐺𝑅𝐴𝑉𝐸 𝐷𝐴𝑁𝐺𝐸𝑅 | 𝐴𝑃𝑂𝐶𝐴𝐿𝑌𝑃𝑆𝐸 ✔︎

Talk To Me

(Jasper's POV)

It's night now. Cooper and I left the Ashwell's alone at the house a few hours ago to help Carlos fix the biter problem. The gate had apparently been left open after a truck came back from a ration run.

Cooper and I drag the last biter outside the gate and flop it on the ground. We trot back in and shut the gate correctly and a guard nods us away in thanks.

"How do you think they're doing?" I ask through a slight yawn. I'm tremendously worried for them. I remember how it felt losing my dad. I wouldn't speak for weeks and was always pissy.

Once Lexi and Noah came along, especially Noah, my bitch attitude and ego went down immediately. Cooper and I continue to walk down the sidewalk.

"We don't know what to expect from them." Cooper starts. "I can imagine that Lexi will be more frustrated and openly angry while Noah doesn't speak much at all."

I nod. "They've obviously experienced loss before, so hopefully this isn't too traumatic for them."

Cooper gives me a look of confusion. "What do you mean? Who have they lost?"

"Noah mentioned to me awhile ago that his dad passed away, saving him. I don't want to share too much for Noah's sake, but maybe Lexi will open up to you too. Who knows?"

Cooper just nods with a worried huff. Our house is seen a bit in the distance.

"That sounds about right. Don't mention Noah's dad to him tonight. Maybe another time. That would be too much trauma at once." Cooper points a finger at me sternly.

I nod and raise my hands in defense. "Like I would ever do that to him. I'm not going to make him talk about anything tonight."

"Well... you don't need to pry or anything, but maybe try and get him to talk about his mom a little. He shouldn't bottle everything up." Cooper finishes.

I nod as we walk up the porch steps to our house and open the door. The lights are pitch black and the house is silent. It was expected, of course.

There was no smell of food. "They didn't eat in the last three hours we've been gone?" I say. Cooper nods. "They actually haven't eaten much at all today. Let's... make them something."

I nod. I'm not the best cook or anything but I'll do whatever it takes to raise their spirits again. I'm not going to let them starve tonight.

(Cooper's POV)

Short time skip~

Jasper and I were just finishing up making the Ashwell's their dinner. It was just some simple mac and cheese but it would do. Their appetites wouldn't be much at all tonight anyway, especially Lexi's. She did see her mom undead after all.

I scoop the food into two separate bowls and hand one to Jasper.

"Try and convince him to eat, okay? He won't want to but just try." I say. Jasper nods with the bowl and a spare fork in his hand and walks back towards Noah's room.

I let out a depressing sigh before picking up my bowl and trotting to Lexi's room.

I don't bother knock and just walk in, shutting the door behind me. "Hey Lex, how ya' feeling?" I say to a girl who's curled up in a ball on her bed. She sits up a bit but no expression appears to be on her face whatsoever.

"I made you some dinner. You haven't really eaten all day so I thought-"

"I'm not hungry." Lexi interrupts me in a grumble. I don't bother argue with her, I'll just try again in a little bit. I set her bowl on her bedside table and take a seat next to her on the bed.

"Maybe we should talk about what happened earlier." I suggest. She shakes her head. "I have nothing to say." She shuts me down once again.

I give her a stern but caring look. "Lexi... You're allowed to be upset. I want you to feel like you can talk to me."

Her expression seems to sadden a bit. "I'm sorry for being such a bitch." She says plainly but meaningfully. I shake my head instantly. "You're not being a bitch Lex. Just say whatever is on your mind." I grab her shaky hand.

She glances at me and her lip quivers a bit. "I..." Lexi's breath seems to hitch causing her words to yield. I give a sympathetic smile as she bites her lip aggressively.

"It's okay Lexi." I say while pulling her into a hug. She is tense before she relaxes and slight whimpers are heard. This sort of reminds me of how I comforted Jasper after our dad died.

She calms down a bit and pulls away from the hug, wiping her eyes. "Maybe... talking about some memories would help." I shrug. Lexi tucks her hair behind her ears and huffs while thinking.

"You don't have to if you don't-" "Cheer tryouts." Lexi interrupted plainly. I raise an eyebrow and she continues.

"It was my sophomore year of high school and I decided to try out. I was.. absolutely terrified. I came home afterwards and the kitchen was filled with decorations and streamers. Even a cake. I didn't even know if I made it but... she still threw me a mini party, just consisting of me, Noah, and my mom." She smiles.

"This isn't the first time I've experienced loss..." She mumbles. "Oh?" I question. Was Jasper right?

"My dad's death. It affected Noah a lot worse than me. He was there when it happened. A drunk driver hit him while he was walking along the sidewalk with my brother. He had pushed Noah out of the way. Actually, Noah hit his head pretty hard causing him to lose his short term memory for about a week. It was all so crazy."

Lexi stays quiet for a few seconds. "I feel... so much better. Thank you."

I kiss the top of her head while giving her a side hug. "That's what I'm here for. I love you."

"I love you too."

"You sure you aren't hungry?" I say while grabbing for the mac and cheese bowl again. Lexi smiles. "Actually, that sounds really good." A laugh escapes her mouth.

We talk a bit more while she eats before laying down to go to sleep. Hopefully Jasper was able to ease Noah as well.