succumb - glenn rhee

[TWENTY-NINE] avoidance

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE// AVOIDANCE
"I'M SCARED, DAD."

ִֶָ 𓂃⊹ ִֶָ

Jade ran into the RV, slamming the door behind her as her panic grew in her chest, her breathing became shallow, hands began shaking. She pulled the curtains of the front window closed, shielding her reaction from the others of the group. The brunette practically fell into the passengers chair, keeling over to place her head between her knees.

Her legs were shaking up and down as her feet bounced up and down on her toes. The brunette's fingernails were digging into the back of her neck as she cracked the joints of her neck, trying to focus off of the panic in her heart.

one, the orange curtains.
two, the keys dangling off the lock cylinder.
three, the pillow that fell off the bed.
four, the rip in the bench.
five, the stack of 7 dishes on the counter.

one, the rough fabric of the seat.
two, the coarse carpet.
three, the fan blowing cool air at her.
four, the gun pressed against back in the waistband of her jeans.

one, the chatter of the people outside.
two, the clucking of the chickens. .
three, the sounds of the leaves shifting from the wind.

one, her brothers cologne he sprayed hours prior.
two, the air freshener that was sprayed in the bathroom.

one, the remaining essence of the orange juice she drank earlier.

The door beside her shut, followed by a short gasp before a shotgun was placed on the floor, leaning against the counter. "Sweetheart? Jade, what happened?" Dale asked quietly, kneeling down in front of her.

Jade's breath hitched as she leaned forward in her seat, wrapping her arms around her father to hold him in a tight hug. "I'm scared, dad."

"It's okay, honey. I'm right here. You're alright." Dale comforted, rubbing her back and shoulders.

The two held one another for a while, during the time Dale had reached up to lock the door to the RV to assure that Jade would have no other stressors. Her fear had mostly subsided, now becoming a dull ache within her heart. It reminded her of the feeling that would occur when you did something wrong and awaited a punishment from your parents.

She focused in on the warmth coming from her fathers hug and the gentle beating of his heart she could hear from where her ear was pressed against his chest. "Jade, honey. Can you talk to me about what happened?" Dale asked slowly with a kind tone.

"It was Glenn." She answered shortly, her voice raspy.

"What?" Dale questioned with confusion and somewhat anger about what could have occurred between the two of them.

"He tried to say he loved me." Jade added, noting her fathers obvious confusion. "He can't love me, dad. There's no way." 

"Sweetheart, that boy is head over heels for you. Why do you think he's lying?" The father asked.

"Because no one loves me, dad. Not like that at least. He'll just lie about it and then it'll hurt more when he leaves." Jade cried, her voice cracking as she spoke, pulling away to look at her father. "I don't want to get hurt again, dad. I thought I was ready."

"It's alright, sweetheart. You can trust that kid. He's a good boy." Dale explained, giving her a short kiss on the forehead. "Just talk to him."

x

Jade found herself atop RV, a gun resting in her lap as her gaze scanned over the area of the farmland. It was her shift to watch out for stray walkers, herds, and even possible members of Randall's group. She was biting at the skin around her fingernails, her mind focused on what her father had said to her about Glenn. About being able to trust him.

The Horvath had been wronged in the past by both lovers and friends alike. She would trust them with her whole being, and was simply discarded like a piece of trash. The girl wasn't wanted by most people. Her past made it hard to trust people. She used her pain as a shield to stop people from getting close.

But, there was something good inside Glenn. It made her want to trust him. She was just too scared to actually do it.

Soft thuds from the metal ladder called her attention, thinking it was Shane, as he was taking the graveyard shift to watch the camp, she stood up, ready to hand off the gun. Her gaze moved up from the ground, spotting it to be Glenn rather than Shane. "Oh, uh, hey." Jade spoke, averting her gaze from the boy in front of her.

"Hey." Glenn started taking a step forward to be farther away from the edge. "Um, I'm sorry that I said that. I shouldn't have."

Jade stayed quiet as she turned to set the gun down in the chair before running a hand through her hair before turning to face him again. "Um, can you take over for me? I have to use the bathroom." She said quickly.

"Liz, can we please tal-"

"Sorry, I have to pee." Jade replied, climbing down the ladder. She took a deep breath as she walked towards the farm house. Her hands were in tight fists as as bounded forward, ignoring the calls of her name coming from atop the RV.

She walked right through the house, moving into the kitchen where Lori and Maggie were standing around, preparing lunch. "Hey, Jade." Maggie smiled as she spotted the other girl walking in.

"What's up with loverboy out there, Jade?" Lori joked, having heard the boy calling out for the girl.

"Um, nothing really. Just a little scuffle, I suppose." Jade answered as she grabbed a slice of celery off of one of the plates.

"He's been mopin' around a lot. Are you sure about that?" Lori insisted.

"Yeah, I am, Lori." Jade repeated. "And even if something was wrong, it's not really your business." She finished with a shrug before walking out the room.

"What was all that?" Maggie questioned, watching as Jade stood in the living room, looking out the window that faced the RV.

"It's nothing." Jade replied, scratching the back of her neck.

"Look, it's not my place, but I'm worried about you, girl. I overhead Nick and your daddy talking about you having a panic attack earlier." Maggie spoke calmly as she watched Jade's facial expressions. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Jade bit down on her lip, trying to stop tears from overflowing her eyes as she turned to look at Maggie. The Horvath nodded slightly before Maggie waved her hand as a signal to move up the stairs. The two girls moved up the stairs, Maggie leading to the two of them to her bedroom.

Maggie shut the door as Jade sat on the edge of the bed, rubbing her hands on her jeans. "Glenn tried to say that he loved me." Jade said quickly before Maggie could even begin to move closer to the bed.

"Oh, my." Maggie whispered as she covered her mouth with her hand, letting out a light laugh. "Sorry, I should not be laughing. That's... um, wow."

"Yeah, I know. And I freaked out." Jade replied with a sigh as she ran her hands over her face.

"Okay, so aside from that being like sudden, and probably a little soon. I don't understand what's wrong." The Greene spoke in slight confusion.

"I'm just.. I'm not ready, Maggie." Jade whispered in a kind of shame.

"It's okay to not be ready. But, he was." Maggie explained. "He could feel things differently, and know his feelings faster. You do have to talk to him, Jade."

"Yeah, I know. I'm just scared. If I hear that he loves me, and then he just dies or something, I'll get hurt again. And I don't want to lose him." The Horvath said weakly.

"Oh, honey." Maggie cooed, rubbing her shoulder in a side-hug. "Jade, do you think that.. maybe you love him back?"

"I don't know. I don't know what to do." Jade cried.

"All I know hun, is that you've got to talk to him." Maggie explained.

"Yeah, that I know."

xx
word count: 1398