𝙻𝙸𝙽𝙶𝙴𝚁𝙸𝙽𝙶 𝙳𝙴𝙰𝚃𝙷

Chapter 8

*FIVE DAYS LATER*

Liv and Ruby knocked on the Sinclair house door.

"Im not giving up on her, she's gotta come out eventually." Liv said.

"I don't know dude, this is the fifth day in a row we've tried." Ruby said.

Suddenly the door opened, and there stood Jessie with a cup of coffee.

"Sorry girls, Ari's still not available." She said.

"What's wrong with her?" Ruby asked.

"She just needs a little time, that's all." Jessie responded.

Arianna sighed as she watched Liv and Ruby walk away from her bedroom window.

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Willow knocked on the door. "Cmon, Ari I know you're in there." Arianna ignored her and continued sitting on the windowsill.

*tap* Arianna jumped, she looked out the window to see Willow picking up pebbles and throwing them at her window. Arianna sighed and made her way downstairs.

"I can tell you're hurting, Ari. What the hell happened out there?" Willow asked.

"I..." Ariana started. Willow put her hand on top of Ari's.

"You know I'm here for you." Willow said

"Her hand is on mine. But.. I can't hold hers back."Arianna thought. "You can trust me, you know that right?" Willow said.

"Yes." Arianna said. Liv is Arianna's best friend, but she trusts Willow in a different way. She's better at the 'emotional stuff' as Ari would say. She tells Willow about how the Ruin is not what everyone thinks. She tells her about the Children of Lazarus, the truth about some bounty hunters, missing kids and the zombie pits, how zoms are different than what they're taught in school, and about quieting Hunter.

At the end of it Willow was in tears. She still had her hand on Arianna's. Arianna thinks Willow wants her to wrap her fingers around hers. But she can't..

Willow gets up, and leaves...

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Arianna and Jessie were eating dinner in comfortable silence. After about 5 minutes. Arianna spoke.

"The way you do it... does anyone else do it that way. Closure I mean." Arianna asked.

"Not many.. there's a husband-and-wife team up North in Winburn. And a gal named Dakota in Versailles. No one else in Lakeview." Jessie answered.

"Why not?" "It takes longer." Jessie answered simply. Arianna did not like this answer.

"No. Don't do that." "Do what?" "Sugarcoat it." Arianna said angrily. "If i'm going to be part of it. Don't jerk me around. Don't lie to me."

"Ok, look. Most don't it like because it hurts too much. It's too..." "Real?" Arianna finished for her.

"I guess so. Yeah, that about says it." Jessie said.

Jessie got up from the table. "Look, if you're going to do this with me-" "I didn't say I was, I said if." Arianna interrupted.

"So did I. If you're going to do this with me, you have to get in shape and learn how to fight." Jessie finished.
"You mean like... real guns?" Arianna asked excitedly.

"No. We'll start with hand to hand." Jessie said.
"And wooden swords." She said as she tossed one to Arianna.

"Now let's get started."