My Path

The Acceptance

You leaned irritably against the kitchen counter, using every ounce of strength you possessed to restrain yourself from strangling Nick. 

The group had gathered in the kitchen to divide up jobs for the day. As usual, you had quickly volunteered for hunting, with Carlos and Sarah tagging along to learn some tips.  Pete was attempting to give everyone else their roles for the day but was being constantly interrupted with sighs and scoffs from Nick.

"You got something to say, Nick?" Pete asked finally, irritation crossing his features.

Nick waited a moment before replying, letting silence hang in the air. "Can I be excused?" He suddenly asked, causing you all to glance at each other.

"Actually Nick I need you to head down to the river and catch us some fish." Pete responded, raising an eyebrow at his nephew. 

"No thanks," Nick responded flatly, shoving past everyone and heading outside. You all watched with varying levels of disbelief as he went to lie underneath the oak tree, staring up at the sky as he had taken to doing everyday.

For a moment, nobody spoke. 

"Oh, that's bullshit." you stated, voice heavy with annoyance.

"He's having a rough time..." Rebecca attempted, rubbing her hands softly over her swollen stomach.

"You're pregnant and you're still doing more to help out than Nick is." You responded, crossing your arms.

"I hate to admit it, but you're right." Alvin affirmed, glancing at Rebecca, "We've given him a week, he needs to start pulling his weight. For all our sakes."

"I'm worried about him," Luke admitted, rubbing his neck, "This is the first he's spoken in days. Maybe that means we should just let him work through it on his own?"

Pete shook his head, "He spoke last night, actually," he paused for a moment, eyes flitting to you, "When this one gave him a talking to."

You shrugged, "I've seen grief tear people apart before. Sometimes, all they needed was someone to slap some sense into them. It's harsh but this is the world we live in now. There's not much time for mourning. Frankly, he's lucky to have had this long."

A few members of the group looked at you in surprise but Pete nodded gravely.

"You've got a point," he affirmed. "We're not at Carver's camp anymore, we don't have the luxury of staying still. If Nick doesn't get his act together, he could get himself killed."

Carlos sighed. "What do we do then?"

Pete shrugged helplessly. "Leave it with me a few days? Or maybe you could try talking to him, Luke?"

Luke rubbed a hand over his face wearily, "I've been tryin', he has no interest in talking to me."

"You do seem to be the only one he can stand being around," you mused, "Maybe it's worth giving a go?"

"Fine," Luke surrendered, "But I can't make no promises."

"Well then, that's settled for now," Pete said in a more cheerful tone, "Everyone get going with what they need to do."

You pushed yourself off the counter and turned to Carlos and Sarah. 

"Grab some sort of weapon and make sure you're ready to head out in the next ten minutes," you told them, "I'll be waiting out front."

You headed to the front door and took a moment to breathe. The tense atmosphere surrounding Nick was slowly boiling over and you weren't at all pleased with his behaviour. You understood that he had lost his mother but he needed to keep going or else he'd bring the rest of you down with him.