Perfect (Rewrite)

Chapter Sixty Six

    "Are you okay?" David asked.

    "I'm fine," Chloe answered. She was sitting in the hallway between Jacob and Melanie's bedroom doors, staring at the wall across from her. This was the exact position she had been in ever since Rachel stopped breathing.

    "You did what you had to do."

    "That's what I keep telling myself," She replied, twiddling her thumbs, replaying Rachel's last words over in her mind again. At least her cussing came with good reason; Chloe knew she would've said the same thing had their positions been switched, in fact, she was sure she would've said a whole lot more. She knew he was right, and she herself was right. She did what she had to do. There was no other way. Or was there?

    "I knew I should've done it instead."

    "No," Chloe said, her fingers stopped for a moment. "Someone like you shouldn't have to deal with this guilt."

    "Someone like me." David said. A statement, not a question, yet Chloe knew he was looking for an answer.

    "Someone kind, generous, a leader," She said. "You lead us, David, you lead us better than anyone else ever could."

    He nodded and then slid down the wall to sit beside her. At times Chloe forgot he was a teenager just like her, he seemed way too wise for his shortage of years. He seemed like the parenting type. It was obvious why he was the head of the household. Kind yet stern. Strong yet weak. Confident yet afraid. The perfect leader for the most imperfect girl.

    "Sometimes I'm afraid of making the decisions," He started, staring at the wall in front of him, in front of them. Together they stared unfazed by the sound of Collin crying in the living room. Margaret had dropped his rabbit earlier, which he didn't like too much. "I mean, if I mess up, it doesn't just affect me anymore, not like it used to back in the outside world."

    "Our choices always affect other people."

    "Do they?" He asked. "I never really noticed before now."

    Chloe nodded this time; then their hands met and their fingers interlocked. "I noticed."