safe

Chapter 80

I watch as Maggie collapses at the feet of her dead sister.

"We tried, she just... She stabbed a woman and the woman shot her... It couldn't be helped." Rick edges softly around Maggie's shattered appearance.

The girl is distraught and rightfully so; her last family member just died.

Glenn leans over her and pulls her into a tight hug, giving her a shoulder to cry on. Of fucking course he plays the character of the hero, and I the boring baggage he carries along.

I watch Jeremy observe the group cautiously from the edge of the room, silently assessing the situation at hand.

I walk over quietly and stand close beside him.

"If you're wondering anything, ask me." I invite openly.

He looks at me and smiles.

"I'm confused about your relationship with that Korean man." He questions innocently, his British accents leaving unfamiliar but welcome inflictions on the words he speaks.

"So am I." I chuckle awkwardly, but nothing is said of it.

"Do you want to take a walk?" I ask him with no attempt at hiding the frustration in my voice.

"I would love to." He smiles casually.

I walk over to Max and gesture to the door,

"I'm going out for a bit," I whisper. "I'll be back soon." I inform as I pick up a rifle and some extra ammo.

I look at Jeremy and tilt my head to signal that I'm going and he follows me clearly.

No one looks up from the crying and wallowing at the centre of the church and we slip out silently, unbeknownst to the others.

As we venture far into the woods I finally clear my head of the anger it feels.

"Glenn is my partner, but at the moment I feel like he's being an absolute tosser and I can't stand him." I announce to Jeremy out of the blue.

"Then why don't you break up with him? You're young and beautiful and I do admire the fact that you too have emigrated here and retained your accent, is that Australian by the way?" He rambles, in a manner indicative of his shy nerdishness.

"Ah... That's what I miss... All the compliments, after a while all you get from your partner is, 'you're sub-par' and 'I feel like there are many areas of you in which I would like to change'. I miss being told how good I look, how young I am." I sigh loudly in exasperation.

"Well I believe that if you truly love someone, then it's impossible to forget to compliment them, because you can never truly get used to something you know is so special and important to you."

"You've never been in love have you?" I joke to his embarrassment.

"I have, but no one has ever reciprocated is all." He blushes.

I stop in my tracks and grab his arm, pulling him towards me and kissing his cheek.

"You're sweet and that's nothing to be ashamed about." I whisper.

"Thanks." He replies, but he doesn't make any attempts to move away from me.

"Remind me again of the particular adjectives you used to describe me?" I ask him seductively.

"Beautiful?"

"That's the one." I say as I lean in and kiss him, plunging our lips together.

I move my hand from his arm to his neck and deepen the kiss slightly before pulling away as a strong surge of guilt washes over me.