new beginnings

First Watch

Morning finally came after the terrible night's sleep we had in that crammed truck.

It was a really hot night, and five people in a truck with the windows up and the A/C not on, because the battery would die, didn't make it any better.

Jessie was the first to fall asleep, then Dad, then Daryl, then Ron. It was so hot I volunteered to keep watch just so I could get out of the truck. I sat for a few hours enjoying the occasional breeze that went by.

I got so tired I went back in the truck and woke up Ron, since he was supposed to take next shift. He groggily got out since he was tired.

I eventually fell asleep after staying awake in the hot truck for what seemed like hours.

Daryl woke us up, as he was the first awake.

"Rise n' shine!" he yelled, trying to be funny.

I moaned at the sound of his loud voice.

"Please, just a little longer!" I whined.

"Nah, kid. There ain't nothin' around here, but we think we got enough stuff, we ain't get no clothes though," his overly southern voice explained.

I grumbled and sat up, a sweaty mess from the restless night.

"Morning," Dad said to me.

I saw that Jessie was just waking up, and Ron was already awake.

"How was your rest, sleeping beauty?" Ron mocked me and smirked.

"Ha ha. You're too funny. And it was terrible. Too hot. Your snoring didn't help either," I mocked back and laughed, trying not to look flirty.

"Ha ha," he said and turned his head away from me, hiding his smile.

"Man, you two are acting like brothers already!" Dad laughed and gave a look to Jessie.

Brothers? I couldn't be "brothers" with Ron. I wasn't crushing on a "brother"!

Ron turned to me, and gave a look that showed that he was just as uncomfortable as me. I didn't know how he felt about me other than as a friend.

We drove back in silence and got out of the truck once we got there. We unloaded our findings and brought them to Denise's garage.

After we were done Dad ordered Ron and I to watch the walls until lunch.

We walked over to the ladders together and went up to the walls, and the first minutes were silence, until Ron spoke up.

"I keep replaying what happened in my head from yesterday. I keep asking irrational questions to myself, too, as crazy as it may sound," he looked down, embarrassed.

"It's not crazy at all. I do that too," I truthfully said. He gave me a relieved look.

"Thanks again for doing that," he smiled a little.

"You're welcome. I wouldn't have let you get hurt," I gave him a sincere smile.

"I would've helped you if you were in that position, but you're great at protecting yourself. I'm sure I'll never be able to save you or help you like you did me. Hell, you've only known me for a few weeks, and you've already saved my life," he exclaimed.

"Are you kidding me? I have so many close calls on my record. I can't tell you how many times the people in my group have saved me. And I'm sure you'll save me sometime, positive," I nodded at him and he half-smiled.

I noticed we were getting increasing closer as we talked, and pretty soon, we were side by side, laughing together.

"Tell me you've had problems with girls, I sure do. My main problem is that they die, honestly. And I've had maybe two girls since this all started. Enid broke up with me just a few days ago," his voice sounded disappointed.

"Well, I kind of had a girlfriend a few years ago, but nothing more than that. Why'd Enid break up with you?" I asked.

He lowered his voice and got a little closer. "Alright, I don't know if I can trust you enough to tell you why, but you're my friend, so I will. Can you keep a secret?" he asked.

"You can tell me anything," I said. I was excited that he was sharing something with me.

"Okay, so... I kinda... knocked up Enid. On accident," his eyes darted to the ground.

I was taken aback for a second.

"Really? What're you going to do?" I felt concerned.

"No clue. We were going to get some pills so it'll be over with, but we never got to go into the pharmacy yesterday, so I couldn't. And she hasn't been out for a supply run, ever. I don't know what to do. My mom is going to be mad as hell if she finds out," his voice grew with worry.

"Well, maybe we can try to go get some pills. Go outside the walls," I said. It sounded crazy to me, and I was the one who suggested it.

"How? We aren't allowed out. What if they find out we're gone?" he asked.

"Here's the plan, we crawl under the gates of the opening, and go out. I saw this pharmacy about a half mile from here. If we run, we'll be back in twenty or thirty minutes, just enough time to go out and back. I have my handgun and my knife on me right now, so we'll be alright. And, we can say the area was clear so we went... outside the walls to read comics. Perfect. Let's go," I said and tugged on his sleeve to follow me down the ladder.

He hesitated, and then went down the ladder. I knew it would be risky, but if it works out, he might like me more.

The things you do for boys.