𝒍𝒐𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒂 ➶ [ s. walsh ]

x. | ❝ i'm sorry that my period is inconveniencing you. ❞

LOLITA.
x. | ❝ i'm sorry that my period is inconveniencing you. ❞

✧

CASSANDRA WAS JOLTED AWAKE as she felt a dull stabbing pain in her abdomen, a half-murmured curse automatically leaving her lips when she remembered that she was meant to be on watch while Shane slept soundly in the backseat of the car. And if the steady throbbing and clenching in her stomach wasn't enough, the pretty redhead was also faced with a distinct - and undeniably familiar - twinge in her lower back.

A thin sheen of sweat broke out on her smooth forehead and she exhaled quietly, every single muscle in her body tensed and aching. The pair had been on the road for just two days, and they had almost reached their destination. The last thing Cassandra wanted to deal with was the Red Devil - particularly in the presence of a male, and a hot male, at that.

The realisation dawned upon her that she had no tampons, no pads, and no painkillers. What a time to be alive, she thought to herself. It's like being back in the Dark Ages. Since there was nothing Cassandra could do about 'having the painters in', as she had often called it, she simply curled up on the passenger's seat silently, doubled over in pain and praying for dawn to break at last.

***

"Shane?"

"Mmh?"

Cassandra fidgeted uncomfortably, feeling her cheeks flush as she imagined how much of a state her underwear was in. "Can we- Can we stop off somewhere? I think we're in need of some, uh.... Supplies."

"What're you talkin' about?" Shane replied distractedly, his dark whorls trained on the road ahead of them. "We've got plenty."

"We need more."

The curly-haired sheriff's deputy rolled his eyes, an exasperated sigh escaping his lips as he shot a fleeting glance in her direction. "Darlin'," he began, taking on the kind of tone that let her know just how much she was trying his patience. "The amount of damn food we have in the trunk.... And let's face it, we'll probably arrive at Fort Benning sometime tonight. We don't need no more supplies."

Cassandra decided to try a different tack. "I need to take a piss."

"A piss," he repeated, an eyebrow raised. He simply shook his head, letting out a low chuckle. "Well, firstly, you need to act and talk more like a lady. And second, you can 'take a piss' in a minute - I'll pull up and you can go do it in the woods."

The brown-eyed beauty scowled, pressing her thighs together firmly. "I want to use proper facilities," she snapped. "I'm not squatting over a bush again - last time I almost got brambles up my arse."

"Jesus Christ, girl," Shane muttered under his breath, lifting a hand to rub the back of his head agitatedly. "Hell's wrong with you? Y'all on your damn period, or somethin'?"

Cass didn't respond - well, not verbally, at least. She sat in silence, a stony look on her face as her penetrative gaze burned holes into Shane's skin, until the dark-haired deputy finally got the message and turned his head to glance at her briefly. "What-? Oh, you have gotta be kidding me...." he groaned, the realisation finally dawning upon him. "This is not ideal."

"Oh, well, I'm sorry that my period is inconveniencing you," she snarled, her words winging their way towards him in an irritable frenzy. "What do you expect me to do? Free-bleed?"

"Alright, alright. We'll stop off at the next gas station."

They didn't speak to one another in that long forty minutes before Shane finally pulled up beside a small, grimy building with a couple of petrol pumps placed strategically on the stretch of asphalt outside.

"Right," Shane began quietly. "You got your knife? I'll go in first. You see anything, you kill it. No hesitation. Need my help, you holler for me. Got it?"

Cassandra nodded, taking a deep breath before clambering out of the passenger side of the car. The pair approached the building slowly, pausing outside the entrance momentarily with their knives raised.

Her dark-eyed saviour nudged the door open with his foot, stepping inside with a look of intense concentration plastered across his chiselled features. Cassandra followed, her molten chocolate orbs flickering over her surroundings intently. The sound of a low, raspy growl caught the strawberry blonde's attention and she snapped around to find herself faced with the pungent scent of rotting flesh, and an emaciated walker heading straight towards her with his crumbling arms outstretched.

Driven more by fear than instinct, Cassandra grasped the collar of the geek's checked shirt and plunged her knife into the side of his head with an involuntary cry. Her eyes watered at the sheer stench of death and decomposition that flooded her nostrils as she allowed the limp corpse to drop to the ground with an unceremonious thud, steadying herself against a nearby shelf and glancing down at her blood-splattered hand, trying to catch her breath.

"Good girl," Shane praised from just a few feet behind her. He had been standing there all along, knife poised, ready to step in if needed. His facial expression was somewhat unreadable; a mixture of amusement and admiration tracing his handsome features. It was strange how he didn't seem affected by these things anymore.

Cassandra swallowed, pausing momentarily before straightening up and meeting his penetrative gaze boldly. "Are there any more?"

The curly-haired deputy shook his head, his eyes still trained on hers. "Go get what you need. I'll be waitin'."

An almost grateful smile curled across her plump lips, and she turned on her heel, heading straight for the pharmaceutical section. Upon her return, laden down with heating pads, ibuprofen, and various boxes of pads and tampons, the first thing she noticed was Shane leaning in the doorway of the small shop, two large bags at his feet and a merry glimmer in his eye.

"Hey," he greeted lowly, reaching up to run a hand through his hair bashfully. "I, uh.... Got you some chocolate."

⠀༚⠀⠀༷⠀⠀ྃ