Breathing the Dead ~ H.S

Chapter Fifty-Two

A/N: Happy New Year, everyone! :D (Unless it's still 2016 for some people lol) This chapter became pretty long, so I hope you enjoy :3 

CHAPTER FIFTY-TWO: FROGGY

Eric

I had to squint a little as I watched Liam come out of Laura & Harry's cabin with Lilly's carrier in one hand and her bottle in the other. It took me a while to realise that he was actually approaching me – which caused a small frown to furrow into my eyebrows.

"Hey Eric," he smiled down at me, "can you do me a favour?"

"What is it?" I asked him.

"Would you give me a hand with feeding Lilly? I have to get back to my patrol," He held out the baby bottle to me before anxiously biting his lip, "I don't think Laura's...quite come around to it yet."

"What?" I frowned even deeper as I took the bottle from him, "But...Laura never forgets to feed Lilly..."

"I know, mate. But take it easy on her. Let's not forget that she's having a rough time, eh? She's...she's in some sort of...seclusion, or something."

I bit my lip as Liam sat the carrier down in front of me. "Liam...is Laura going to be OK?"

Liam let out a long sigh. "She...should heal over time, but it's still gonna be quite a while until we get our old Laura back. If we get our old Laura back," he lowered his eyes, "you see, Eric...like all of us Laura's already lost a lot of people since this whole thing started. And Harry...Harry was pretty much the last straw for her. It's gonna take a while for her to get over that."

"Yeah...I guess. Laura...really loved Harry, after all..." I said with a sigh.

"That's right," Liam nodded, "and Harry really loved her. They were like two peas in a pod, him & her. After everything they both lost...a lot of their emotions went pretty...numb. But they taught each other how to love again, and how to never be afraid to love – even in a world like this. They meant everything to each other, Eric. That's why all of this has really taken a toll on Laura."

"But...Lilly's still here," I said quietly, "she can still love Lilly. I mean...she does still love Lilly, right..?"

"Of course she does," Liam nodded again, "but take a look at that little girl's face. She looks a lot like Harry, yeah?"

"Yeah," I nodded and smiled softly as I looked down at Lilly, "she really does."

"That won't be too easy for Laura to see at the moment. Nothing will ever stop Laura from loving her baby girl, but...that doesn't mean it won't be hard to look at her face after what she just lost. But Lilly is still the only piece of Harry she has left, and if she ever loses her...she'd be beyond devastated. So, until she starts to heal up a little, it's up to us to help her out, OK?

I nodded again. "Yeah. You're right."

"Good man," Liam smiled at me and patted me warmly on the back, "oh and er...by the way..." he cleared his throat, "with Laura being how she is...I don't think she's really that capable of defending herself, let alone Lilly or us. So...we have to protect her. And each other."

I frowned. "What are you saying?"

Liam bit his lip. "I know you won't be too fond of the idea, mate, but..." he took a deep breath, "I think we...should start teaching you how to defend yourself."

My eyes widened. "W...What..? Y-You mean with a-"

"A gun. Yes," Liam finished for me, "look, Eric, I...I know you've had a bad history with them, but...it's a survival skill you need to learn."