Don't Be Afraid

Chapter 16

Issac's POV

Linda's asleep in the passenger seat, curled up into a little ball, with her hair in her face. I took over driving last night because she kept falling asleep at the wheel and I didn't feel like dying soon. She's been out for almost four hours.

I take a look in the mirror and see bruises on my face. I can't believe I did that. I almost killed Hunter and I didn't even realize it, let alone care. I only thought of hurting him. I kept seeing him pushing Linda over and over again, almost like it was on repeat in my head. The only thing that brought me back to reality was Linda. Her frightened screams and her tiny hands pulling me away made my heart break.

I hear her say something and it almost sounds like she's squeaking. "Linda?" She stirs a little in her sleep, almost like my voice had some affect on her. She quiets down and a after a few seconds I hear snores escape her mouth. I can feel a smile growing on my face.

I drive up towards a town and slam my foot on the brakes hard. Linda's head hits the dashboard and she wakes up screaming. She starts to say something to me, but the words die in her throat.  After a few seconds she follows my gaze and her face freezes. In front of us there's a hoard of zombies. There has to be at least fifty, maybe sixty. It's hard to count when they shuffle around.

"Back up! Drive! Something!" Linda shouts. I shake my head and realize what's going on. The zombies notice us and slowly make their way towards us. I throw the truck in reverse and push down on the gas pedal, speeding backwards. I turn the wheel, turning the truck around where the bed is facing the town instead of the front, and throw it into drive. I look in the rearview mirror and see the hoard far behind us, but, from what I can tell, they're still following us.

After a few minutes of speeding down the highway, I don't see the hoard anymore so I pull the truck over and turn it off. "Linda your head! Are you okay?" I wipe the blood away to reveal a big gash in her head. She must've hit harder than I thought.

"I'm fine. I'm fine." She swats my hands away and huffs in annoyance. "It's only a little blood. I'll be okay."

"It's a lot of blood. Let me help you-" I reach for her head again, but she slaps my hands away.

"I told you I'm fine!" She screams.

I drop my hands and scoot away from her. I take a deep breath and grip the steering wheel so hard that my knuckles turn white. She covers her mouth for a second, a look of regret on her face. "Issac I'm sorry. I didn't mean to yell at you. I'm just... I'm just tired." She rubs her eyes and sighs. "Mentally and physically."

I release the steering wheel and flex my fingers. "I know. I am too, but it doesn't mean I wouldn't accept help if it was offered." I mumble the last part to myself. She doesn't say anything, but her face forms into a frown. Instead of saying anything, I rev the engine and start driving again. I focus all of my attention on this. Maybe it'll distract me.

*1 Hour Later*

I drive down a dirt road. I figured there wouldn't be much zombies down in a holler. And even if there are, it's nothing compared to the towns we've been to. Linda isn't sleeping now. Now she's...she's just staring out the front window, like she's lost in thought. Her face holds no emotion, it's like a blank piece of paper.

"Linda? Are you okay?"

She shakes her head from side to side quickly and looks like I just woke her up. "Yeah I'm fine. I was just thinking."

"A penny for your thoughts?" I ask her. This earns a smile. It's a small one, very small, but it brought some life back to her.

"I was thinking about you actually and about what Hunter said." I can feel my heart stop. Like literally stop. I know the color has drained from my face.

I grip the steering wheel tighter. "Really? Why were you thinking about that?" I barely get the words out, but she didn't seem to notice my uneasiness or she just didn't want to call me out on it.

"Well...Hunter mentioned something about you being in love with me and I've been thinking about that. At first I thought he was lying just to confuse everyone, but then I remembered the look on your face and now...and now I'm thinking he was right."

You know that feeling when you've been hit or fall down and you get the breath knocked out of you? That's what I'm feeling right now. "What if I was? It wouldn't change anything." I choke out.

"That's also what I've been thinking about...." She takes a deep breath. "Stop the truck for a minute."

"Why?"

"Just do it." I listen to her and stop the truck. I turn it off and turn to look at her, but she's already holding my face and kissing me. I don't hesitate to kiss back. She has tears running down her cheeks. I don't know why, but I don't care and neither does she. I wrap my arms around her waist and pull her closer to me. She threads her fingers through my hair and holds it tight, almost like she's afraid of letting go. I can't blame her, because I'm holding on to her just as tightly.

After a few minutes she breaks away. ''I'm sorry. I just didn't know how to say how I felt. So I...I figured I'd show you. Issac... I think I love you too."

"Your way of showing it was pretty good." She laughs and I wipe the leftover tears away. She leans her forehead against mine. Her cheeks are a rosy red and her eyes are bright. I pull away and start the truck back up. "I hate to end this, but we need to get going."

She puts a hand on my arm and with the other, she turns the truck off, a mischievous smile on her face . "Or we could spend the night here." I freeze. She just laughs and pulls me down to where I'm hovering over her. The look in her eyes tells me everything I need to know. I cup her face and kiss her softly. She returns it, biting my lip playfully.
I pull away from her. "Oh it's on."
"Bring it." I kiss her again, but this time harder. She gasps a little, but returns it with equal force. I pull my shirt over my head and toss it aside. She looks me up and down with great interest. She imitates me, and pretty soon there's nothing separating us.
-

She traces patterns on my stomach, her head laying on my bare chest. I twirl her hair, enjoying the closeness. Finally she leans up and smiles. "I love you."

"I love you too."

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A/N

Happy birthday to me! Hey guys sorry for the late update. Hope you enjoyed and don't forget to vote! Bye!