Maybe

Chapter 14

I woke up and stretched my arm out to find the cold sheets next to me. I shot straight up in bed as I looked around trying to find Ethan in the dark room.

"Ethan?" I whispered into the dark

My breathing started to quicken until I heard the bathroom door open and light flooded into the room. I saw Ethan emerge from the bathroom with a towel wrapped around his waist while drying his hair with another towel. I took a sighed in relief as I took in the sight of my partner.
"Sorry, I didn't think you would wake up, so I took a quick shower." He said

"No it's fine, I just didn't know where you were." I said

I watched as Ethan crossed the room and walked over to the window. He threw back the blinds and uncovered dirty glass before turning back to the makeshift dresser to find his clothes. I couldn't help but stare at him. He had just cut his unruly hair and washed off all of the dirt and grime that settled on everything in the apocalypse. I could only imagine that this is what he looked like before the end of the world. He was even more handsome than I thought he was. The apocalypse had put muscle on him and had given him a sort of rugged look and I couldn't help but think how attractive he was.

Life almost felt... normal. I could imagine a life where it was just him and me. A life where I sat on the steps of a farmhouse letting the sun burn my skin as I watched my children play in the grass.

My normal life was cut short though as I heard Ethan speak.

"Um... I'm gonna get changed." He said awkwardly

"Oh yeah, I guess I'll go shower." I said as I made my way to the bathroom

I got undressed and turned on the sputtering shower. I stepped in and let the cold water rush over me. There were no water heaters in the apocalypse, but I thought of the cold water as refreshing. The dirt clung to me like a virus. I scrubbed my body until I had taken off at least a layer of skin. After I emerged from the shower I grabbed a pair of scissors and went to work on my matted hair. By the time I got all of the knots out, my hair had shrunk about a foot. It was not a little past my shoulders. I felt relieved, like a weight had been lifted off of me. I hadn't cut my hair since before the apocalypse so it felt like I had gotten rid of an old part of me. When I emerged from the bathroom Ethan stared at me in shock.

"Wow!" He said

"What?" I asked

"Your hair!" He said

"Yeah, I guess it was time for a change for both of us." I said

He ran a hand through his hair and smiled up at me.

"Yeah, I guess."

There was a silence as we both contemplated speaking what neither of us wanted to say. Finally, I spoke up.

"So, how are we going to get out of here?" I asked

"I have no idea." Ethan sighed "But we can't brainstorm on an empty stomach, I'll go try to get us some food from downstairs."

"Ok, I'll come too." I said

"No, just stay here I'll get it." He said

"We don't leave each other alone in this house... ever." I said

"Ok fine, but be careful and don't do anything stupid." He said teasing me

I rolled my eyes as we made our way out of the bedroom. We walked down the stairs and into the kitchen. Ethan went straight to the fridge and I followed him. It was weird that no one was anywhere to be found so I watched Ethan's back as he searched the fridge.

"Hey, grab this for me." Ethan said as he passed me a can of food

I turned to Ethan and grabbed the can before I turned back to face the kitchen door and found a large man standing in the entrance.

"What do you two think you are doing?" The man said

Ethan spun around so fast he dropped the cans he was holding.

"Getting food, you can't just keep us here without feeding us." He said

"Well here, you have to earn that food. Come on, we're leaving." He said

"Where are we going?" I asked

"Don't ask questions." He said

I looked over at Ethan and he nodded towards the man telling me to follow him. I walked out of the kitchen and towards the front door. There was a group of men and one woman standing at the door waiting for us.