JUST BREATHE (Rick Grimes Romance)

Chapter 6

The next morning I awoke to a gentle hand shaking me. Moaning I tried to crack open one eye. Rick was standing above me. His four o'clock shadow now darker and more defined. Man his beard grew quickly. Normally I didn't go for a man with facial hair as I by far preferred the squeaky clean, smooth as a baby's behind feel. Yet on Rick it made me want to rub my face against his.

As if realizing his hand was still on my shoulder he jerked his hand away. "Come on we better head back to the jeep. See if Michone and Tyres made it back"

Slowly I sat up and rubbed my face in my hands trying to wake up. Stretching I got up and wandered towards the bathroom. The walls were painted a light green and cute picture of babies adorned the walls. If I remember correctly the artist was Anne Getty. In the far right hand corner was a huge raised bathtub with slate marble surrounding it. Candles and flowers were placed along the ledges. In front of me was a long counter with two marble sinks. A thick beveled frame mirror ran the length of the counter. On the one side someone had written I WILL AlWAYS LOVE YOU in lipstick with a kiss imprint just below it. There was various hair brushes, makeup and related items placed neatly in baskets on the counter. Walking forward I picked up the can of mans shaving cream. Popping it open I inhaled the welcoming scent of Old Spice. When ever we went into an abandoned house I always wondered about the occupants. What they were like. Who they were and what was their story. Looking up into the mirror my eyes connected with Rick's. He had been watching me through the mirror.

Slowly he walked towards me, his eyes never leaving mine. Reaching out he took the can of shaving cream from me. Rolling the can in his hands the corner of his lip curved up. "I think it's the small things that I miss the most."

Did I ever know what he meant. At first I missed things like my cell or computer. Now 5 years later I would fight for things like toothpaste, deodorant and sharp razors. The basics you never gave a second thought about before were now a hot commodity. After loosing so much you defiantly begin to appreciate the small things in life. Any normalcy you could carry from your past life into the here and now became important no matter how small it was.

Handing it back he motioned to the door "Lets get going."

Grabbing the brush and pony from the counter I quickly pulled my hair up in a ponytail. When I was done I dumped the baskets into my backpack. Rick was in the kitchen holding his head in hands leaning against the counter. I could tell at some point he had cleared the house of any supplies we could take from the boxes beside him. Trying not to laugh I reached inside my bag and handed him the small bottle of Advil I had.

"Thank you." There was almost a smile and he was nearly blushing. "I want to go out the upstairs window. I've heard walkers all night. That way we can see where they are."

Handing my bottle back Rick grabbed the heavier boxes and headed for the stairs as I followed carrying cloth bags of food. At the top of the stairs was blood and bullet holes in the wall. We walked into what appeared to be a typical teenage boys room and out the window. As soon as Rick opened the window the muggy heat hit us like ton of bricks. It felt almost suffocating. Looking down I could see walkers all along the south side of the house.

"I'm going to jump down and get the walkers. I want you to stay here until I say it's safe. Then drop the supplies down to me." Setting the box down he started towards the edge of the roof.

"You know I can kill walkers too." Why did he think I was such an invalid? He had seen me kill walkers before so what was the problem.

"Look my head is pounding and it's hot as hell. I just want to find the other two. Can't you just do what I say for once without some big battle?"

With that he rolled onto his stomached, dropped his legs over the edge and disappeared. I was angry but I just let it go. I didn't have the energy to fight. It was going to be a long day in this heat. No instead I watched as Rick made short work of the walkers and signalled for me to come down. I went back inside and grabbed the sheets from the bed and tied them into a long rope. After I lowered everything down to Rick I jumped down myself. Wordlessly we walked back to the jeep. As we rounded the corner we could see Tyres and Michone waiting for us at the jeep.