Maybe

Chapter 22

I felt a single tear roll down my cheek and splash onto the dirty linoleum floor of the abandoned grocery store. I knelt down next to Ethan and brushed the hair back from his face.

"Olivia..." Grayson said quietly

"Don't." I said

"Don't what?" Grayson asked

"Don't say that our only choice is to abandon him. Don't pretend that you know what's best for the person who you tried to kill less than an hour ago." I said, "I will figure this out."

"And, what's your plan?" He asked

"I don't know Grayson!" I said

"He's going to turn... you know that right?" Grayson asked

"He might not! He might be immune like you! I mean you guys are twins." I said

"We can't take that chance." Grayson said

"So what? You want to just leave him outside to die?" I asked

"We have to think about what's best for us now. If he turns and is still in the same room as us, he will kill us." Grayson said

"You don't know that!" I yelled at him

"Olivia, come on." Grayson said as he started standing up to move him

"Over my dead body." I warned him

Grayson sighed and ran his hand through his hair in annoyance.

"Fine! We will lock him in the office for a week tops! If he hasn't turned by then, we can go in and get him." Grayson said

I agreed and we set about trying to drag Ethan into the office. Grayson and I each took an arm and after a few minutes of pulling as hard as we could. We set him in the corner of the office and I placed a blanket over him. On the way out Grayson grabbed a key and closed the door tightly behind us. After we were both in the main area of the store Grayson locked the door, leaving Ethan behind it. There was a long window on the door that stretched from the top of the frame to the floor. I decided to set up my bed right under it.

"You know, if he turns, he's gonna be able to break through that window." Grayson said

"Shut up, Grayson." I said as I lay down on my makeshift bed and turned to face the dirt covered window.

I lay on my side and watched Ethan as he slept soundly in the corner of the office. I kept my gun close to me, not trusting a single move of Grayson's.

"Just so you know, I didn't shoot him on purpose. And, I did mean to shoot the guy that I killed down in the cellar, not my own brother." Grayson said

He was leaning against the wall about 50 feet from me, staring into space.

"How come I still don't trust you?" I asked

Grayson shrugged.

"So how did Ethan end up with a bullet from your gun in his leg then? And why did he cover for you?" I asked

"He could tell that you didn't completely trust me and he thought that if he told you that I shot him, even if it wasn't on purpose, you would kick me out or something." Grayson said

"Well, he was right. I'm very close to kicking you out right now." I said

"Ethan went out to get water from this lake close by. On his way back I caught sight of a bunch of walkers around him. I yelled at him to hurry up, but that just made the walkers come closer to him. I tried to shoot the one closest to him, but I missed and accidently shot his leg. I'm not exactly the most accurate shot." Grayson explained

"Hmm. Then how come you wanted me to leave him earlier today?" I asked

"I knew that that's what he wanted. If he had been bit, he didn't want to risk turning into one of those things and hurting you." Grayson said

"How do you know that?" I asked

"Oh we had a long talk about you last night." Grayson said with a smirk on his face

"You did?" I asked even though I already knew what they were talking about

"He really loves you, you know." Grayson said

"I know. I don't think he knows that I feel the same way though. I've never had the chance to tell him. Now, I don't think he ever will." I said

"Don't worry... he knows." Grayson said

I thought about everything Grayson had just told me. It seemed like he was telling the truth, but that doesn't mean I trust him all of a sudden.

"Is everything you're telling me the truth?" I asked

"Yes. I wouldn't intentionally do anything to hurt my brother, or the person he loves." He said

"Ok then. This doesn't mean we are anything close to friends though." I said

"Acquaintances?" Grayson asked

"Allies." I decided

"Deal." Grayson agreed

We both sat on our beds in silence contemplating this newly formed relationship until I heard someone stir in the office. I turned around to look through the window and saw Ethan trying to sit up in the corner. He looked around the room confused before his gaze landed on me. He tried to stand up until he winced from the pain in his leg and fell back to the ground. I had to help him, he looked miserable. I stood up and placed my hand on the doorknob.

"What do you think you're doing?" Grayson asked firmly

"It's obvious he hasn't turned yet, I'm just gonna help him to the door and come back out." I said

"Ok, but be careful." Grayson said

"Yeah, yeah." I said waving him off

I turned the handle and walked inside the stuffy office and to Ethan.

"Hey. How are you feeling?" I asked as I knelt beside him

"Um... I've been better." Ethan said trying to understate his pain by laughing, "Why am I in here?"

I couldn't bring myself to answer him. I looked down at his leg and refused to look back up.

"Olivia?" Ethan asked as he forced me to look at him

"Um... no reason! You're going to be fine; we just thought you would be more comfortable in here. And now that I see that you are good, I'm just gonna go." I said as I started to stand up to leave

Ethan grabbed my arm and pulled me back down.

"Olivia...?" Ethan asked again

"What?" I asked even though I knew what he meant

"What's wrong with me?" Ethan asked

"You were bitten." I said barely above a whisper