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"Now we have the perfect house for the two of you, it was supposed to be a disabled home so it's only one floor two rooms two bathrooms you guys will like it." Pandora stood at Troy's side as Aaron led them down the street to a small house with a few flower pots on a small ramp. "We can take the ramp out, there's stairs under it." The man added once he got on the porch using one of the two keys to open the door for them.
"All yours, take some time settle in. Pandora, I'll send your brother over here soon." The two nodded in sync as Aaron dropped the keys into the woman's palm before leaving them alone.
"Well now what?" Tory asked, his voice was quiet in a sort of whisper. Pandora simply shrugged entering the house her hand reaching back to land on her knife as she entered the living room. Her green eyes drifted back to the empty picture frames on a bench next to the front door.
Pandora jumped slightly at the sound of running water to see Troy standing at the kitchen sink water shooting out of it. "Happy birthday you get to take a shower it seems." The mans sarcastic words made Pandora laugh which lifted his spirits.
"Troy?" The man that was wondering down the hallways looked at her over his shoulder. "Hmm?"
"Are we doing the right thing?" Stopping his movements Troy looked at the woman before him who was staring at the hardwood flooring between them. Sighing the tall man approached her slowly. "Pandora." The girl refused to look up from the hardwood. She felt her heart race when she realized that this was happening, they wouldn't have to struggle to find a place to sleep, they wouldn't have to fight for food and water.
Pandora could feel herself struggle to find a breath at the thought of it. She would wake up in this small home with Troy right across the hall, the two of them would make breakfast and dance around to the music sitting on a shelf in the living room. They would go on walks together through the town, have dinner with her brother and Calum.
Pandora could see these things happening for them in the future, and that terrified her. The idea of having a chance at normalcy with those she loved only to know it was probably not going to last scared the living shit out of her.
"Pandora." Troy repeated resting his hand on her upper arm. Her green eyes met his and he knew that there was something deeply wrong going on in her head. Since she had taken care of him for so long he knew that it was his job now to watch her. "This will be good for us, we need this."
"But do we deserve it?" Troy paused for a moment before cupping the side of her face. "You do." The girl sucked in a deep breath as the man pressed his forehead against hers his green eyes closing. "Oh how you deserve this P." The two stood like that for few minutes, Troy's lips pressed against the girl's forehead his arms wrapped lightly around her and Pandora's small hands layed flat on his chest feeling his racing heart.
Little did she know she was the cause of its erratic beating.
-•-
Pandora heard him before she saw him, she heard his infectious laugh and it made her stomach swirl and her heart race. As Pandora and Troy walked through what seemed to be the busiest part of the community as people were surrounding them.
"Jared." The girl breathed out trying to find her brother. She accidentally shoved people out of her way but the girl couldn't find it in herself to apologize. Troy chased after her doing the deed in her place. "Jared!" Pandora called louder this time. The older boy turned around at the sound of his sisters voice, his breath caught in his throat.
"Pandora?" The mans voice cracked as he peeled away from Rick and Carl nearly sprinting at the girl. "Jared!" She beamed breaking out into a sprint. They both gasped when their bodies collided with each other.
"Oh my god, I thought you were dead." The girls brother gasped holding the back of her head as it was pressed firmly to the spot between his shoulder and neck. Her slender arms were wrapped so tightly around the man it almost hurt. "No. God no. Oh I love you." Pandora was sobbing as she grasped her brothers shirt trying to keep herself standing as her legs went weak. "I love you so much." He breathed pulling her closer to himself kissing the side of her head as his own tears fell down his face.
The two stood there in each other's embrace tears falling down their freckled and burned faces. Gasping for breath clutching the other's back trying to grasp reality and make sure that the other was really there and that they weren't going to disappear like last time. Neither wanted to pull away for the fear that the other would slip right through their fingertips.
Pandora and Jared Reed stood there in the boiling sun ignoring the people that had gathered around them staring with confusion or soft smiles at their reunion. Pandora felt her heart race in her chest in a way that it hadn't in so long. She knew it was because she was feeling simple joy an emotion that hadn't ran through her vanes since the first walker roamed the Earth. So she stood there and soaked it all up.
