ADRONITIS (II) : tmr minho

37: I could be Gripping

Leo 37

I sit down next to Teresa on the steps, unsure of what to say. Since she's only been up for a few days, I can't really comprehend how she is so attached to Thomas. It hasn't even been a few days, has it? Honestly, everything is blurring into itself, so it could be yesterday she came here, or it could've been a month ago.

"Whenever I sit here, someone comes to yell at me," I mutter, turning to face her. "It's not really the best place to sit in the middle of the day. People want to get by."

Teresa shrugs away from me, her hair wrapping around her and obscuring her dainty features. Does she realize I can see her?

"If you want though, I might be able to sick Michelle on whoever yells at us," I tell her. "It's kind of the only advantage to being a girl here. We've got Michelle to beat up anybody."

She looks over at me, then down at my hands. I can't help but recoil them on instinct. The burns that spot my skin are all too apparent. Jeff was right, they did heal white. Although, I've been in the sun so much with each passing day the juxtaposition grows stronger and stronger. Little traces of acid on my fingers.

"Who did that?" She asks, staring at them.

I've never really talked about it, especially not to a stranger. I don't think I told anybody, actually.

"Gally," if I want her to trust me, I've got to let her in. "He was mad at me, a while ago. It wasn't on purpose, but it wasn't an accident either."

She scoffs, before looking back at me. "And what did Michelle do to him for that?"

Nothing, but Teresa doesn't need to know that. Besides, I'm sure she has already figured it out, since Gally and Michelle were more than friends. There's no use bringing it up to Michelle now. Two of her best friends were just murdered, one night after the other. Now she's shucking blind.

"I never told her," I tell her. "Since I know she'd have killed him."

"Bit late for that," Teresa scoffs.

Yeah, I guess it is. Very soon though, this fighting between Teresa and Michelle is going to need to stop. The longer these days go on, the worse it is going to get. One boy a night, over and over again. Eventually, we are going to have to step in and do something. When that day comes, we have to all be in it. I can't handle having them bickering.

There's no use arguing about this. "I'm sorry about Thomas."

"I am too," she gets up, moving further away from me. "He's just so stupid. I can't believe he is so stupid."

She walks away from the Homestead, and I am forced to follow her. I wish Dawn was here, since she always seems to know what to say and do. I'm not very good at it. Besides, her and Michelle are the one's who have actually suffered loss, or close to it.

"They recover," I tell her, as if it means anything. "I watched Alby recover."

"Alby is crazy," she spits.

I can't argue with that. Everyone who remembers has gone nuts. Ben did, although he was nuts to begin with. Same goes for Gally. Alby simply got the push over the edge he needed. I don't really know any success stories, but I don't go around demanding to know who went through the Changing.

You wouldn't know it, but it's a rude thing to ask. Maybe because it insinuates someone is crazy. It's so personal.

"Thomas isn't like them," I don't really know Thomas.