Trauma And Trouble- A Before You Exit FanFic- Book 2

Part 10- Shirtless

     "Wow, thanks bro. So how much damage did the bombs do?" I asked both Toby and Lindsay as I looked around the house, examining all the charred furniture. I then looked up and there was no roof…great.

     Lindsay was the first to answer, "They destroyed every building in San Dally, that means all the food too. It’s a good thing you thought of putting it in the basement."

     "Wow." Was simply all I said. ‘What are we gonna do? We have no food and no shelter, I have no clue about water.’

     "I'm going to go for a walk." Toby told us. "I’ll see if I can find some food."

     "Take my dad’s pistol, just in case." Lindsay told Toby. Then she ran upstairs and came back with a gun.

       My eyes widened, ‘Why would her dad have a gun?’

     “My dad was a cop.” She said, noticing my expression.

     "Okay, I'll be back in about an hour or so. Lindsay, you stay here with Riley."

     Then Toby left through an elephant-sized hole in the wall with the gun clutched in his left hand.

     "Hey Lindsay," I began, "How many days has it been since New Years?"

     "Be right back." she replied. She came back, holding a small calendar with large X's on every past day. "It’s the 18th day."

     "How much longer do you think it'll be until we find more people?" I questioned Lindsay.

     "I don't know. But we had better steer clear of those people who are trying to kill us. Maybe we should try to get you to sit on the couch."

     "Okay." was all I said in reply. I was still laying on the coffee table but I was scared to move. You know when you hurt yourself and you’re scared to move? This was one of those situations.

     Then without hesitation, Lindsay grabbed my right hand with her left hand and said, "Push." I pushed off the table using my left hand. When I finally stood up, Lindsay put her right arm tenderly around my back and my left leg was in agony! I would've collapsed if Lindsay weren't beside me for support. She noticed I couldn’t hold myself up very well so she helped me slowly sit down on the couch. I slumped down onto it like a puppy on a soft pillow. Expect this 'pillow' wasn't so soft. My back hurt the most because when I landed on the table and broke it, I landed on my back. She softly removed her arm from behind me and let go of my hand.

       “No.” I said and took her hand back into mine.

       “I’ll be right back Riley.” She said and forced me to let go. Lindsay went and got a wet cloth and some Band-Aids to clean up the cuts on my back. She returned and asked, “Could you…uh…”

       I knew this was gonna be an awkward moment considering last time she saw me shirtless, I wasn’t just shirtless. I began to lift up my shirt and I knew her eyes were on me. I tossed it on the floor and looked at her, she was staring at my body. I liked it…I really liked it.

       As soon as she realized what she was doing, her cheeks went red, “Sorry.”

       I chuckled, “It’s okay.”

       Next I laid on my stomach and let her do what she had to do. It stung like crazy just like before but I sucked it up.

     "Thanks a lot Lindsay it feels so much better." I replied when she had finished. I put my shirt on and felt the awkwardness in the air dissipate.

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Sooooooo...hi

Do you think Toby will find any food? Or do you think they're doomed?