Us Against the Apocalypse

11 - Matters of the Heart

'You're recovering your memories? That's priceless!'

'Alright, I get it...'

At this point, Nick's laughter didn't even seem genuine, and Bluebell had a feeling he was faking it in order to mock her. Ryder had stopped laughing a while ago now - he barely had in the first place; it'd just been a few chuckles to keep his companion happy.

Bluebell had decided to confront Nick an hour or so earlier and had found him just recently hiding from Leo. In Bluebell's eyes, Nick would always be one of the people she was closest to at the pool, and she'd rather he knew about her discoveries before anyone else.

Ryder's presence was just an added bonus, though Bluebell had managed to convince herself that she would've tracked him down anyway.

She was beginning to regret not bringing along Arlo.

'You're missing the point,' she declared tightly. 'Leo is literally my brother, and all you can think about is the plan to get my memories back?'

Nick stopped in his tracks and stiffened his shoulders. 'You and Leo are nothing alike,' he pointed out accusingly. 'It can't be a proper family relation. Half-siblings, I'm guessing?'

'Well yeah, kind of.' Bluebell had no idea how someone could so massively misinterpret a situation. Then again, she'd never met anyone like Nick before to begin with. 'We might not be biological siblings, but we've known each other long enough.'

'So why didn't he tell you about that when you first met?'

'That... That's none of your business.'

'Strictly confidential, eh?'

As per usual, Nick was giving Bluebell a hard time for the sake of it. The only thing that went against the norm was the fact that he wasn't encouraging Ryder to join in. The ordinarily uncomfortable comrade was merely observing the situation, cheering on Nick once or twice but saying nothing solid.

Bluebell wasn't quite sure whether to take it as a compliment or not. Nick might be in the mood to take all the credit today, or maybe he was being kinder and she was just unaware of it.

'So, tell me.' His sneer hadn't weakened, that was for sure.

'Uh-?'

'What're you gonna do to get back those memories? For all we know they could be gone for good and I'm sure as hell not wasting my time on getting them back.' Nick couldn't have made it clearer that he didn't fancy being a part of the experiment, but the fact he was asking at all hinted at a sliver of interest.

'We haven't fully decided yet,' Bluebell explained thoughtfully, 'but Leo suggested that we go somewhere I might remember. Like back to the house or something.'

'And the zombies?'

'Yeah, that's one of the key obstacles.'

Nick's intrigue had fought off his disrespect, for now at least. He'd somehow shuffled closer to Ryder, most likely sub-consciously, as he listened to what little Bluebell had to say.

'We're not planning on starting anything just yet,' she reassured him, though she wasn't totally sure it could be classed as reassurance at all. 'Leo has to figure everything out first and choose someone to lead while he's gone.'

'That someone certainly won't be me,' Nick answered despondently, placing a hand on Ryder's shoulder. 'But you can try out for it, buddy. You've never done anything against Leo and I can see you as a leader.'

'Umm... no... that's probably not such a good idea.'

Ryder, both Nick's pawn and one of the shyest people Bluebell had ever met, was remarkably unqualified. If he did get his hopes up, he'd probably be shattered into a million pieces before Leo even made a final decision. A small fragment of Bluebell wondered whether this was Nick's intention, but she was trying to rid herself of negative thoughts.