Complicated ✔

Ch. 4 - Can't Sleep

KATHRYN'S POV

It was later that night, everyone else had gone to bed but I was still wide awake. I couldn't sleep, no matter how hard I tried. So I sat at the table in the RV, my back facing the door and keeping an eye out for Dale to wake up as I had something in my hands that no one other than Dad knew about, my gun. On my 18th birthday, he took me to get it and my permit for it but he's been teaching me to shoot without Lori knowing since I was 15. I had a little lantern sitting on the table top for some light as I took the clip out of the gun and check the chamber to make sure it was completely harmless before I started messing around with it. Shortly after getting it, Dad taught me how to clean it, take it completely apart and then put it back together. This was the only thing that kept my mind off of losing my dad really, just taking the gun apart then putting it back together just to keep myself busy.

I don't know exactly how long I had been doing that before I heard the RV door open and then close. I quickly looked over my shoulder startled as I saw Glenn walking into the RV. "Hi," I said looking at him just a little confused. "Saw the light," he whispered as he pointed to the lantern beside me, "can't sleep?" "No," I said shaking my head and motioning for him to take the seat in front of me before I went back to putting my gun back together. "Where'd you get the gun," he asked as he sat down, watching me put it back together. "It's mine," I said not looking up, "my dad got it for me for my last birthday. Lori and Shane don't know about me having it although Shane knows Dad took me shooting for years before getting it for me." "So why doesn't Lori know you have the gun," he asked cocking his head to the side with nothing but curiosity on his face.

GLENN'S POV

"She doesn't like guns," Kathryn said looking up at me with just her eyes before going back to her gun in hand, "and now with what happened to Dad before this all happened, she'd kick mine and his ass right now if she knew I had this. I don't really care anyway. I know how to use it, Dad taught me himself." "You really looked up to him didn't you," I asked as I watched her sit the reassembled gun down on the table and lowered her head. "Yeah," she mumbled, "after graduation I was going to go work at the precinct with him for the summer before college. Maybe after graduating there I'd go to the academy so I could work with him when I was done with my schooling." "So you were going to be a cop," I asked as she looked up and smiled. "Yeah," she said nodding, "Lori didn't like that idea too much. Especially when I told Dad with her right there in the same room so she could hear too."

"Do you do everything just to tick her off," I asked laughing quietly. "Not everything," she said shaking her head with a small smile, "I want to do a lot of things that she doesn't like. Like me having this gun which I should probably go hide again. Be right back Glenn." I nodded and watched as she picked up the clip and her gun before standing up and walked back towards where the beds were. I felt kind of bad for the girl. She thought of herself as being completely alone in this world now that her dad was dead. She admitted that she had her little brother and as long as he was here she'd stick around but if he wasn't she would be gone. When I heard her footsteps coming back, I looked up to see her trying to force a smile on her face.

"You should really try and get some sleep Kathryn," I said looking up at her as she stopped by the seat I was sitting in. "I know but every time I try I just keep seeing my dad's face," she said as her smile fell from her face and she looked down to her feet. "Would you like me to sit with you," I asked looking up at her, "until you fall asleep?" "You can," she whispered, "I just don't want you to feel uncomfortable doing that." "I offered," I said smiling as I held my hand out to her, "come here." I watched as she smiled at me and took my hand, allowing me to pull her down to sit beside me. As she sat down, she scooted against me and rested her head on my shoulder so that I could wrap my arm around hers. "Get some sleep," I whispered as I watched her eyes grow heavy with sleep before completely closing.

KATHRYN'S POV

I woke up to the sun shining in my face from the window I was facing. I sat up in bed, not even remembering how I got there until the memory of not being able to sleep and Glenn sitting with me came rushing back. I felt a blush creep up onto my cheeks as I realized I must have fallen asleep on him shortly after his offer to sit with me until I did go to sleep. I figured he must have carried me to bed shortly after then left to go back to his tent. After getting the blush to disappear from my cheeks, I stood up and got dressed into some clothes similar to what I wore yesterday so that I could join the world of the very few left living even though it now seemed to be the world of the dead.

After slipping my boots on and standing up, I turned around and grabbed my gun that I had stuck under my pillow last night and slipped it into the waist band of my shorts and pulled my top down over it. Running my fingers through my hair as I walked out of the RV, I quickly pulled it up into a messy bun and looked around to figure out just what I was to do today. Spotting Glenn over near Dale and some other man I think named Jim, I walked over to at least say thanks for sitting with me last night. As I walked over, I glanced around and spotted one of the two brothers from yesterday, the one who seemed to have a crossbow welded onto his shoulder. When the man seemed to be moving to look up, I quickly looked away, feeling yet another blush color my cheeks for almost getting caught staring.

When I got to where Glenn, Dale, and Jim were standing in front of the RV, I tapped on Glenn's shoulder again and asked to speak to him alone. Once he nodded and motioned for me to lead the way, I led us away from the rest of the group so that we were well out of ear shot around the others. "About last night," I said looking up to him after we came to a stop, "thanks. For staying with me until I could fall asleep." "Hey it was no problem," he said smiling, "I'll be here if you need me for something like that, okay Kathryn. Don't be afraid to ask." "Thanks Glenn," I said smiling as I moved forwards and wrapped my arms around his neck as his went round my midsection.

I opened my eyes while still in Glenn's warm hug but my eyes landed on one person in particular when I felt like I was being watched. And I was being watched, by that one brother. I locked eyes with him for just a second before I turned my attention away from him and pulled out of Glenn's hug to give him a warm smile. I opened my mouth ready to say something to Glenn when I heard my named being called, by you guessed it Lori. "Gotta go," I sighed as I looked up at him with a just kill me now look on my face earning a laugh from him. I smiled one last time at him before turning away and walking over towards my annoying step-mother.

LORI'S POV

"What," Kathryn growled at me once she was in front of me after walking away from Glenn, crossing her arms and sticking her right hip out like she was something else. "You're going to help me and the other women with the laundry," I said ignoring her rudeness because it obviously wasn't going to go away, "Carol, Andrea, and Amy are already down by the water washing some clothes. Our job is to help Jacqui to fold the ones that are already dry and wait for them to bring up the newly washed clothes. Now c'mon." I heard her groan out as she followed me over to the makeshift clothes line that the others had set up before our arrival to the group. I smiled and greeted Jacqui as Kathryn walked by us and got straight to work pulling the dried clothes off the line and folding them.

I glanced over at Kathryn at one point, when we all had started tending to the laundry, to see her glancing up every now and then from the clothes in her hand before looking back down at them and folding them. When she glanced up again, not even ten seconds later, I looked up to see just what it was that had her attention. Thinking I'd see Glenn in her line of sight, I was proven wrong when I spotted that one redneck, Daryl, sitting by where one of the fires burn and skinning one of the many squirrels he had around him. "Kathryn I want you to stay away from that man," I said looking back to her and catching her completely off guard.

"I don't know what you're talking about," she said shaking her head with her eyebrows raised and going back to folding the shirt in her hand. She proved otherwise when a few seconds later she was looking up at that man again. "Kathryn," I said more sternly causing her to turn a glare my way. "You're not my mother," she said glaring fiercely, "and I'm 18. I can do whatever the hell I want to." I watched as she threw the shirt she had been folding down into the basket with the other clothes and stomped off away from me, and down to where the water was. I sighed and shook my head, I was getting absolutely nowhere with this girl and anyone with eyes could see that.