“Then what’s the problem? I love you. You love me. Why not?”
“Oh trust me, I want to. More than you know actually. But I have to stay true to my promise to God.”
He twisted his purity ring in a way that made me believe him. I didn’t understand his ways but if it meant that much to him I would have to respect his wishes.
“Will you just hold me then?” I asked in a weak, defeated way.
“You know I will. I’ll be here until morning.” He curled up behind me on the oversized couch tucking the blanket underneath him. I’m guessing it was due to the temptation to stray from his promise. He placed his hand on my abdomen and quietly kissed my ear lobe. Then he moved his hand to my hair and began to caress my face. We laid there for a good hour only cuddling.
Then there was the interruption. There was always an interruption. Why couldn’t I just enjoy a night of cuddling with the love of my life? Was that too much to ask for?
The voices were muffled sounding and came from one of the bedrooms upstairs. I could hear what sounded like a scuffle and suddenly Brian noticed the noises too. On high alert, he quickly ran over to the window and grabbed one of the 22’s that sat there and bolted up the winding staircase.
I followed shortly after. We traced the sounds to Selena’s room. Suddenly it was quiet.
“Do you think she was just having a bad dream?”
“I don’t know. Better safe than sorry. Let’s go check it out.”
Brian slowly opened the door to find two figures moving in the darkness. I turned to the wall and quickly turned on the light. Nick was there half undressed on top of Selena. His shirt was removed and the zipper to his pants was unzipped. He was holding Selena down by her wrists so hard that her hands were purple and she obviously couldn’t escape his fierce grasp. The horror on her face was apparent.
“What in the HELL do you think you are doing?” Brian demanded in a rage. I had never heard him use a word like that before. I was shocked beyond all measure.
Nick jumped up off of Selena and quickly zipped his pants up. He was turning red and he had a look of pure guilt on his face. Selena laid there and cried, trying to cover herself. He responded with an attitude, “What does it look like to you?”
“Well it looks to me like you are forcing someone to do something they don’t want to do!” I raged at him.
“Oh, no! She wanted it! Just ask her! She’s been practically begging me!!!” He responded with an excited shake in his voice.
“Selena, is that true?” I asked her unbelieving his lie.
“It’s not true,” she began to sob and hid herself with her blanket.
Seth heard all the noise as well as some of the others and ran to see what was going on. He entered the room in time to hear her say that Nick was forcing himself on her.
Seth instantly became enraged and started shaking. He was in such a fury that he demanded everyone out of the room so he could speak to his brother. We obeyed his wishes but didn’t go very far. We could still hear the muffled screams through the door.
“What do you think you were doing? What could possibly have been going in your mind? She’s underage!” He raged at him through what sounded like clenched teeth.
“She wanted me bro,” Nick started, “She’s been giving me that stare since she got here.”
“Actually she said you disgust her. She see’s all those times you’ve been staring at her. You give her the creeps!” He yelled at his brother.
“That’s a load of crap and you know it! I would never hurt anyone. I promise dude, she told me she wanted me so I was gonna give it to her!” Nick argued back, trying to sound convincing.
Suddenly we hear a click, like someone cocking a gun. Next thing we know we hear a loud BOOM. Then we hear a body fall.
Shaking, I grabbed the door handle and tried to push it open but something was blocking the door. Who was injured? Was it Seth or Nick? Did we have a cold blood killer in the house? Would he hurt one of us next? Kill all the witnesses? My thoughts were running wild. Then Brian pushed up against the door and yelled, “Is everything ok in there?”
There was no answer but Brian managed to get the door to budge enough for him and me to get inside. We turned the corner and all I could do was stand there, frozen with shock.
Seth stood there as white as a ghost, hands shaking, holding a gun to his brother who was laying there on the floor. Nick was murdered and a bloody mess.
Brian calmly reached for the gun and with reassuring words grabbed it from Seth. I reached down for Nick’s pulse and there was none. He laid there dead with his eyes wide open in fear.
Seth had killed his pervert brother without blinking an eye. By then the rest of the house was in the hall due to the commotion. Aunt Brooke quickly led the new children to their bedrooms so they wouldn’t see what happened.
I grabbed Seth, who was blood splattered and took him outside to the gazebo to get some fresh air. I managed to get most of the blood off of his face with just a few wipes. The rest of the family stayed in the house while Brian debriefed them on the night’s events.
“Seth, what happened in there honey?”
“I don’t know. I just lost it. I couldn’t stand the look in his eyes when he lied about her wanting it. He kept saying it over and over and it was a FREAKING LIE!” He raged at the end.
“Honey, calm down. Let’s just calm down,” I tried my best to sooth him. He was an obvious mess. He was shaking and now he was crying uncontrollably. I held him and his tears stained my night shirt. I didn’t mind soothing him at all.
Brian came out to join us, worried about Seth.
“Hey buddy, you doin’ ok?” He asked wearily.
“Yeah, but I just killed my brother. So I don’t feel all that great,” he played down his true emotion.
“Well maybe I can get you something that will help you sleep. Would that make you feel better?” I asked out of sheer concern.
“Yeah.”
I quickly ran to the guest bathroom and got him a Xanax. Brian wrapped him up in my blankets on the couch and he was out within 20 minutes of taking the pill.
Chang and Zoe cleaned up the bloody mess and carried the body downstairs and into the shed. Zoe didn’t forget to leave a string of profanities behind her.
Selena spent the night in Aunt Brooke’s care that night and slept with her in her bed. Aunt Brooke was quickly becoming a mother to her too. She just had that way about her. Everyone trusted her nurturing instincts. I felt good with Selena in her care. We all knew she would be safe and comforted. Rudy was already in Chris’ room and hadn’t woken up during the whole ordeal. It was probably better that he didn’t know what happened anyway.
Confident that Seth was asleep, Brian addressed me. “Hey sweety, we need to try to get some sleep. Wana come with me to my room?” He smiled a nervous smile, really hoping I wouldn’t deny him. Secretly I could use the comfort and the distraction.
“Of course I do. I thought you would never ask,” I flirted and it probably wasn’t the best time for that.
Brian grabbed my hand and led me up the staircase and onto his bed. His bed was left untouched. His room smelled just like him and was in perfect order. I pulled the sheets and blankets back and hopped right in. His pillows smelled just like him and I could sleep with that manly scent in my nose forever.
We didn’t talk at first; we were shaken up by the night’s events. I tried not to think about it and decided to focus on being in this hottie’s bed with him. He held me so tight that I felt secure. I really needed that on a night like this.
“Do you know how much you mean to me?” He softly whispered in my ear.
“I think I do,” I nervously replied.
We paused for a moment to enjoy it fully.
“Do you know how much I love you?” He asked.
“Not a
s much as I love you,” I responded in a teasing manner.
He rolled me over to face him and looked deeply into my eyes. Then he laid an earth shattering kiss on my lips. It drove me into a frenzy but I was able to keep myself in control after the reminder he gave me earlier in the night.
He paused and grabbed my cheeks tenderly. “I don’t want this, you and I to end. Ever.”
“It doesn’t have to.” I replied.
“What are you saying?” He enquired of me.
“Let’s make sure it never ends.”
“Forever-I want you for mine forever,” he responded, hesitant. I could tell he wanted to add more.
“What is it?” I asked. I had to know what he was thinking.
He walked over to his dresser and pulled something out of his top drawer.
“I was going to save this for the right moment and I didn’t quite imagine it to be this way but I know that the time is right,” He smiled.
He turned on the lamp next to his bed to reveal that he was holding a ring. It had a huge princess cut diamond on it and it sparkled in the dim light. He dropped down to one knee and said, “Let’s make this last forever. I don’t want to live my life without you by my side. It’s cliché but you really do complete me. You are everything I’ve ever dreamed of. Bre, will you forever be my bride?”
I couldn’t speak. I wanted to cry. I sat there shaking in nervous excitement and a single tear managed to escape from my eye. He watched me with intense expectancy. I reached my left hand out and squealed, “YES!”
He joyfully slipped the ring on my finger. It fit perfectly. I used all my might and tried to yank him onto the bed. He kissed me tenderly for a good hour.
We paused to take a breather and he mentioned to me that it was his great grandmother’s wedding ring. The notion impressed me so much that I blushed and he took that opportunity to pull me back into our sleeping position. And so I happily spent what was left of the night in his ample arms.
I awoke the next morning to soft kisses on my shoulder. It startled me at first and then left me in a daze. I couldn’t have been dreaming last night could I? Did it really happen? Was I going to be Brian’s wife? My heart jumped and I opened my eyes to see if it was all real.
I found myself in Brian’s bed. We had not tainted his purity although I had wanted to, but he forever put a lock on my heart. He sealed it up to be his forever, and that’s exactly the way I wanted it to be.
He looked into my eyes with those sweet eyes that melted me and said, “Good morning gorgeous.”
I was forever his prisoner. I would stay locked up in his love forever. I didn’t ever want to escape this moment.
I smiled at him as he reached up to kiss my forehead. I laid there not wanting to get up. He ran to his bathroom and came back smelling like mouthwash. I did the same and climbed back into his bed with him. He started to tickle me so I tried to do it back but to no avail. There was no tickling him. It was fun playing around until he wrestled me onto my back and laid one on me. It was no longer fun, but more like tempting. He was tempting me to violate his agreement with God.
I gathered up the last bit of self control I had and climbed out of his bed. The clock said it was 11:59. Apparently we had slept the day away. I suddenly realized why. We had been up all night with a murderous situation. A knot grew in the pit of my stomach. I blew a kiss to my love and quickly exited the room.
I ran to my room and showered then forced myself downstairs to see if the situation was still under control.
Seth was still asleep where I left him and cuddled next to him was Selena. They weren’t in an uncompromised situation, but I could tell she just wanted to be near him for comfort. I could hear Aunt Brooke in the kitchen washing dishes and went in to get debriefed on the situation.
CHAPTER 20
ZOE
Nick was deader than a doornail. He attempted to rape Selena but Brian and Bre had stopped him on time. His brother Seth shot and killed him in a rage. The situation wasn’t any better this morning when I woke up.
I missed most of the excitement last night only waking at the end. Chang had quickly filled me in and I helped him clean up the mess including dragging the 160lbs of dead weight down the stairs and into the shed. Death didn’t bother me anymore; I was used to seeing dead bodies now. It’s amazing how life has changed so much in a year. Constantly seeing zombies and hunting them certainly has taken its toll on me.
Seth was sound asleep on the couch when I woke up and Selena woke shortly after. She looked like crap. I could see a sob rise in her throat as she seen Seth lying there. She cuddled up next to him and went to sleep. Those two had a bond. They were friends but I was suspecting something more was building. It was getting kind of pathetic with all this love in the air. It made me want to puke.
Bre slept the morning away. Where? Who knows. I finally saw her climb down the stairs a little after 12:30 in the afternoon. I found her in the kitchen with mom.
“Where did you sleep last night?” I grilled her.
“Um, yeah, Seth fell asleep in my bed so Brian and I shared his bed,” She answered sheepishly.
I gave her a confused look and answered with, “Oh.”
Brian had made it fully aware to everyone that he was saving himself for marriage and it was strange to learn she had slept with him in his bed last night. I wondered silently to myself if anything had happened between the two of them. She looked like she was hiding something. The conversation quickly turned off of her, it was clearly making her uncomfortable.
“So who is going to bury Nick?” She asked.
“I guess me and Chang could do it,” I offered.
“Should we do anything about Seth? He is probably going to take murdering his brother hard. I don’t blame him though, it’s not like we could call the cops on him and Nick would have raped her if we hadn’t been up to hear what was going on. She’s underage. And he is a sick pervert! What if he had tried that on one of the new girls?” she said in one breath.
“I don’t think we should do anything but try to comfort Seth right now,” Mom interjected.
Could any of us blame him? His brother was a pervert. He was also a jerk. He kind of had it coming.
“Ok, I’ll talk to everyone and make sure we are all on the same page. Besides, I think he will probably beat himself up enough over it anyway,” I concluded.
Chang and I spent the rest of the afternoon burying Nick. Seth, in a sleep haze suggested we bury him in Mr. Chang’s yard. He didn’t even want his body anywhere near him. Seth was far from regret over the situation. I couldn’t help but wonder why. There was something he wasn’t telling us. Maybe one day he would open up and let the secret out.
There was no service, just a burial. Seth didn’t even attempt to look out of the window, even. Everyone was in agreement that Seth wouldn’t be bothered over the situation and that was the end of that. But knowing Bre, she would talk to him and make sure he was ok. It was in her nature to do something like that.
Selena wasn’t herself over the next few weeks but she was a strong girl. She started to take her anger out on shooting zombies at the fence. We needed 24 hour monitoring now as they were stronger and were managing to jump.
The guys were busy on the next few tree houses. These were not going to serve as lookout posts. These would be homes if anyone should need them. They were being stocked with running water and toilet systems. Bre hung out with Brian as much as she could and that annoyed me. It bothered me that it annoyed me. I wasn’t quite sure why.
It was early December now and the weather was starting to get colder. Our alfresco dinners weren’t as often but tonight Bre prepared us a light dinner earlier as usual. She had something up her sleeve but I guess we would find out later what it was.
The evening started out as it usually did. Everyone served
themselves buffet style and settled in to eat. Finally Bre stood and said she had an announcement to make. Brian stood beside her.
Brian cleared his throat out of nerves. He couldn’t hide his emotions very well and he took the floor. “Listen, we have an announcement to make. Bre and I have decided to get married. We don’t want to make a big deal out of this and it is just going to be a quiet ceremony with family and friends.”
Bre blushed.
“Are you serious? I kinda knew this was coming,” Seth answered.
I sat there in shock. I had no idea they were that serious. I knew they were overly obsessed with each other but I had no idea it had come to this. I was happy for Bre though. If she was happy, I was happy. I couldn’t force away the nagging feeling in the pit of my stomach.
Zeke stood up and walked away. He wasn’t listening to this. It was obviously painful to him. After all, he had lost his new bride just a few short months ago to the “Z” virus.
Mom stood up and screeched, “OH MY GOD!” Then proceeded to hug them both ecstatically. The women squealed over the ring.
I followed behind her and made sure they knew I was happy for them.
That was the longest night ever. I stayed awake all night wondering why it bothered me so much.
I finally went to Bre’s room to talk to her about the whole thing. I realized why it bothered me so much. I didn’t want my cousin to hurt the way I seen it hurt Zeke. Nobody should be making a commitment like that right now. I needed to know what was going on inside her head.
I went to her room to talk to her. I knew she would probably be asleep already but she wouldn’t mind me waking her up. Lord knows how many times she woke me up when she mourned for her dad, and I never complained.
I knocked twice and she groggily answered, “Come in.”
She laid there half out of it and reached over to click the lamp that sat on her night stand.
“What’s up?” She asked nonchalantly.
“Listen, I know you were asleep but I really need to talk to you. Something is really bothering me.”
She patted her bed, “What’s wrong?”
“You are really going to get married?” I sort of asked.