Wake Me When It's Over (Book Three)

Prologue

If someone were to ask me about what my biggest fear was when I was little, I would say, "Heights." I was the kind of person that, as scared as I was, was also incredibly determined to conquer my fears.

Time and time again, I climbed up the zip-line tower or jumped off the five metre high dive; all because I wanted to prove that I could conquer the thing that scared me most.

Life changes quite a bit, doesn't it?

Fears can consume you if you don't work through them, and my fears have become a lot more difficult to work through than a simple fear of heights.

My situation isn't the most ideal. Being pregnant in the middle of an apocalypse certainly is a journey, but I'm working through it.

What are my fears now?

Losing my unborn baby.

Losing my husband.

Losing.

Loss.

It's unavoidable, but I think that's the scariest thing of all.

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I feel the bed shift next to me, jolting me from my restless sleep. Daryl's strong arms surround me gently as he buries his nose in my hair, taking a deep breath. His hand falls to my baby bump which, at fifteen weeks along, has just appeared underneath my shirt.

"Angel? You awake?" he mumbles.

I smirk. "No."

He pulls me closer, nuzzling my neck. "How about now?"

"Mm...still no."

He pecks my cheek, moving his hands down to my waist. Before I know it, he's tickling me.

"GAH!" I yelp, trying to squirm away. "DARYL! DARYL, STOP!"

Even if I try to get away, he keeps me in place, grinning the whole time. When there are tears of laughter streaming down my face and I'm gasping for breath, he stops.

"You awake now?" he asks. I narrow my eyes, and he laughs. "Didn't know you're so ticklish."

"Well, I am."

He smirks, snuggling me closer to his chest. I yawn.

"I can't sleep," he whispers.

I look outside at the still dark morning sky, holding back another yawn.

"Why?"

"I keep thinkin' about what we're gonna name the baby," he replies, tilting his head a little as he looks at me.

I smile. "I thought you liked the name Taylor."

He nods. "Yeah, but I wanna hear if you have any other ideas."

I shut my eyes, thinking of the hallucination I saw after Buttons threw me.

"Well...I kind of like Melody," I whisper.

He arches an eyebrow. "Where'd you think of that?"

I blush a little. "Um...I sort of had a hallucination...when I was in that ditch," I admit. "You were holding a little girl named Melody Taylor Dixon..."

He chuckles, like he's remembering something. "So...you're our hope, all we need is a song?"

I shove his arm playfully. "Look at you, Mr Philosophical."

He shrugs. "I like that name, for a girl, at least."

"You pick for the boy."

He smiles. "Chase." He pauses. "You pick a middle name."

My heart flutters when I think of my dream. Chase.

"His middle name should be...Theo." I frown a little as I think. "But...Chase Theo doesn't sound right. Theo Chase does, right?"

"I like that."

I lean over and press a kiss to the corner of his mouth. "I like you."

He hugs me tightly, letting out a long intake of breath and sinking into the mattress a little more. His hand brushes over the little bump, a smile grazing his lips.

"A'ight...I love you."

"Love you too." I smile. "Now get some more sleep."

"Whatever you say, babe."

He drifts off, but I remain awake, watching his eyelids flutter as he dreams. I fend off thoughts of my frequent nightmares, instead focusing on my handsome husband. He exhales heavily, his chest rising and falling gently. I snuggle closer to him, my head resting underneath his chin. His arms tighten around me, the calloused skin of his hands rough and familiar against my skin.

I reach up and brush his dark bangs from his eyes, knowing every feature of his face off by heart. I love every single part of his rugged being. I love the way he talks, the way he moves, the way his eyes light up at the thought of naming our baby...everything that keeps me smiling despite the fears that take over a little less than half of my functioning thoughts.

Death is starting to effect me more and more. I don't know what kept me so calm before. I suppose it was thoughts that Daryl was invincible, that'd he never be taken away from me, nor I taken from him. I wish I could return to that state of naive bliss, but it's an irreversible path.

We're starting a family. Is it so wrong for me to want to stay like that?

I kiss Daryl's cheek gently before shutting my eyes and trying to sleep again.

"Don't let fear control you," I whisper.