Dead Bite

chapter 14

We stand around watching Kayla walk with Lily Rin for a while until I pull Damien away. I need to find out if Damien would care about a baby if I am pregnant which I am not. I know I am not pregnant, but in the future, I would love to have a baby, a family with him. I pull him outside where nobody else was.
"What is it?" He asks. I take a deep breath. I run my hands through my hair.
"Um, it's kinda... I could be... No, but..." I cover my face. My face burns as bright as embers in a fire. He grabs my hands and moves them away from my face. He chuckles a bit.
"Why is your face so red?" I shake my head at him.
"It's just that I... I love you," I smile.
"You pulled me out here so you could tell me that? I doubt it. Why did you really pull me to here to tell me?" I cannot tell him so I need to think of something fast.
"You said that Kayla would need a lot of rest. She needs to rest and you need to eat and rest yourself." He lets me pull him to the house then to the kitchen. Looking around in the cabinet, I find a sack of potatoes. The sack is quite full and heavy; however, it does not give me much trouble. I place the sack on the counter then pull a potato out. I stare at the potato for a while.
"Do you know how to cook?" He asks.
"Well, I know how to cook, but not this," I answer, laughing nervously.
"What are you trying to make: mashed potatoes, baked potatoes, or potato chunks?" I think a bit before deciding.
"Red potato chunks!" I smile. He grabs a knife and puts it in my hand. He then grabs my hand and begins cutting the potato. The potato he cut is in perfect chunks. He pulls another potato out, but lets go of my hand. I look back at him. He nudges towards the potato as if it were a sick old man about to die and become an infected. Looking down to the potato, I slowly take the knife to the potato and cut off a chunk. It is lopsided. I attempt to cut another piece; yet, it does not turn out right so I throw the knife down on the counter then turn around.
"Damien, I can't do it," I sigh in defeat. He grasps my shoulder.
"This is not the Kaylee I know. My Kaylee does not give up so easily no matter what is in her path. Now, where is the Kaylee I know?" I take a deep breath then turn back around. He is right. I never give up and I will not let no stupid potato beat me! I grab the knife back off the counter. I begin cutting away at the potato: quickly, carefully, and determined. The more potatoes I grab from the bag, the faster I go. Finally, Damien grabs me and pulls the knife away from me. I hear him chuckle into my shoulder blade.
"Now, that's the Kaylee I know,"I feel him smile against my shoulder blades. I laugh and point at the counter.
"I think there is enough for your family and Kayla if she is up to eating." I put the potatoes in a pan and begin frying them. I add salt, pepper, a pinch of garlic powder, and vegetable oil. now this is what I now what to do. Flipping the pan, the potatoes spring into the air then land back into the pan. I hear Damien remark about how I do that is I did not know how to cook. I tell him that it was mostly my mom that I got my skills from. My mom loved to cook. She had a good eye at what ingredients would go well with a particular food. Oh, I know what would be good with these potatoes.
"Damien, do you have any pork loin?" He leaves then comes back with a bundle of pork loin. I gratefully take it then put it in the oven with spices such as; salt, pepper, a hint of red sauce, and some meat sauce I found. After doing this, I place the pork loin in the oven. Damien wraps his arms around my waist and smiles.
"I did not know you were so good a cooking. I thought you were all fighting and jump skills."
"Yes, I am very good at fighting and the "jump" skills, but I must have gotten my mother's cooking skills," I smile. "Remember the fish I cooked?" Damien nods. 
"I know this is a touchy subject, but I haven't had the guts to ask. What did your mom look like?" I immediately stiffen. Damien wraps his arms tighter around me. "I'm sorry. I won't ask again."
I sigh," you are going to, eventually, have to know anyways, right? I'll tell you while the food is cooking." I sit him down at the kitchen table. He does not know as much as I do about him then he does me. "What do you want to know?"
"Um, what is your mom's name?"
"Jennifer," I answer quickly. I shutter at the sudden memory of her cold, dead eyes.
"How did she die?" Oh man, this is one touchy subject he wanted to get into. A few people know of how she died, but I do not recall telling him.
"I... um... I shot her when I was six or seven. She got bite right when the infected began taking over." I soon become absorbed into the memory. It is like it was happening all over again. "She cradled me in her arms and shielded me so I did not get bit. I was covered in blood from her bleeding. We went into a small store where she slowly, and most likely painfully, died. Rubble soon began barking at her dead, lifeless body. She began twitching then her fingertips became black. She came back and attacked my dad. He was on his back with my mom trying to get to his neck on top. She was a strong infected.He could not reach the gun. I had to do something. I ran and grabbed the gun. Then... I shot her. Her cold, dead, lifeless body flopped to the ground." I feel Damien run his finger across my cheek. That is when I notice that I am crying. I flinch at the sudden realization of crying.
"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have made you tell me." Instantly, the timer I set begins alarming. I wipe my eyes and nose. The pan is hot so I use an old rag to pull it out. I place it on the counter then look over at Damien, who was still sitting in shock. I wrapped my arms around his shoulders.
"I am fine. It's okay for you to ask me things that you don't understand about me." He stands up and runs his hand down my cheek. He then cups my chin then pulls me in for a kiss. I hear someone walk into the kitchen.
"Wow, what's cookin'?" Cinna asked. " besides some love," she laughs. I laugh in the middle of Damien's kiss them pull away.
"I made some potato chunks with pork loin," I smile triumphantly.
"I did not know you could cook. I thought you were all fighting and gymnastics."
"That's what I said!" Damien laughs. "And no, she cooks too." I cut the pork loin into pieces and set them on seven plates; one for Elizabeth, Jacob, Cinna, Kayla, Ethan, Damien, and me. I call them in to eat. They all sit in their normal spots, along with Ethan and Kayla, then begin digging into their food. Elizabeth is the first to talk.
"This is amazing!" Everyone joins in saying how amazing and spectacular my food is. I thank them all.
"Damien helped me a bit," I blush.
"I did one potato with you. You did all the rest by yourself," he yawns.
"Someone's tired," I smile. "Kayla should get some rest and so should you," I pull Damien away and as I do I call my thank you for coming and liking my food. I continue to pull Damien until we get to our room. It is a little early for going to bed, but I am exhausted and so is Damien. I flop down on the bed with my arms sprawled out. Damien comes up from the end of the bed and cuddles next to me. He sighs then beltched.
"That was really good." I laugh along with him.
"Go to sleep," I kiss his head. He wraps his arms around my chest, using my chest as a pillow as usual. My heart begins beating rapidly and my cheeks burn like fire. He takes a deep breath then rubs my back. I relax then close my eyes. I will protect him even if I do become pregnant in the future. I will protect my boyfriend and child in the future.