The Dead and the Restless (Completed with undergoing editing)

Chapter Thirteen (Edited.)

I woke up to a note.

"Lease,

I had to go on a run with Darlene. I'll be back soon. Don't worry.

Liam."

This was weird. Why would Liam go outside the cafeteria without me? Why was Darlene even going out there? What in the world did they need that I couldn't just go grab with Liam?

I set the note on the floor next to me and rubbed my eyes. I wasn't about to get any answers now.

Gathering myself, I stood up and looked to Lucy and Craig. Dinner last night had been nice and completely worth the trouble of finding everything. Lucy was still asleep, probably exhausted from the card games we played until the late hours of the night. My heart fell as my gaze turned to Craig. He would never know of that night.

My fingertips skimmed the sheet as I walked slowly past him, my eyes lingering on his face as I passed. One thing that constantly left an unsettling feeling was how peaceful he looked. I had never seen him like this. Either he was laughing or worried about everyone else or me.

God, I would still give anything to hear his laugh or to see him smile or look into his dark, deep hazel brown eyes.

I turned my head away and started toward the kitchen. The more I remembered the harder it was to look away. It was days like this that every step further away from him made my feet feel like boulders. It was days like this that made me want to curl up next to him and to hold onto him and never let go. It was days like this that turned into the worst days.

I kept going, though. After all, the world still goes on.

I stepped into the kitchen and walked over to the cabinets and moved my hand around in the cabinet. This was odd. I reached further back and my nail scratched the familiar aluminum tin. I moved my body so I could get a good grip on it and I pulled it out of the cabinet.

I looked at the can and read the faded letters on the wrapper.

Mandarin Oranges.

"Lease?" Walters's voice rang out behind me. I dropped the can opener I had just grabbed from the drawer. "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you."

His eyes moved to my belt, where my hand lay over my machete.

"Sorry," I muttered, bending to pick up the can opener. "You didn't scare me, just caught me a little off guard."

There was something off about him. He glanced over his shoulder before moving closer to me, a little too close. My breathing went uneven as he was only inches from me now.

"Can I have a word?"

"About?"

"Lucy." He wiped his palms on his pants. They must have been sweaty. "I'm a little concerned. She's been so worried and stressed out-"

"Well, she is having a baby," I said, keeping my eyes on him. He did a curt nod.

"I know," he said, shortly. "I just...I just don't want to lose her like I lost Diane."

I raised an eyebrow.

"My wife," he added. I sighed slowly and looked down at the tile flooring. It was pristine. Sienna liked to clean. "Diane was just like Lucy, a spitting image. They had the exact same personalities. Bubbly with a constant smile. Always optimistic."

I looked up at him. It did sound like Lucy.

"It was hell when I lost her," he said. "I couldn't think. I couldn't deal with anything. I quit my job. I became a hermit. I couldn't even take care of Lucy for the first few months. She stayed with her grandparents. It was a sort of retribution.