These Different Times (Nick Clark FF)

18.

Hours past us by and Nick was upstairs with Harry. Alicia was back down at the boat with Chris and the two adults were still with the parents, leaving me with Willa.

She had been playing with a doll on the floor but she soon got bored and came to sit beside me on the couch.

"Can you braid hair?" she asked.

I leant over to put my glass of wine on the coffee table, "Well, I haven't done it in a while but I'll give it a shot."

She gave me a wide, toothy smile before spinning around so she was facing the stairs and she handed me a brush from over her shoulder.

Slowly, just in case there was any knots, I began running the brush through her hair, which was very soft.

Huh, I wonder what shampoo she uses.

Once I had started on the actual braid, she started to hum a song under her breath.

Halfway through, Nick and Harry came barrelling down the stairs together, throwing themselves down onto the opposite sofa, a handheld games console in Nick's hands and the two of them were yelling at each other playfully.

"Boys," the young girl muttered as I tied a hair tie around the bottom of the braid, yelling a thank you to me as she ran away up the stairs just as Maddie and Travis returned.

"It's getting late," Maddie said loudly, grabbing Nick's attention, "It's time for Harry and Willa to go bed."

Nick let out a loud groan, making me giggle. He was such a child sometimes.

"Does he have to go?" Harry whined, looking up at his parents.

I got up and stretched as they all got into a small argument, smiling when Nick ruffled Harry's hair, promising to come back up tomorrow morning.

He came to stand beside me before leading me back through towards the door.

**

Back on the boat, the two of us went straight to sleep but at sometime during the night, Nick must have gotten up since I woke up to an empty side of the bed.

I found him up on the deck, laying across one of the seats, hands behind his head as he looked up at the stars.

"Hey," I said quietly, sitting by his legs, "What're you doing up?"

His eyes flitted to me, widening slightly and he sat up, "What the hell are you doing out here without a jacket?"

"I didn't think to grab one," I laughed, tutting when he moved his blankets so I could lay down and he quickly wrapped me up again, his hands rubbing my arms.

"What're you thinking about?" I whispered, staring up at him as he let out a deep breath.

"Just those kids."

"Yeah? You were really good with Harry," I murmured, "Makes me think about what you'd be like if...if we had any."

I watched as a smile spread onto his face and his arm tightened around me, "I'd do the best I could. But our kids would be cute."

"You think so?"

"I know so," he said firmly, "They'd have my hair and nose. Your eyes and common sense."

I let out a small giggle, "My common sense?"

"Yeah," he shrugged, "I mean, you never gave in to people pressuring you to do drugs or anything. You're smarter than me."

"Well actually," I murmured, bending my elbow so I could rest my head against my hand, "In highschool, just before my last year, I had a cigarette."

He feigned shock, "You didn't."

"I did," I nodded, "Felt ridiculously badass."

He gave me a small kiss, "You should have. Your first cigarette is a big deal. I take it you didn't like it?"

"Correct," I grinned, "I almost coughed up a lung."

He rolled his eyes fondly and tugged me back into his arms, "That's what most people experience," he then yawned loudly and closed his eyes, "You wanna sleep out here tonight?"

"Hmm," I mused, nuzzling closer to him, "I guess so. If it starts to rain though, I'll kill you."

**

Early the next morning, Nick headed back up to the house to hang out with Harry while I took a shower in the bathroom of the boat before going up to the house myself but as I was walking up, I spotted Chris following behind a redheaded guy that I didn't recognise, going down to the beach.

I decided to follow them, almost slipping on the rocks when I saw what they were doing.

There was a fence along the edge of the sand and pressed up against it, there was maybe two dozen walkers and I watched quietly as the redhead and Chris started smashing their heads in with a pickaxe without any hesitation.

I wanted to be able to do that and my feet started moving on their own accord, taking me down the slope and when I got closer, the two of them looked up.

"Well hello," redhead grinned, "Are you Ofelia, Alicia or Taylor?"

"Taylor," I murmured, gesturing to the walker closest to me, "Can I have a go?"

He nodded and silently handed me the pickaxe, "Knock yourself out."

The axe was heavier than I thought it was gonna be and I ignored the small smirk on his face as I attempted to lift it over my shoulder.

Dammit, I really should have worked out more.

"I'm Seth by the way," he said, appearing in my line of vision, "And maybe you should start with this."

I dropped the axe and took the crowbar he was holding out to me, "Thank you."

Gripping the weapon tightly in two hands, I lined it up so it would go through the walker's eye; go into the brain and I stupidly looked into its eyes.

This was a person. She was a person. She probably had a husband. Maybe some kids and now she was this. An empty shell of who she used to be.

"Hey," Seth said quietly, touching my arm and taking my attention away from her, "Don't think about it. Don't hesitate. She isn't there, okay? She's not alive."

I clamped down on my bottom lip before pushing the crowbar through the gap in the fence, letting out a quiet gasp as the body slumped down against the fence.

"Holy shit."