Not The Same | Nick Clark | FTWD

Part 29

I leaned against the armrest of a couch, the lack of sleep finally getting to me and the bottle of wine that was being shared between us wasn't helping the situation.

"Aim and shoot." Harry, the little boy, instructed as Nick concentrated on the handheld video game.

"Alright." He mumbled, familiar sounds filling the room as I watched from afar.
Nick always had my full attention, and at times like this, I really didn't mind only focusing on him. I loved how he looked when he was fully invested in something; it gave me time to take in every little detail about him, like watching art come to life.

"You're doing it wrong," Harry stopped him, reaching over to the screen as I rested my head against my hand, "You have to go like this to jump and then that to roll-"

"Alright-- ok, ok, ok." Nick mumbled, getting even further immersed in the game.

I looked over as Willa, Harry's sister, began dancing with her doll, an eerie song floating it's way through the air that spoke of death and disease.

"What are posies?" She asked as she fell to the floor, Alicia glancing over to me as I took another drink, lightly shaking my head as I opted out of this sure to be depressing conversation.

Alicia swallowed hard, leaning forward, "Posies are flowers."

"Why do you put them in your pockets?"

"Um well, a long time ago, across the ocean in Europe, there was a virus that made a lot of people really sick," she began to explain, the feeling in the room getting a lot more dark as Chris and I quickly shared glances, "And they didn't have the medicine we do now, so they gave them flowers to make them healthy."

"Did it work?" Willa asked.

Alycia paused for a moment, "No."

There's a saying that goes something along the lines of those who don't learn from the past are doomed to repeat it.. and now it kind of feels like no one in the world paid attention in history class.

Chris stood up, setting his glass on the coffee table in front of us as the silence was finally broken.

"Nick, you wanna come see our room?" Harry asked, the lightheartedness of children immediately beginning to shift the vibe in the room again.

"Yeah, let's do it," Nick mumbled mindlessly before turning the game off and beginning to follow Harry, "Hey man, you want to come check out Harry's room?" He offered Chris, who was still obviously dealing with his own internal conflict, as were the rest of us.

"I'm good." He murmured, continuing to check out the items littering different shelfs.

"Look, you don't have to talk or anything but it is better to be with people." Nick suggested, continuing  behind Harry before stopping just at the beginning of the stairs, looking back, "Hannah?" He offered.

"Maybe in a little." I smiled lightly, still feeling like something between us was awry, and it seemed like the feeling was mutual.

He nodded slowly before turning back to Harry, racing him up the stairs, "Come on-- let's go, let's go!"

I let out a sigh as I finished my glass, my body warmed from the alcohol, causing the still dull pain in my side to subside.

"More?" Alicia asked quietly, tipping the wine bottle towards me.

I shook my head, placing my glass onto the table as I rubbed at my eyes.
Sitting here now, looking back to where this all started.. it felt unreal. Getting that call from Alicia when my biggest worry was how I was going to pay my bills, to right now, worrying about the dead coming back to life and why some mysterious boat is trailing us, all the while still having Nick on my mind 24/7.

***

"The general-- he has a gun too, you just have to put it on him." I heard Harry say as I walked through the door.

"Right.." Nick breathed before looking back, noticing me, "Hey, show Hannah all of them."

"These ones are the campers and the neighbors," Harry began to name off, pointing at each of the action figures, "Those are the Colby's and this one is Uncle Kyle."

I nodded slowly before looking over to Nick who carried the same uneasy expression that I did, "Wow, you have a lot of them." I forcefully enthused, a light smile on my face as Nick handled me the one he held, seeing the obvious gunshot wound that branded the head of each of them, "What happened to them?"

"He says they got sick." Nick said lowly as I handed the figure back to Harry.

"Yeah, my dad says it's what has to happen when people get sick now." Harry finished explaining as an overwhelming feeling of dread washed over me.
I had never stopped to think about all of the children experiencing the same thing we are-- having to grow up in a world of death and destruction while their young minds tried to make sense of it all.
This world wasn't fair to anyone.

***

I tucked my hair behind my ear as Nick and I walked through the dark, back to the boat, "I thought when Harry first came through the door that.." I paused, trying to find the words, "That we'd get a bit of normalcy, you know, something that would take our mind off of everything else." I shrugged.

"You really think we'd be that lucky?" Nick joked, smirking as I looked over to him.

A smile pulled on my face, "Oh yeah, I forgot, you're the only lucky one here." I laughed before shaking my head, "I just- I don't know, kids usually bring such a lighthearted energy but this.. I just feel bad for them, having to grow up in all of this."

"I do too," Nick hummed, his hands tucked in his pockets, "But something about all of them just seems a little off-- the parents at least."

"I didn't really see much of them after they invited us in." I admitted, "I'm sure they think we're a little off too." I joked.

"Yeah," He let out a small chuckle, "I guess they'd probably be right then."

_____
I'm sorry I haven't updated this story in awhile, if I'm completely honest, I got a bit discouraged. The reads were seeming to drop and the feedback went to a minimum, so I figured no one was enjoying it as much as I was while writing it.

So, that being said, if you are reading this chapter and want want more, please let me know!
If not, please let me know what caused your interest to diminish-- I'm really curious, and please be honest, constructive criticism is always welcome!