To Be A Hero

Chapter 5: The Motions

"Yellow, please."

I hand Penelope the colored crayon, and she smiles at me, giving me a soft hum of thanks before going back to her coloring. I smile, only slightly. After being distant for months, the young girl is eating up every bit of attention I give her, even if that attention is only half heartedly watching her color.

Milo, on the other hand...

My eyes slide over to the far corner of the nearly empty rec room, where Milo sits, drawing away. I believe he's angry with me for pushing everyone away, and blocking them out, so I'm doing my best to give him time. He doesn't understand the things I was going through, and for his own sake I hope he never learns, or have to go through such emotions himself.

Funny how I say 'was going through', when really I should be saying 'am going through'. Because I'm not okay, even now. Nicole coming back did cause me to start talking again, to let people in again, but she most definitely did not stop the raging emotions boiling just under my skin. She's merely distracted me from them, and me letting people back in again has stopped me from spiraling downwards anymore than I already have.

"Green."

I grab a crayon and hand it over to the girl, my eyes staying trained on Milo, who continues to draw away. His eyebrows furrow in concentration, and I just know he's trying to make every detail just right. He's become a bit of a perfectionist with his artwork. I believe it may be because he draws illustrations for the research notes in the labs, probably in hopes to impress Veronica.

He's been helping in the labs a lot more recently. It reminds me of Caleb when he was helping Maxine in her creation of the anti-zombie spray.

That seems like such a long time ago.

I miss Caleb. He was one of my first friends. I met him when I went to warn Brunswick about a zombie horde coming straight for them. He a good person, and an even greater friend.

Although he did try to embarrass the hell out of me in front of just nearly everyone. I could've gone without him doing that.

But still, I miss him.

I stand, and I feel Penelope's eyes on me. I turn to her, but still she frowns.

"Where are you going?"

"Just across the room to talk to your brother. I'll be right back."

Her frown stays in her face, but she says nothing. One of the things I have noticed is, now that I'm talking again, Penelope has become clingier. She takes every bit of my attention she can get, and will try to take what she can't. She is showing signs of jealousy when it comes to her brother, and that worries me to some degree.

But Milo still deserves my attention, especially since he's becoming pushier with his attempts to talk me into letting him go outside Abel's walls. My answer stays the same, and while he hates it, he obeys, because he knows I'm watching, and when I'm not, I have other people watching.

He's devious, and I don't want him to think I'm not paying attention and therefore won't notice if he sneaks out. The last thing I need is another Polly and Zach situation.

So I make my way over to him, and he pauses in his drawings once I reach him. His brown eyes follow my every move as I sit down beside him.

"What?" He asks after a few moments of lingering silence. I shrug.

"Nothing. Just wanted to see what you were doing."

He glances down at his book, then to the pencil in his hand and then back at me.

"I'm drawing," He says flatly, and I fight back the hurt that tries to make itself known on my face.

"Can I see it?"