Un-Dead World Book One: Dead Men's Game

Bachelorette

    After the initial reactions were out of the way, it was time to tell the whole story. We moved back to the stage room, tending to my hand and Chloe's leg while Branson, Scott, and I were filling them in. I watched different emotions play over all of their faces. Dismay, horror, disbelief, disgust, and some strange sort of awe. I couldn't explain any of this, the way that everyone wanted me to. They had the same questions that the three of us had asked. How? Why? What could I do? Was I really an angel and not some other type of monster? What was Levi? Is he coming back?  I felt like my head was going to explode from the words being thrown at me. Luckily, someone else noticed that I was beginning to feel overwhelmed.    

    "Alright, alright!" Jimmy suddenly shouted above everybody else. The questions stopped immediately. "I'm sure she's been through more than any of us and it ain't like they seem to know much more than us. Let's give the gal a break. It was a long damn day and I, for one, could use a hot shower. Now I've got dibs on the first one. Laura? Would ya mind showing me where the hell I'm goin?" He walked forward and offered me an arm. I just chuckled slightly and obliged him. He walked us out into the hallway, leaving everyone else a bit confused by the rapid turn in events. 

    "Thank you, Jimmy. I was about to blow my top!" I told him, trying to slide my hand off of his arm now that we were in the hallway. He gently put his hand over mine, keeping it on his arm. I was surprised by this.

    "Hey now, that wasn't just for dramatic effect. My mama taught me to be a gentleman around pretty ladies." He grinned, showing off dimples in both cheeks. He had a nice smile. "Now, that Branson fella seems pretty protective of you, but he also doesn't seem to like this whole...Angel thing. Can I ask if he's someone I should look out for?" He asked me. I looked at him confused for a moment. 

    "Why would you need to worry about Branson?" I wondered.

    "Well, like I said, my mama taught me to be a gentleman to pretty ladies. One thing all gentleman know is that, you don't pursue a lady if she's spoken for." He stopped our footsteps just as we were nearing the last corner that led to the showers. "So, are ya spoken for, Laura?" 

    I wasn't sure how to handle this situation. A few weeks ago life had been scary, but not in this way. I was in a miserable, failing relationship and I had kind of given up on everything. I was waiting for Carson to show up and get his stuff when the quarantine had lifted and I was eating lonely meals with my DVDs. I still had nightmares about Carson's death. Replaying how I shot him over and over. Then, I somehow let go of the guilt and allowed myself to feel something towards someone who I thought could actually reciprocate it. Branson can't seem to accept that I'm still the same person he saved that day. Being an Angel wasn't exactly something I asked for and I hadn't done anything to make him think he couldn't trust me. I could see it in his eyes though, like he was waiting for me to turn on them. It felt kind of nice that Jimmy was asking me point blank and he knew about it. Though, the thought of my one fiery kiss with Branson was stuck in my brain, I had to answer Jimmy.

    "Branson and I aren't together but I can't say I'm exactly available." I told Jimmy.    

    "That Scott guy? I didn't take him for yer type." He said with an eyebrow raised. I smacked his shoulder, laughing.

    "No! Definitely not!" I told him, pulling his arm so we could continue our journey to the locker room. "I'm just not exactly sure how to tackle this. I mean, we're living through the apocalypse, if you hadn't noticed. Dating isn't exactly one of my priorities." 

    "What if I said I wasn't interested in dating? Like you said, it's the apocalypse. Where am I even gonna take ya for a date?" We had reached the locker room and he finally unbent his arm, but he grabbed my hand in his. "Laura, yer a beautiful woman and I think yer pretty incredible. Just from what I saw today, I can tell yer a survivor. I like that. So, let's not complicate this more than we need to right now. I'm gonna go take my shower and you can give me an answer when yer ready. I'm just suggesting we do what attractive adult's are known to do and if you ever decide you want more than that, we'll cross that bridge when we get to it." He leaned forward and gently kissed my cheek and then he just walked into the showers. 

    I stood there for a moment, flustered. He did NOT waste time did he? I couldn't say I didn't like that though. Was I ready for something like that though? I had never been the type to jump from guys but the end of the world seemed to have done wonders for my love life. Never had this many attractive men showed an interest in me in such a short time. I wasn't sure what to do about Jimmy, but I wanted to get supplies put away so I turned to walk back down the hallway. I froze when I saw Branson standing at the end, like he had came around the corner and stopped mid-step. How long had he been there? He just stared at me for a moment with his eyes clouded with emotions. I started to walk towards him and he turned tail and walked away. By the time I rounded the corner, he was nowhere to be found. 

    I went to the stage room to grab some supplies and Branson wasn't there. Part of me wanted to go find him, part of me wanted to scream at him and slap him, part of me wanted to just walk up and kiss him, and another part just wanted nothing to do with him. I felt like I was being pulled in so many directions. Frustrated, I grabbed some stuff I could put in my go bag and I went to hide in my classroom. I put on a movie, but I didn't even pay any attention to it. I was trapped in my thoughts. 

    I let the entire movie play and was getting up to put another in when the door opened and Jimmy came inside. I tried to nonchalantly put the movie in and ignore him but it didn't work too well. He came over and stared at the screen. 

    "Mind if I join you?" He asked me. I nodded my head over to my little pallet area I had set up and he went and sat down. I followed him in silence. "So, I know you said that there wasn't nothing between Branson and you.. but I may have had a small talk with him just to be sure. I wanted to let ya know before he said somethin about it." He wasn't looking at me when he said this, probably nervous about my reaction. While I wasn't thrilled, I was curious as to what Branson had said.

    "What did you talk about?" I asked calmly. 

    "I just asked if I would be steppin on his toes, it wasn't nothin major." He said, relief clear in his voice. 

    "What did he say?" I needed to know what Branson had told him. 

    "He just told me not to worry about it. Said that y'all weren't involved and you were free game," When Jimmy said this, I felt a pang in my heart. I guess holding on to some kind of hope, that Branson would get over this, was dumb. I felt something in me harden against the pain and I turned to look at Jimmy. I scanned his strong body before resting my eyes on his dimpled smile. 

    "Well, I guess you have nothing to worry about then do you?" I slowly reached my hand over and grabbed his hand. He looked over at me and saw what my face was telling him. He leaned over and our lips met. As soon as we touched it was like we were in a frenzy. As he laid me back on top of the blankets, one thought went through my head. Make me forget.