Learning To Live (Zombie Overload Series) (20 page)

Screw
it. The pain is too much and if these assholes want to play games,
they can play with each other!

I
laugh aloud at that thought and the two big strong jerks look at me
as if I lost my mind.

HA! Exactly
right. Technically, I
did
lose my mind, and I'm going to enjoy the rest of the evening on
this beautiful porch at this beautiful house and stop worrying about
you two drama queens!

I
relax back in the chair and look out over the property. It's so
peaceful. So perfect. I realize the world has changed into something
horrific, and I can't help but wish I could just stay here with my
memories intact and with my family.

The
guys take the last load inside and after a few minutes, the screen
door beside me opens again and Will walks out. He asks if I mind if
he sits in the chair next to me. I shrug and tell him I don't mind.

"How
are you feeling, Canada?" he asks with true sincerity.

"My
head hurts, of course, and so does my foot. My head really starts to
pound when I try to remember too hard, and not having any real
memories suck."

"I
bet it does. It does for me, too." His words are spoken with
deep sadness and I cock my head to one side to study him.

He's
pretty hot, himself, in a rugged outdoorsy way-tall, dark, and
handsome. His eyes are a gorgeous brown with long lashes that most
women have to pay to get. His lips are full, kissable. He has dark
brown hair, and even though he looks skinny, I can clearly see the
muscles bulging on his bare arms and through his shirt.

He's
leaning forward in his chair, his arms on his legs and his head bowed
low between his shoulders. I can see just the side of his face, but
even the one side shows incredible pain. For some reason, I feel pain
seeing him like this, and I don't understand why.

It's
obvious there's something he wants to say to me, but he seems to be
having trouble saying it. I just look out over the grounds and wait.

Finally,
I hear him suck in a breath and release it slowly. My body tightens,
waiting for whatever it is he's going to say, assuming it's something
big.

I
turn my head to him as he opens his mouth to speak.

"Canada,
I don't think I can do this. I have to tell you something―"

The
screen door opens and Jake steps out. I catch the look he gives Will
and Will looks away. Obviously whatever he'd been about to say, Jake
isn't going to let him. And it's more than obvious he was standing
just inside the door, eavesdropping.

"Honey,
would you like to get a shower?" Jake asks me.

"Alone,"
Will mumbles under his breath.

I
look at both of them, anger and frustration building rapidly. Jumping
out of my chair-
awkwardly, I admit. Only having one good foot
screws up the whole dramatic effect
-I glare at them.

"Both
of you either stop this shit or tell me what the hell is going on!
I'm sick of it. You're both acting like idiots and you're making my
head scream in pain. So, do one of you want to tell me what's going
on or not?" I look at them, one at a time, but neither one shows
any sign of talking.

"Stinking
fools! Bloody idiots! That's it! I'm done with this shit.
Both
of you stay away from me!"

I
hop into the house then stop and look around the living room.
Damn.
I take a few breaths to calm myself and then...
screw the calm
!

"
Jake!
"
I scream as loud as I can. Considering he's only a few feet away on
the other side of the screen door, it doesn't take him long to rush
in, with Will only a second or two behind. They come to a screeching
halt when they see me standing right in front of them, safe, my hands
on my hips, one brow cocked, and an intense expression of real anger
on my face.

"Go
get my clothes and hurry the hell up!" They share a look and
then Jake goes outside to the truck.

Wait a
minute! I knew I had clothes in the truck. I remembered something!
Sure, it wasn't anything big...but it was
something
!

My
eyes widen and I look up at Will. I start smiling a very big smile
and after a few seconds, he sucks in a deep breath and his own eyes
widen as he catches on.

"You
remembered! Canada, what else do you remember?" he asks with
excitement and...hope.

My
smile fades as I realize he hopes I've remembered something else. I
hate to disappoint him, but I haven't. I shake my head at him. His
face falls and I have the urge to go and comfort him.

Jake
comes back in, which stops me from acting on that urge, and helps me
to the bathroom. When I get inside, he removes the pillow from my
foot and I yelp with pain when my foot is free from the binding. Then
he helps me undress. Once I'm completely naked, he pulls me to him,
careful of my foot. He kisses me deeply and runs his hands over me.

I
finally push him away and, with a laugh, tell him I want nothing more
than a shower right now. I see his disappointment and frustration but
he helps me in the shower. I hear the door shut as he leaves and I do
my best to shower on one foot.
It's not that easy. Lots of leaning
against the wall.

I
shut off the water when I'm done, and carefully get out of the
shower. It takes awhile, but I manage to dress and leave the bathroom
on my own. I go back up the hall and enter the living room where I
can hear the men in the kitchen and it sounds as if they are arguing.

Well,
if they won't tell me what's going on, I'll just find out on my own.
I attempt to sneak over to the kitchen door to eavesdrop, but the
hopping screws it all up. I lose my balance and fall into a hutch
that's against the wall next to the kitchen door. Figurines and
decorative plates crash down on my head, then bust on the floor,
trapping me in place with my one good-but bare-foot.

"Canada!"
I hear Will yell, panic in his voice.

He
and Jake burst into the room and stop, taking in the mess and the
klutz who caused it. Jake storms over and lifts me in his arms, then
dumps me on the sofa and stands back-arms crossed and glaring at me.
Will walks over and sits next to me, grabbing my good foot and
checking it for glass and cuts.
Shouldn't it be
Jake
who's
more concerned about my well-being?

Jake
narrows jealous eyes at Will and I jerk my foot out of his hands. The
last thing I need is for these two to get into it again.

"I'm
fine," I tell Will softly. "Thanks." I give him a
quick smile and his face lights up.

Jake
clears his throat, loudly, and gives me an intense look.

"Canada,
were you eavesdropping on us?" he asks.

"No!
I was only trying to get to the kitchen where you guys were. If you
two lovebirds want private time together, let me know first."
That
makes him lose some of his cockiness.
And I wasn't
lying.
How could I eavesdrop when my dumb ass never made it to
that point?

"Just
wait here." Jake leaves and comes back with the pillow and more
duct tape. I groan when I see them. Yes, it helps protect my foot-to
a degree-and it does help stabilize it from flopping around, but it's
so bulky, heavy, and awkward.

"Why
can't you just go get me some crutches and an air cast or something?"
I moan.

"Tomorrow.
I'll get you some tomorrow. Tonight, we are going to eat and get some
sleep. You got pretty messed up today-well, just about everyday-so
you really need the rest," Jake says.

"Yeah?
And why is it that I get hurt so much? Don't you two do anything to
protect me? Or am I the one who does all the protecting, considering
you two don't look that bad at all?"

A woman. I
vaguely remember hearing another woman say pretty much the same
thing. But who?

Explosive
pain erupts in my head and I have to let it go.

Both
guys are still sputtering and talking over each other in response to
my last question, some bullshit about how I do what I want, I don't
listen, blah, blah, blah. I roll my eyes and tune them out.
Eventually, they realize I'm no longer listening-and after a lot of
bullshit like, "See?" and "You're not listening
now!"-Jake helps me into the kitchen after he and Will clean up
the mess I made.

I
sit at the kitchen table and Jake sets a bowl of soup with a plate of
chips in front of me. Will pours me a glass of soda and I dig in. I
feel like I haven't eaten in days. I briefly consider asking when I
last ate-but deciding I really don't care-I forget about it and
finish eating. The guys are on either side of me at the round wooden
table and none of us speak.

Finished,
they clean up while I wait for them at the table. When Jake is done,
I ask him to help me to the bedroom-I'm more than ready for sleep.

He
carries me to the bedroom off the living room and sets me on the edge
of the bed. Helping me take the pillow off once again, he helps
undress me...once again.

I
ask him if I have a nightgown or something easier to get in and out
of, and he tells me he'll be right back as he leaves the room. I grab
a blanket folded at the bottom of the bed and wrap it around myself.
Jake comes back in with a long cotton nightgown. It's bright green
and I wrinkle my nose, instinctively knowing I would never have
bought that.

"Where
did you get
that
?" I ask.

"I
found it in one of the dressers in the bedroom down the hall."
He sniffs it. "Smells clean."

"Gross,
Jake! I'm not putting that nasty thing on me. Just because it's in a
dresser and "
smells
" clean doesn't mean it is.
Forget it. I'll just sleep naked. But you damn well better not let
any zombies in, because if I'm going to be bit, I don't want to be a
naked zombie." I'm dead serious, yet he laughs.

I
lay down-he reattaches that damn pillow-and then covers me. Jake
tucks me in then kisses me, telling me to get some sleep and he loves
me. I mumble I love him, too, already drifting off.

Sometime
later, I wake and see a sliver of muted light coming in through the
slightly open door. I close my eyes again and before I can fall back
asleep, I hear the door open on hinges that desperately need some
oiling. Raising my eyelids, I watch as the door moves from open to
almost closed, the light from the other room making a small wedge of
soft light across the bed.

I
follow the silhouette of a man as he crosses the room until he moves
past my direct sight. The mattress dips behind me as he gets under
the blankets and into the bed. Warm arms wrap around me and he pulls
me against his naked body.

He
turns me onto my back and leans his upper body over me, and starts
softly kissing my face. Finding my mouth, he kisses me deeply and
with an intensity that takes my breath away.

He
says it so softly, I'm not sure I even hear him correctly, but it
sounds like, "You're mine now.
Finally
." He's my
husband and we have kids, so what I thought I heard doesn't make any
sense.
I definitely heard wrong.

I
ask him what he had said and he responds with, "I love you,
Baby. I love you so much."

I
know that isn't what he had really said, but as his tongue runs
across my upper lip, I forget all about it.

His
hands trace every inch of my body and his lips follow. My hands do
their own exploring, tracing the hard muscles on his arms, his chest,
and his amazing butt. His muscles tighten and ripple with every
movement.

Soon,
both of us are panting and gasping, our movements desperate and
frenzied. Jake moves his body above me, pressing his hips against
mine, and I can feel he's more than ready.

I
freeze and Jake throws himself off me when a loud snore sounds from
the living room. I look at Jake, confused, because I don't understand
why Jake would act as though what we had been doing was wrong. Jake
gives a light chuckle as he recovers from the startling sound from
the other room and moves back on top of me. He seems to forget about
it quickly enough, as he lowers himself on me.

I
take a lot longer to forget it.

Jake
straightens his arms, pushing himself up, and looks down at me. I run
my hands up his muscled arms and down his back. Raising my head, I
kiss him right on the left side of his well-toned chest. Then I lay
my head back onto the pillow and allow my arms to fall out to each
side of the bed.

Jake
grinds himself against me, preparing to enter me-but first he brings
his head down, pressing his tongue into my mouth. As he raises his
head back up, I raise my left arm.

And
smash him in the head with a thick glass ashtray that had been on the
bedside table.

The
brain-bashing doesn't knock Jake out, but it damn sure hurts him. He
rolls off of me and collapses on the other side of the bed-holding
his head, screaming and cussing me. I grab the sheet and toga-wrap it
around me as I stand on one foot.