TS-19.

CHAPTER SIX , FUCK BEING SELFISH

a/n : I KNOW ITS BEEN A WHILEEE

Content warning: Mentions of sexual assault

━━━━━━━━━━

Rick and Shane were the firsts through the door, making sure there were no threats. The whole group cautiously entered the building that appeared deserted. With his gun still raised, Rick spoke, "Hello?"

The sound of a rifle cocking is heard in front of the group. Rick and Shane aim their guns at the man in the corner. "Anybody infected?"

"One of our group was," Rick answers. "He didn't make it."

The man lowers his gun and he walks toward the group. "Why are you here? What do you want?"

"A chance," Rick answers.

The man breathes, "That's asking an awful lot these days."

Rick nods his head, "I know."

The man looks across each survivor's face before giving in. "You all submit to a blood test. That's the price of admission."

"We can do that."

The man lowers his gun. "You got stuff to bring in, you do it now. Once this door closes, it stays closed."

Logan's entire body relaxes with relief.

Once everyone brought their things back into the building with them, the shutters and doors around the building began to shut once again. The group followed the man into an elevator.

"Doctors always go around packing heat like that?" Daryl was the first to speak in the quiet elevator.

Dr. Jenner turns to the redneck. "Well, there were plenty left lying around. I familiarized myself." he looked at the other group members. "But you look harmless enough." his eyes then shift to Carl and a soft smile finds his lips. "Except you. I'll have to keep my eye on you."

Carl cracks a smile which causes a small smile to find Logan's lips. This was the first time she's seen Carl so relaxed. It made her feel good. Out of curiosity, she shifts her eyes to Reese; wondering if she herself was relaxed over them being in secure building. Logan got her answer when she saw Reese's hand gripping her knife handle tightly. Reese would never relax, not when there was always a chance of her being in danger. She had to be cautious.

The elevator doors open and they follow Dr. Jenner down a long white hallway.

"Are we underground?" Carol asks.

"A little."

"Try not to think about it." Dr. Jenner assures.

They all make it into a dark large room with computer screens. "Vi, bring up the lights in the big room."

White lights bright up the room. Reese had to squint her eyes from how bright the lighting was. "Welcome to zone 5." Dr. Jenner walks down the ramp.

"Where is everybody?" Rick inquires. "The other doctors, the staff?"

"I'm it. It's just me here."

Silence settles in the large room, but you can only hear Reese's scoff of disbelief.

"What about the person you were speaking with?" Lori questions. "Vi?"

"Vi. Say hello to our guest." Dr. Jenner commands. "Tell them...welcome."

An automated voice projects from the ceiling. "Hello, guests. Welcome."

"I'm all that's left." Dr, Jenner gives the group a sympathetic expression. "I'm sorry."

A devastating silence drowns around the group. Dre. Jenner notices each of their defeated expressions and he inhales a breath. "Let me show you to the examination room."

Carl and Sophia were the first to get their blood drawn. Then it was the teenagers, then the adults. After the teenagers, Andrea was the first adult to get her blood drawn. "What's the point?" Andrea sighs. "If we were infected, we'd all be running a fever."

"I've already broken every rule in the book letting you in here." Dr Jenner states. "Let me just at least be thorough."

Andrea stands up, but she begins to sway which causes the group to tense. Jacqueline grabs Andrea's arm.

"You okay?"

"She hasn't eaten in days." Jacqueline states. "None of us have."

...

Elliot didn't think the group would smile or even laugh again after the walkers attacked their campsite. So, being surrounded by everyone laughing and talking as if everything was okay made Elliot's heart swell. He wanted it to be like this all the time. At some point, he found his eyes traveling to meet Reese. The girl was sitting across from him with her eyes solely on her plate. Reese wasn't interested in listening to the stories. They almost died coming to this place and now they might not even achieve their goal.

"You know, in Italy, children have a little bit of wine with dinner." Dale speaks, pouring himself the glass of wine.

Logan's ears perk, "And in France." She voices.

Lori laughs, "Well, when Carl and Logan are in Italy or France, he can have some then."

"What's it gonna hurt?"

Logan and Lori turn to Rick. The teenager mischievously smiles, "Seriously?"

Lori squints her eyes at her husband who innocently shrugs. Lori laughs and motions to the glass. Dale hands Carl a glass and Lori holds her glass out to Logan. Logan wasn't going to lie, she has had alcohol before. But her parents didn't know that (she hopes). So, being able to take a sip without any repercussions sounds good to her.

Simultaneously, Carl and Logan take a sip of the wine. Carl's face immediately scrunches, "Eww!"

Logan softly hums, "Oh, yeah. Yuck." She sets her glass down. Logan looks at her mom, who was squinting her eyes. "Yeah...I'm sure you hated it."

Logan rolls her lips into her mouth and looks cluelessly away from her mother. Elliot softly laughs and drinks his soda.

"Well, just stick to soda pop there, you two." Shane voices.

Logan turns to Shane and a small huff escapes her lips. She would be damned if she was going to have this man tell her what she can and can't do. Out of spite, with her eyes still on Shane's; Logan grabs her mom's glass again and drinks more of the wine. Reese raises her brows at Logan's petty behavior. And in all honesty, she never admired the girl more than in this moment.

"Okay, Logan. Let's calm down, yeah?" Lori softly laughs and lowers the glass from Logan's lips. Logan wipes her mouth and exhales, "Sorry, I guess soda pop just isn't my thing." She looks back at Shane and quirks a brow. Shane's jaw clenches and he looks back at his plate.

"Not you, Glenn." Daryl speaks.

Glenn sheepishly laughs, "What?"

"Keep drinking, little man. I want to see how red your face can get."

Everyone begins to laugh and Glenn rolls his eyes playfully. Rick softly clinks his glass, catching everyone's attention. He stands up, "Seems to me we haven't thanked our host properly."

"He is more than just our host." T-Dog raises his glass.

"Hear! Hear!"

"Here's to you, Doc." Daryl holds a bottle of wine up. "Booyah!"

Elliot raises his soda can, thanking Dr. Jenner along with everyone else.

"So, when are you gonna tell saw what the hell happened here, Doc?" Shane asks, he turns to the Doctor. "All the—the other doctors that were supposed to be figure out what happened, where are they?"

"Dad," Elliot turns to his father. "we're celebrating right now. We don't have to—"

"No, no, son." Shane grips Elliot's shoulder. "This is why we're here, right?" He then looks at Rick. "This was your move—supposed to find all the answers. Instead we—we found him."

Reese clears her throat. "Look, I hate to agree with a man. But, this one happens to be right—just this once." She holds up her finger. "We came here for answers. We almost died getting here and now...there's only one person." She points at the doctor. Her brown intense eyes find the doctor's. "Why?"

Logan softly scoffs. She wasn't surprised Reese and Shane were the two to ruin the fun everyone was having. Well, Logan was a little surprised by Reese. She figured from the way, Reese was screwing with her life for fun; she would've enjoyed everyone laughing together.

"Well," Dr. Jenner starts. "when things got bad, a lot of people just left, went off to be with their families. And when things got worse, when he military cordon got overrun, the rest bolted."

"Every last one?"

"No, many couldn't face walking out the door." Dr. Jenner answers. "They...opted out. There was a rash of suicides. That was a bad time."

"You didn't leave." Andrea states. "Why?"

"I just kept working, hoping to do some good." Dr. Jenner says.

A silence settles into the room. Glenn stands up and lets out a heavy sigh with his eyes on Shane. "Dude, you are such a buzzkill, man."

Reese softly chuckles. Glenn shakes his head, "Uh-uh. You're not off the hook either."

The brunette holds her hands up, "Oh, come on—"

"Buzzkill number 2." Glenn points at her. Reese drops her hands and lets out another fit of laughter.

After everyone was done eating, Dr. Jenner guided them all to another part of the facility, where there rooms would be located. "Most of the facility is powered down including housing, so you'll have to make do here. The couches are comfortable, but there are cots in storage if you like." He points to one of the rooms. "There's a rec room down the hall that you kids might enjoy. Just don't plug in the video games, okay? Or anything that draws power. The same applies—if you shower, go easy on the hot water."

That information caught everyone's attention.

"Hot water?" Glenn whispers, but it was loud enough for everyone to hear.

T-Dog smiles, "That's what the man said."

☆

"Can you believe just two hours ago, we were gonna die?"

Reese lets out a soft breath. After her shower, Reese decided to take a walk around the facility. Elliot must've had the same thought as her. They passed by each other and Elliot's been stuck by her side ever since.

She and Elliot were walking side by side down the hallway, exploring each room. They would both take turns opening the doors and peaking in.

"I can believe it." Reese inhales. "I mean, our lives suck now."

"Still, we should celebrate the small wins, right?" Elliot looks at the girl.

A small laugh escapes the girl's lips from the familiar words. "Right, right..." she opens one door and peaks inside the room.

"So, with all the time we do have now..." Elliot keeps his eyes on the side of Reese's face. "...what are you gonna do?"

Reese chuckles, she looks at Elliot only to realize his eyes were already on her. Her chest tightens from the close proximity. Her eyes shift to his lips but then quickly back to his eyes. She has barely been with this group for 3 weeks and this boy had her feeling things she had sworn off since her father started beating her.

Reese thinks back to all her problems. Everything she's been through. Everything she's done. Elliot wouldn't be able to handle it. She thinks. Then her stomach turns. Worst of all, he would be terrified of her.

Reese takes a step away from him. "I'm going to read."

Elliot raises his brows, "Read, huh?"

Reese nods, "Doc said there was a rec room with some books and I intend to find it."

"You need company?"

Reese then chuckles. "I've never needed it before." She shrugs. "But thanks." She turns away from him and starts down the hall.

Elliot couldn't stop the small giddy laughter from escaping his lips over the interaction.

Reese turns a corner and lets out a breath. She pulls at the colllar of her shirt and her eyes quickly shift to the words on each door, hoping to find the library. Reese needed to get her priorities back in order. She couldn't think about Elliot like that. If she started to care about Elliot, then that meant she would end up caring for everyone else. Caring for Logan. That thought made her skin crawl.

Be selfish.

Reese spots the rec room and she chuckles. She grabs the door handle and pushes the door open. As soon as she opened the door , she felt her stomach tighten from the sight in front of her. Reese lets out a small scoff, "This place is enourmous,"

Shane pulls himself off of Lori. The woman lets out a desperate breath and she forces her gown back down where she wanted it.

"I'm sure you could've found somewhere else to..." Reese trails off her words when she notices Lori's erratic breathing and tears brimming her eyes. Reese doesn't say anything but she then looks at Shane—noticing the scratch marks on his neck and his drunken sway. Reese's back straightens along with her stomach turning. Everything in her body and mind told her to break this fucker's knees.

But she saw the state Lori was in. She didn't need any of that right now. Not only that, she's sure this would get this group kicked out and she would be to blame. Reese had to be calm about this. Screw being selfish. Her hard expression drops and her eyes soften.

"You're drunk." She motions her head to Shane. Reese brushes past him and stands slightly in front of Lori. She grabs the wine bottle and holds it out to Shane. "You should get some rest, Mr. Walsh." Reese gives him a small unthreatening smile.

No sudden movements.

You could hear a pin drop on the ground from the thick silence between the three. Shane was larger and stronger than Reese. Sure she could handle her own for a moment. But for how long? Reese was praying he would walk away. Please walk away.

Shane's eyes shift to Lori and the woman tenses. Reese lightly shakes the bottle. "We have a big day tomorrow. I heard the doctor's making breakfast."

Shane looks back at the teen and she innocently bunches her shoulders. He gives in and grabs the wine bottle from her and stumbles out of the room. Shane slams the door behind him causing Lori to jump. She lets out a weak cry and covers her eyes. Reese's smile drops and she turns to Lori. The teen doesn't say anything she just stands there, hoping she can bring the woman an ounce of comfort over what she had just went through.

After a few minutes, Lori felt her breathing calm and she took her hand off her eyes and she looks at the girl. "Reese—"

"You guys were together, right?" Reese asks. Lori's voice stops. Reese slightly opens her mouth. "I mean at the camp. He would look at you in a 'together' kind of way."

"You can't tell Logan or Elliot."

Reese lets out a small breath. "I wouldn't." She shakes her head. "I know I'm...a bitch, but I know my limits, Mrs. Grimes."

"I'm sorry, that he did that to you." Reese bites the inside of her cheek. A silence settles between the two. The girl hasn't shown kindness in so long. She didn't know where to start. "Are you...gonna be okay?"

Lori takes a moment to look over the girl's face. She never thought she would hear those words come out of Reese's lips. But she saw from the look across Reese's face that she had to be talking from her own experience. Reese figured she hid it well, but Lori was always good at reading people. The woman pushes herself off the table and cups Reese's face. Reese tenses from the gesture. She couldn't stop a lump forming in her throat thinking of her own mother's comfort.

"I'll be okay." Lori softly speaks. "Thank you."

Reese blinks and she can feel her eyes burn from approaching tears. Lori walks past Reese and the girl rubs her eyes. "Uh, you're a good mom."

Lori stops due to her the words. Reese clears her throat. "You don't have to doubt that."

Lori's voice gets caught in her throat. So, unable to speak, she lets out a soft hum of appreciation and walks out of the room. Reese lets out a shudder of discomfort and she leans her weight against the table, not being able to hold herself up any longer.

☆

Reese couldn't go to sleep. After what she witnessed in the rec room, it took everything out of her not to scream. So, she decided to continue walking around the facility. Dr. Jenner never revealed any specific curfew, so she took that as her sign to stay up as long as she needed.

Reese notices a door cracked open and soft laughter coming from the room. Her stomach tightens and she lets out a soft breath. "Please give me a break..." she lightly pushes the door open, wide enough to see the brunette sitting on the floor with her back against the wall.

Reese pulls her brows together. "Lo-Lo."

Logan blinks and stares at Reese with that familiar look of anger. Then her face twists into a smile and she holds her arms up. "Reese!"

Reese places a finger over her mouth, signaling the girl to stay quiet. Logan slaps a hand over her mouth and giggles. Reese looks over Logan with a skeptical eye. "What is going on with you?" She closes the door behind her and steps closer into the room. Her eyes shift to the large bottle of wine beside Logan and the teen chuckles. "Why am I not surprised..." she walks over to the girl and grabs the bottle of wine.

Logan lets out a drunken giggle. "They aren't gonna miss one bottle."

"Mascota. Nice." Reese hums. Logan hiccups and pats the floor, "Take a squat."

Reese squints her eyes at the girl. "You want me to sit with you?"

"And get drunk." Logan's smile widens. Reese exhales, her eyes shift back to the bottle of wine and she bites the inside of her cheek. "I should be 100 percent—"

"We're in the CDC." Logan whispers harshly. She lets out a small dramatic gasp and flails her arms around in excitement. "We've got all the time in the world, Reese."

Reese exhales through her nose. After the last 3 weeks, Reese didn't need a whole lot of convincing. She tilts her head back and takes a swig from the wine bottle. Logan raises her arms and a triumphant fit of laughter comes from her mouth.

...

Shane had stumbled into his room which caused Elliot to jerk awake. He rubs his eyes a few times and sees the silhouette of his father stalk over to the bathroom. Elliot pulls his brows together. "Dad?"

The bathroom door slams shut and Elliot flinches. Then he hears Shane vomit. Elliot quickly stumbles out of his bed and walks over to the bathroom door. "Dad, you okay?"

Elliot didn't receive a reply. He lets out a small breath—knowing his dad would be in there all night, the boy leans against the wall and slides to the floor with his knees pulled toward his chest. Elliot knew his dad was drinking too much at the dinner. But he figured he was relieved to be in a safe environment like everyone else. But this was different.

It made Elliot's heart race far worse than before. Elliot noticed a change in his dad's demeanor since Reese came to camp, but he never asked about it. His dad never wanted to talk about his true feelings. Even when Elliot tried his best to communicate with his dad, he always shut him down.

So, Elliot kept his place in front of the door with his eyes growing heavy again.

In another room in the facility were the two drunk teenagers. Logan had to keep her hands over her mouth to keep herself quiet. And Reese was sitting beside Logan with her eyes calmly on the wall.

"Why do you hate me?"

Logan laughs and takes a swig of the wine. "You tried to rip Eli and I apart."

Reese exhales with her brows raised. "Yeah, I understand your hatred."

Logan turns to Reese, "Why did you try to get between us?" She hands Reese the wine bottle.

Reese shrugs, "I just saw a strong relationship and...had the urge to ruin it."

"That's fucked up."

Reese looks at the wine bottle in her hand and a low sigh escapes her lips. "I know." She didn't know what was in the air tonight. But she felt sympathetic. Regret. Reese didn't know if these feelings would last all night, so she turns to Logan—finally looking at her. "I'm sorry for making you feel like you were losing your mind. And I'm sorry for just being a shitty person."

Logan squints her eyes at Reese, eye contact never breaking. Reese didn't know what she was expecting. An angry outburst maybe? Even Logan tackling her. But laughter—genuine laughter wasn't on the list.

Reese watches with furrowed brows as Logan grasps at her stomach and lets out the loudest cackles. The 16-year-old cranes her neck forward. "Did I say something funny?"

Logan waves a hand, "It's just, I never expected you to apologize for anything." She explains. "So, this alcohol you supposedly thought wouldn't affect you—is totally hitting you."

Reese deadpans, "Just take the apology..." she takes a sip out of the bottle then hands it to Logan.

Logan giggles and leans her head against the wall again. "I think my mom hates me."

Reese looks at Logan, stunned by the statement. Logan looks at Reese, realizing her eyes were on her. "Sorry." She huffs. "I...see the way she looks at me and—"

"She loves you."

Logan refocuses on Reese. The 16 year-old's dark gaze was unwavering. Logan knew that she believed what she was speaking. "She loves you, Logan."

Why the hell was Reese genuinely convincing her? The eye contact began to make Logan uncomfortable, so she looks away.

"Why were you in here in the first place?" Reese turns and looks at the side of Logan's face.

The brunette bunches her shoulders. "I wanted to drink where no judgy adults would be around to be...judgy." She giggles and takes a swig of the wine. Logan hands the bottle to Reese. Reese lets out a low giggle and grabs the bottle. "You seem to care a lot what these adults think."

Logan exhales, "Just three of them, I've known my whole life." She looks at Reese. "My parents and Shane."

Reese's stomach turns, thinking about Shane. What he did to Lori. What could've further happened if she didn't walk in.

"You know, I used to call him Uncle Shane?"

Reese's throat tightens, "Oh?" She takes a longer drink of the wine.

Logan snorts and nods her head. "Yeah. Some fucking uncle he is."

Reese pulls her brows together and looks at Logan. Just from the side of her face, Reese could see the tension in Logan's sharp jaw. She held so much anger in her heart. And most of that anger was directed towards one person.

"Shane isn't violent, right?"

Logan snorts. She looks at Reese, to see her expression but the girl realizes the seriousness across her face. "Oh...god no." Logan says. "I mean, he's a dick and I 100% understand why you would think, so, but he's never harmed Elliot in his life."

Reese keeps her eyes on the wine bottle. Logan keeps her emerald green eyes on Reese's hesitant expression. "Why—did you...did he hurt you?"

The newcomer looks at Logan and raises her brows. "Uh, no, no." she clears her throat. "Not me. I wouldn't let that fucker anywhere near me."

"Then who?"

Reese's forehead begins to grow hot. "What?" She sets the bottle to the side.

"You said 'not me'. So, who did he hurt?" Logan asks.

"I don't know, Logan. He's your uncle." Reese stands up and pats her pajama pants. "Go ask him yourself."

Reese looks around the room. "You should go and get some sleep before your parents suspect anything."

Logan keeps her eyes on Reese's, waiting for Reese to share anything else she wanted off her shoulders. But the girl just kept her arms crossed over her chest—keeping her distance. Logan sputters, "Fun times over, I guess..." she stumbles onto her feet and leans against her wall. The brunette keeps her head on the wall. "I think, I'm gonna sleep in here—"

"No." Reese immediately speaks with a laugh. "Absolutely not. The last thing I need, are your parents finding you like this and they blame me." She motions her head to the door. "I'll help you walk."

Logan laughs, "I am not letting your hands get anywhere near me."

Reese rolls her eyes, "Then I will guide you...with my eyes." She pulls open the door. "Now, let's go."

Logan stumbles toward the door and walks through the door. "What kind of body wash did you use?" She sniffs. "I used leather and whiskey."

Reese raises her brows, "Of course you did, you country hick."

"Well, what did you use, city girl?" Logan retorts. Reese softly chuckles, "Cherry Blossoms."

Logan hums, "Ohhh, so you're a basic city girl—"

"Shut the fuck up."

☆

It was the next morning and Logan's head was absolutely killing her. She didn't even bother eating any of the breakfast that was made. Reese on the other hand, was perfectly fine. If anything she had more of an appetite today than last night. But there was still something hanging over her head. Something that lingered since last night.

"Are you hungover?"

Logan softly laughs at Carl's question to their father. "Mom said you'd be." She adds to the torment.

"Mom is right." Rick sits next to Logan. He ruffles her hair and the girl has to suppress a groan from the sudden pain in her head.

"Mom has that annoying habit." Lori quips with a small smile on her lips. She looks at Logan, "You not gonna eat anything?"

Logan lifts her head and meets her mother's gaze. A mother can read even the slightest twitch across her child's face. And just from one look, she could tell that Logan was silently nursing her own hangover. Lori slightly tilts her chin up. A small smile forms on her lips and she scoots glass of water over to Logan with some aspirin.

Logan lets out a breath of relief and mouths "thank you". She grabs the aspirin and takes it with her water. Logan keeps her eyes on her mom for a moment, thinking about what Reese said the night before. Why was Reese so sure that her mother loved her?

"Eggs. Powdered, but—but I do 'em good." T-Dog walks over to the table with the plate of eggs. "I bet you can't tell."

Glenn groans with his face practically in his plate. Reese was sitting next to former pizza delivery boy. "Rough night?"

Glenn whines, "How could you tell?"

"Don't ever ever ever let me drink again."

Reese giggles and takes a bite out of her bacon. Out of the corner of her eye, she sees a figure walk through the door. She looks at the brunette boy's solemn expression as he walked into the room. Strands of his brown hair was hanging over his eyes in distress and the dark circles under his eyes. It made her chest tighten.

"Look who's finally up!"

Everyone turns their attention to the brunette boy. Elliot holds a hand up, sending everyone a small wave with a timid smile. "Mornin'."

"Your dad not joining us?" Rick asks.

Elliot runs a hand through his hair. "I think he might be nursing his own thing right now." He answers. "He's just taking his time."

Elliot takes a seat beside Reese, who never takes her eyes off him. He gives her a small smile and Reese softly sends him a nod. "How'd you sleep?"

"Uh, good, good." Elliot scoots his chair closer to the table.

Reese's eyes travel across his face. "Really? Cause your eye bags say differently."

Elliot wipes his eyes and looks away from the brunette. Reese tilts her head, "Wiping them won't help."

"Look, Reese?" Elliot turns to her his voice was far more aggravated than before. It caused Reese's brows to raise. "I'm fine, okay? And if I wasn't..." he trails off his words, noticing how sharp his tone was.

Reese's face relaxes, "What? I would be the last person you would tell?"

Elliot exhales. "No, I wouldn't tell anyone at all actually."

Reese slowly nods her head. "Well, you should. Talking helps." She presses her lips together. "Not to me though. You don't have to talk to me."

Elliot chuckles, "Good to know."

"Hey."

Reese's body freezes from the gruff voice. Shane walks towards the table with cups of coffee and grabs one for himself.

"Feel bad as I do?" Rick asks.

"Worse."

Shane walks over toward the table, but he passes T-Dog along the way who spots the scratches on his neck. "The hell happened to you? Your neck?"

Shane sits at the table. "Must have done it in my sleep."

"Never seen you do that before." Rick says.

"Me neither." Shane glances at Lori. "Not like me at all."

Reese's jaw twitches and she curls her fingers around her butter knife. God, she wanted to jam this into his eye, hoping it was dull. She wanted it to be slow and painful.

Dr. Jenner walks into the room. "Morning."

"Hey, doc."

"Doctor," Dale speaks. "I don't mean go slam you with questions first thing—"

"But you will anyway."

"We didn't come here for eggs." Andrea states.

Logan frowns, "We don't mind them, though." She shrugs.

Dr. Jenner nods his head. "I think I know what you're wanting to see." He states.

"Follow me, then."

━━━━━━━━━━

author's note.

I LOVE REESE EVANS!!! Her character development is definitely one of my favorites

words : 4997