Chapter 23

I woke up after a few hours of riding in the car, my neck stiff from the uncomfortable position. I smiled to myself when I noticed Jackson's hand still holding my own. I had forgotten what caring and affection felt like. This new world seems to run off fear and sadness. I watch Jackson out of the corner of my eye, making no movements to show I've woken up. He looks exhausted. Stubble lines his jaw and his eyes look tired as he continues to watch the road, one hand gripping the steering wheel firmly. He glances at me and my cheeks immediately redden at the fact that I've been caught staring. I look away as the corners of his mouth turn up, slipping my hand from his to stretch out my arms and neck. I can see that Mikayla is still asleep and I don't plan to wake her yet. We've been through a lot, I'm sure she is beyond tired.

I turn to Jackson quietly. "Hey, how long has it been? We can switch and I can drive so you can rest." I offer lightly.

He sighs, "It's been about three hours. I don't know where we are. We should probably stop soon to regroup a little and come up with a new plan and destination."

I mull his words over in my head. He's right, but where would we go?

"Okay well, we can stop at one of these houses on the side of the highway if there are any that look relatively clear."

He nods at me to confirm and shoots a small smile my way. This causes my heart to speed up a little and I just know my cheeks are red. It's a new feeling for me, I never thought I would be attracted to someone in the middle of an apocalypse but I am. Jackson is different, he is genuinely kind and easy on the eyes to boot. Not to mention he has already saved my life, talk about a fairy tale start. I giggle to myself at that thought and he throws a small look of confusion my way which I choose to just ignore. Instead, I grab some protein bars and two water bottles from the backseat, opening his first and passing them to him. I'm not super hungry right now but I probably need the nutrients to keep up my strength. God knows my mental strength is dwindling as of late.

We eat and drink in silence until Jackson spots a small house off away from the road on a dirt path. He slowly swings the car into the drive as I look around for threats. I don't see anything but that has never meant anything before for us. Mikayla stirs as we park the car, agreeing that this house will be as good as any to get some rest and recuperation.

The old home has seen better days, the roof is missing shingles and the white siding could use a good power washing as well as some yard work, but it also looks like the owners haven't been home for a while which is good. We hop out of the car, stretching all around, before branching out to find some weapons quick. Jackson finds a small rock rake propped beside the tiny porch steps leading to the dingy front door and I grab a stick with good length and girth. If anything, I will use it like a spear. Mikayla settles for a decent-sized rock that's been broken to resemble a point.

We begin making our way to the front door, Jackson leading the way and Mikayla bringing up the rear, leaving me in the middle. We do an entire sweep of the house and find nothing of the undead variety.

"Talk about a lucky break," Mikayla mutters in relief under her breath.

"Better knock on wood to keep it that way." I giggle and ruffle her hair before heading back out to the car, setting my stick beside the door.

She rolls her eyes heavily and follows me back out, putting her rock by my stick as Jackson starts looking for stuff to add to our supply stash. Mikayla and I manage to get some of our stuff into the house, not bringing all our water or food in just in case we make another speedy exit which seems to be happening a LOT lately. When we enter the homey little kitchen, full of cutesy decors such as the hand towels with crocheted tops to hang them from the stove and a cookie jar in the shape of a tuxedo cat, we see Jackson arranging some canned food on the counter. He found approximately twelve cans of various fruits and vegetables. It feels like the jackpot honestly. He even found some canned tuna and chicken. We haven't had meat since the beef jerky at the gas station which feels like a lifetime ago. My mouth is already watering.

Mikayla goes off in search of some blankets and pillows for tonight while Jackson pulls out a can opener and I grab some plates from the cabinet. We work in comfortable silence, occasionally smiling at each other. By the time we have a decent amount of food on the plates, Mikayla stumbles back into the kitchen grinning.

"There's a decent couch and recliner in the living room. I piled the blankets and pillows I found in the bedrooms on them. I got dibs on the recliner!" With that she grabs a plate and skips into the living room, leaving me laughing and Jackson watching her with an eyebrow raised.

We grab our plates and follow her into the room, it's a little dusty but seems to be in good condition, a large bookshelf behind the couches draws my attention. Mikayla is already buried in the recliner chowing down when I sit down on the small couch. Jackson sets his plate on the glass coffee table in front of the couch and I look at him quizzically.

"I'm going to go grab us some water bottles from the kitchen, so we don't have to get up while waiting."

Swoon. How freaking thoughtful.

I shake my head, tossing the weird thoughts to the side before I remember something.

"Hold on!" He turns to look at me with confusion on his face as I screech at him. "Check my bag, I have some drinks in there," I say quieter.

He nods and goes to find my bag. I remembered that I still had a few cans of root beer in my bag from home. I haven't had time to drink them so we may as well enjoy them now with our nice meal. As soon as he has rounded the corner into the kitchen Mikayla perks up, eyeing me mischievously.

I almost don't hear her teasing remark because of how quiet she lets it slip. "Get it girrrrrlllll."

I choke a little on the bite of green peas I had in my mouth before shooting her a look. "Excuse me?"

She laughs and whispers back to me. " Oh, I can tell that something is going on between you two." She gestures with her fingers while waggling her eyebrows and I fight the urge to snicker.

I choose to instead roll my eyes at her. "You're like 10, you don't know what you're talking about."

She smiles devilishly and hums her response before turning her attention back to her meal. "Mmmhmm, whatever you say."

I resume shoveling the cold veggies into my mouth, relishing the bright, flavorful taste of food that isn't a stale protein bar. I must resist the urge to moan out loud at how good the tuna and chicken are. I don't even remember the last time I had actual meat like this. I was taking it for granted before all of this but never again.

Jackson walks back into the room carrying three cans of root beer and almost throws them when Mikayla screams with her high-pitched teen girl voice.

"Is that SODA?!" She jumps up from the recliner almost dumping her plate to get one of the cans from Jackson who stands as still as possible, as though any sudden movement may have deadly consequences. I grin at them both sheepishly from behind my plate.

"I brought it from home. I was saving them, but this seemed like a great time to crack them open. There's no one else I would rather share them with." I murmur at them.

They both make long awe sounds like someone just showed them a picture of new baby kittens which makes me feel even cornier. The rest of our meal goes nicely, Jackson sits next to me, our arms and legs brushing occasionally causing my heart to palpitate, but I don't think it was noticeable. We talk about our lives before the apocalypse, our lives before each other, and our hopes for the future while enjoying our drinks and the company. I've never felt more at home with anyone since this all happened.

Mikayla falls asleep first and Jackson and I continue talking for hours. He is genuinely easy to talk to and I find myself smiling just hearing his voice. Eventually, I start to get tired, the sun has long gone down. He goes to check the doors and then grabs a book to read while he keeps watching for a little while. When he comes back, he moves a pillow onto his lap and gestures for me to lay down. I comply and fall asleep giddy and content as his hand lightly plays with my hair. I can't help but be excited at the thought of continuing my journey with these two. We've been through so much together this past couple of months that I can't imagine losing either of them. Maybe the apocalypse isn't so bad after all.