Good Intentions

I walked upstairs and knocked on Tucker's door.

"Yes?" I heard him say

I opened the door and walked in, closing it behind me.

"I figured we should talk, so I know a bit more a bout you." I said.

"Alright" He mumbled.

He sat up on the bed and I sat down next to him.

"So were you always on your own?" I asked curiously.

"Yeah, ever since the virus was found. My family had died in the beginning, and I've been meaning to find my cousins. But they're in a different state. What about you?" He said

"I was on my own for a while. I got emancipated right before my parents died. I don't think I could've dealt with having to kill them if the virus got them. I just turned 17 in August, so it's been about a year or so since I've been on my own." I told him.

"That must be hard" He said.

I looked at him. I just couldn't stop staring at him, he was so beautiful. I don't know what heppened but when he turned to look at me, I kissed him.

When I pulled back I realized what I had done.

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry" I said

I turned away from him, but he turned me back and kissed me back.

"It's perfectly fine" He said

"Before I kissed you I was gonna say, We'll go find your cousins." I told him.

"Alright" he said, smirking.

We stayed up there for almost the rest of the day, talking and laughing about stupid shit.

***

I realized how late it was and went down to help finish with dinner. I had told Tucker that he could come down tonight if he wanted to.

When the dinner bell rang I heard him coming down the stairs, i could tell he was limping because his ankle wasn't much better. I helped him walk over to the couch.

"Kids, don't mess with Tucker. He just decided to come down for dinner" I said

"Can I still eat with you guys bro?" I heard Amaryllis ask.

"Yes you can Ama" I smiled.

Everyone got their dinner and I got one for Tucker. I took it out to him and I sat down next to him, Amaryllis sitting beside me.

"This is good" Tucker said after taking a bite.

I decided to make an announcement now since everyone was here eating. I sat my food down and stood up.

"Hey guys!" I said loudly to be heard over the chatter.

Everyone shut up real quick.

"Tucker, Scavenge party A and B are gonna be heading out tomorrow. It's gonna be a long journey. I'll pack a lot of the main stuff we need. But everyone else pack light!" I said

"Yes sir" Everyone said.

***

The next morning I woke up and packed a lot of stuff. making sure i had my bow, my quiver and my shotgun. I made sure everyone else did too.

I told everyone I was going out back and I did.

I went to the barn and opened it. There was a big gas tanker and my pickup truck. I gathered all 40 of my 10 gallon gas cans. I filled them up and put them in the back of my truck, knowing I still had a full tank of gas in there already.

"Alright guys! let's go" I said.

We all walked back to my truck. Tucker in the passenger seat, Amaryllis, Aidan, Rupert, and Zoe in the back seats of the cab. That left Borka, Svetlana, and Bartholomew in the back with the bags and gas.

I put turned on the truck, pulling out of the driveway and heading towards the inerstate.

"What state do they live in?" I asked