Hours had already passed and the only one left awake in the hotel room was Sheloah. She was sitting on the floor, watching over Veon. She was quite surprised when she saw him slowly waking up.
"I thought… I lost," he said and Sheloah looked at him with concern.
"What are you saying, Veon? You won," Sheloah said and Veon looked at her, a little bit in a daze.
"I thought I didn't. I thought you'd leave once I lost to Ray," he said, with fear in his voice. This made Sheloah heart beat faster a bit.
"Can you sit up," Sheloah just asked, changing the subject. She did not know how to react to that.
Veon sat up slowly and the blanket that was covering his torso fell down on the bed. Sheloah's eyes discreetly fell on the teenager's body. She gaped at Veon's body slightly.
'My…'
Sheloah kind of noticed that she had been staring at Veon for quite a long time so she averted her eyes and coughed a bit.
"I'll look for a shirt."
Sheloah then turned around, looking for a shirt. Once she got a shirt from the hotel's cabinet, she threw it to Veon and he successfully caught it.
"Wear it now. It's a little chilly tonight," Sheloah added and Veon nodded as he wore the shirt.
Sheloah went back to the end table where she had left Veon's soup. She pulled a chair near them and held the soup.
"Eat. I'll try to feed you," she said and Veon just looked at the soup.
"You cooked?" Sheloah nodded at him.
"Yes. You don't want it," she asked and Veon shook his head.
"No… and umm… I can eat on my own," he said and Sheloah pointed at his arm where Ray left a scar. "I guess," Veon added and Sheloah rolled her eyes at him.
"Stop acting like a strong guy and let me feed you, geez…"
She got a spoon and started feeding Veon with the soup she cooked. He savored it in his mouth before he swallowed it. His eyes sparkled when he was satisfied with how Sheloah cooked the food.
"More."
Sheloah giggled a little, feeling happy that Veon appreciated the food and that he was now having the appetite to eat the moment he just woke up. Veon wasn't able to finish the whole soup though since he felt his stomach aching. He was not yet fully healed.
After Sheloah washed the dishes, she went back to sit on the floor to look after Veon. He tilted his head when he saw her not sitting on a chair or on the bed.
"Why choose to sit there," he asked and Sheloah looked at him.
"I don't have a space. Besides… I'll sleep beside my cousin later," Sheloah just answered and Veon's eyes widened a bit.
"In between me and him," he asked and Sheloah's eyes widened as well.
'Does he think we'll be sleeping together?'
"M-my cousin's going to be in the middle, duh!" Sheloah even stammered when she answered Veon.
Sheloah turned her back and she rested on the edge of the bed, avoiding Veon's gaze. Veon felt her hair brush on his hand so he started playing with Sheloah's hair.
"Your hair's already long, Sheloah. How do we braid hair again," he said and asked as he was trying to recall how to braid her hair. Sheloah giggled a bit.
While Veon was playing with her hair, Sheloah suddenly spoke.
"If this situation won't end, what might happen in the future," she asked, thinking about the zombie apocalypse.
"I don't know. What I'm thinking about now is that we still haven't graduated high school then suddenly this happened," Veon said and it made Sheloah think.
Now that it was already the zombie apocalypse, they don't know what might happen in the future. They don't even know what might happen to them! They were already in the last year of their secondary education then suddenly an apocalypse happened. What might become of the education system in the future? What might become of the society; the world?
"What if we escape this country successfully and had reached Australia… will we still go back to school," Sheloah wondered aloud and she felt Veon's breathing on her neck as he was playing with her hair.
"Maybe. We might focus on the physical education subject, too. For survival purposes, y'know," he said and Sheloah slightly sighed.
"Yeah, I think so, too. What we need now is for our survival," she said and Veon replied.
"True. We didn't expect this to happen. Thinking about the situation realistically, it's sad to think about it, I think not all of us would make it."
When Sheloah heard what Veon said, her hands tightened and she despised the thought.
"Don't say that. We haven't left this place yet and that's what you already think," she said, having a little chill in her voice and Veon sighed.
"I'm just telling the truth and thinking of the possibilities here," he said and Sheloah scoffed.
"Whatever. The important thing is now. We will try our best to pull everything off as a group," she said and Veon just ignored what Sheloah had said.
Veon knew that Sheloah was really determined to survive as a group. Deep down, he couldn't help but somewhat think that not everyone will make it. He couldn't help thinking realistically. He wanted to speak his mind out, but he knew that he might offend Sheloah.
"I'm sleepy," Veon just said, avoiding the topic.
'He just woke up and now he's sleepy again?''
Sheloah just nodded, thinking that it may be due to his fatigue and physical condition so she didn't mind. She stood up as she prepared to sleep beside her cousin, who was beside Veon. The bed was wide enough for the three of them.
"I'll sleep, too."
Her back was facing her cousin and she closed her eyes. After a few minutes, Veon suddenly spoke.
"Thanks for taking good care of me."
Veon thanked Sheloah and when she heard this, she smiled slightly, then she closed her eyes, drifting off to sleep. She was quite tired, too.
She promised herself that she would do what she can to protect and help Veon. If he gets hurt, she promised herself to take care of him even if she knew little background on the medical field. She vowed to learn by herself, too, so she knows what to do in cases of emergency.
As long as she made him happy and safe, it was already enough for her.