Chapter 48: ...Want A Hug?
"How can someone lose their memories just because of an awakening... Me, Aadav, Max, Jacob, none of us seem to have lost any memories." Jenny murmured, unable to understand his excuse.
"You’re right." Andrea nodded to Jenny’s words.
She seemed to be accepting Jenny’s reasoning, making the blonde woman smile and think that Andrea wasn’t so bad after all.
However, Jenny soon regretted thinking that.
Andrea’s smile widened and transformed into a smirk as she purposefully tucked her arms in Fredrinn’s elbow, leaning close to him.
"You all don’t seem to have lost any memories maybe because you all are weaker than him? Could be that only the strong ones have the drawback. No need to take it personally though, of course." She said politely.
"You’re lucky you said that to me and not Max." Jenny sighed, "He would’ve instantly challenged Fredrinn to a duel after that disrespect."
Fredrinn chuckled in response while Andrea only snorted, as if she couldn’t care less. Of course, she was just showing off and didn’t actually mean to make trouble for Fredrinn.
Seeing her reaction, Jenny rolled her eyes and looked at Fredrinn with a complicated look.
"You lost your memories after awakening? Like... everything?"
Fredrinn nodded, "Everything important at least. I don’t remember my family, my work, my life, my friends. So yeah... I am on a quest to search for my family currently."
"...Want a hug?" Jenny stared into his eyes, which appeared calm and cold like always, but she could notice the undertone of sadness behind them.
Clearly, he wasn’t as fine and normal about it as he was pretending to be.
"From you? Why not?" Fredrinn chuckled in response and spread his hands open, inviting Jenny to approach him.
Andrea narrowed her eyes at Fredrinn.
So having no choice, he wrapped his hand around her shoulder and pulled her in a side hug as well.
Andrea intentionally wrapped her small hands around his waist, trying to occupy as much space as possible while Jenny looked at the scene speechlessly.
How jealous was this girl even?
But, looking at Andrea’s over the top jealousy and possessiveness, it only triggered Jenny’s competitiveness.
In her eyes, it was clear that she was smarter, stronger and also more mature than Andrea. There was nothing that Andrea could beat Jenny at.
With a scoff, Jenny ignored Andrea’s childish antics and walked towards Fredrinn, whose one hand was still spread open as if inviting her.
By now Jenny already realized that he didn’t want the hug because he felt sad, but with ulterior motives.
However, somehow, she didn’t hate that idea either.
She wrapped her hand around him and patted his back, as if she was only consoling him.
’Is this the scent of Jasmine?’ Fredrinn was stunned when he smelt the refreshing, floral scent digging into his nostrils, coming from Jenny.
Earlier he didn’t notice it well, but now he couldn’t help but feel how good her scent was.
Her hair, despite being dirty from some places and splattered with small amounts of dried blood, still gave out a light fragrance.
Fredrinn’s other hand went around her military vest, over the exposed shoulders and arms as her breath hitched from the heat.
So somehow, he was hugging two gorgeous women side by side. The two were pressed closely to him.
It was a sight that frustrated every single male inside the storage room, but seeing Fredrinn, they couldn’t help but keep their silence.
Even Jenny didn’t bring up the bullshit about Max’s breakup and his grief.
She simply enjoyed the man’s embrace.
Once a few moments had passed and Jenny began to feel weird inside her chest, she blushed and slowly pulled herself out of the hug.
Her heartbeats were galloping like wild horses and her body temperature seemed to be rising.
’What’s wrong with me?! I barely know that man, how can I suddenly start developing feelings? What bullshit.
It should be physical attraction, that’s all. He’s handsome and I am a young healthy woman. Hormones are normal. It’s alright.’ She nodded to herself.
"We lost Leon the radio man and Tom the engineer. I managed to save Clara and the doctor. As for Dickens, he’s infected and we do not know what to do." Jenny decided to change the topic.
"Well, there’s nothing that can be done about it now." Fredrinn wasn’t much affected by the news.
"So..." Jenny lowered her voice to a whisper, "Do you really think killing all the infected is... a good decision?"
"Yes and no." He shook his head, "It’s a good decision in terms of safety and precautions, but it’s a bad decision in terms of the group’s trust and morale. They cannot handle killing fellow humans so easily.
Isn’t that also the reason those unchosens are still alive? No one wants to be the bad guy themselves."
"And you do?" She blinked innocently and stared at Fredrinn, trying to take a peek inside his psyche but failing miserably.
"Nah. I just want to be alive, find my family and well... experience some romance in my life. I don’t have memories of my past, but I can feel that I have never felt the feeling of ’love’ as everyone describes. If I did, I am sure I would’ve remembered her."
Both Jenny and Andrea went silent at Fredrinn’s words.
They both knew without even speaking that they were interested in him.
But... the feeling of love?
Who has even experienced that in the current time?
There’s infatuation, talking stage, situationships, friends with benefits, manipulation, blah blah blah.
All the excuses that humans give to evade a real connection.
"I see..." Both of them said in a tandem, nodding their heads with perfect understanding.
"That feeling you’re talking about, I haven’t felt either." Andrea said sagely.
"Me neither." Jenny hummed.
Fredrinn chuckled and shook his head. He couldn’t relate to these women about it.
Maybe it was his old way of thinking speaking.
Regardless of whatever bullshit he spoke, he had to get 3 voluntary thralls as soon as possible and then collect 5 zombie cores.
And now, he was getting seriously confused about the 3 girls he wanted to include in his ’harem’.
[ <LUST> clicks its tongue. Host is trying to choose again. ]
Fredrinn chuckled at the message.
’Forget about that right now. Tell me about the zombie core. Can I find one here?’