Days 61-67: Leo

When Ava confessed to me, I didn’t know how to react. Her words caught me off guard—shocking, yes—but also strangely comforting. It was like something inside me unclenched. Relief washed over me, followed by a happiness I didn’t recognize. It wasn’t the kind of happiness I’d faked to make Ava feel better. It wasn’t a distraction, or a mask. This time, it was real. Genuine. I couldn’t find the right words, so I cried. For the first time in what felt like forever, I was truly happy—and it was because of her.

Despite Ava’s confession, things were awkward in the days that followed. Every time I looked at her, I’d quickly glance away. My face kept flushing, burning hot for no reason I could explain. Was this what being genuinely happy did to a person? I wanted to talk to her like normal, but I couldn’t. And it wasn’t just me. Anytime I managed to gather the nerve to say something, Ava would bolt. She’s been sleeping in the van for a few nights now. I keep hoping this weird tension between us will fade, but I can’t stop feeling nervous around her. I hope she doesn’t think I’m avoiding her. I mean—I sort of am, but not really. Not on purpose.

I needed a way to talk to her—but I had no idea how. If I tried to approach her, she might just run off again. Still, we couldn’t keep avoiding what happened. I wanted to talk. I wanted to be with her. Eventually, I came up with a plan. She loves fish—always has. So I figured I’d sneak out, catch a few, and cook them for dinner. That way, she’d have a reason to sit down with me. She’s been sticking to the canned food in the van, but I know she realizes we can’t waste our supplies like that. Mentioning that might convince her to eat with me. These days, she mostly stays near the cabins or in the van, so sneaking out wouldn’t be hard. The fishing, though… that could be a problem. Especially if another bear shows up. But this time, I’ll be ready. I want to live. I want to live so I can be with Ava—no matter the cost.

Before I went fishing, I needed an excuse to slip away. I figured I’d try talking to Ava—if she ran off again, I’d take that as my chance.

“Hey, Ava!” I called, giving a little wave.

She looked like she’d seen a ghost. Her eyes went wide, and after a beat, she forced an awkward smile and waved back—then bolted. Predictable, but still kind of sad. I hated that she was still scared to talk to me… but I had to make use of it. So I quickly grabbed all my fishing equipment from the tent and headed to the lake. Once there, I scoped out the area for bears—none in sight, thankfully. I set to work. It took a while, but eventually, I caught one fish. Then another. Then another. After an hour or two, I’d filled the whole bucket. I stared down at my catch, proud—until my thoughts drifted to that day that Ava saved me from the bear. Thinking back, she was always so concerned with me and is always willing to put her life on the line to protect me. Even though she values her life so much, she’s still willing to throw it all away just in order to save mine.

She’s the best. Just means tonight’s dinner has to be as good as she is.

When I got back to the campsite, Ava was waiting for me with a sharp look in her eyes. “Where were you?” she asked, voice tight.

Oh crap, is she mad.

“Uh—I was at the lake,” I said, stumbling over my words.

“The lake?!”

Yeah. Definitely mad.

“Y-yeah... the lake.” I froze under her gaze, unsure what to say next. But as I looked at her, her expression slowly shifted. The edge in her face softened—she didn’t look angry anymore. She looked… worried.

Ava lets out a small sigh, “What were you doing out there?”

I held up the bucket full of fish. “Fishing. For dinner.”

Ava looked at me and immediately went in for a hug, “Thank goodness you’re alright. I was worried sick after you disappeared without saying anything.”

I looked over to the side and said, “Oh, sorry.”

She didn’t let go right away. The hug lasted just a few seconds—but it felt much longer. When she finally stepped back, I noticed her cheeks were bright red. She quickly averted her gaze. “T-thanks for fishing. For us…”

“Y-yeah, no problem.”

We both looked away, faces burning. “I guess I’ll leave dinner to you, then,” she mumbled, turning stiffly like a robot and walking off into the tent. It was painfully awkward. But still—talking to Ava again, it felt good—really good.

That gave me even more motivation to cook the perfect dinner tonight. I went into the van, grabbed everything I needed, and got started. First, I cleaned the fish and cut out the meat, then I cooked it. There were also some canned vegetables I could use as a side—corn and green beans. Nothing fancy, but I think she’d enjoy it. After about thirty minutes, I finished cooking and plated the food on some styrofoam plates I found in one of the cabins. I set everything out on the picnic table and called out to Ava.

This time, I’ll tell her how I feel—and how much she means to me.

She sat down, and we started to eat. We didn’t talk at first—it was awkward, but somehow comforting. Even so, I knew I had to break the silence and bring up what she said.

“So Ava…”

She immediately looked up, “Y-yeah.”

“So about what you said the other day...”

“Oh that… You can just forget about it if you want.”

“No I can’t it’s just that—”

“If you want to reject me then that’s fine by the way. I pulled the gun out just so you could live. I don’t want you accepting my feelings out of pity. So please don’t be pressured to feel any type of way.”

“What if… it wasn’t out of pity though?”

Ava’s eyes widened, a flicker of excitement breaking through her nervous expression.

“I’ve been thinking about it for a while,” I said. “But I just didn’t know how to tell you. I feel the same way about you.”

“R-really?”

“Is that surprising?”

“Yeah, kind of” she said while looking away and scratching her cheek. “Remember when you asked me out at the cafe?”

“Uh, yeah.”

“Back then, I thought you were a complete idiot. Like—how was this guy confessing when the world was ending? What a total moron.”

“Ouch.” I joked.

Ava giggled. “Sorry. I just wanted to bring up that moment because… I realized I did the exact same thing. Confessing to you when I knew you were going through so much. And the more I thought about it, the more I remembered: you only confessed to me back then because you wanted to have fun before everything ended. So I just never expected you to actually like me back—not in a real and genuine way at least.”

There was a moment of silence as I searched for the right words. She was so sure that I was going to reject her because of how I confessed back then. But today was different—today was genuine. “You’re right,” I said quietly. “Back then, I just wanted to date you because the world was ending.” Ava looked down, her face falling just a little. She was trying to hide it, but I saw it—like she was bracing for rejection. “But not now,” I continued. She looked up again, and the sadness in her expression melted away. “I think… I do love you. The way you care about me. The way you try to comfort me. All the times you’ve saved me. You always put your life on the line—even though you value it so much—just to protect someone like me. Someone who doesn’t always value theirs.” I paused, trying to keep my voice steady. “That means everything. You’re the one person I feel like I can open up to. And whenever I’m with you—even when things are falling apart—I’m actually having fun. No matter how hard life kicks me down… being with you makes it all feel okay.”

Ava placed both hands over her mouth, and I noticed her eyes were glistening with tears.

I smiled. “So, Ava—would you go out with me? This time I’m asking because I really do have feelings for you.”

“Yes… I’d love to.”

After my confession, things were still a little awkward—but we were finally able to talk again. Talking to her like this made me forget about the tense, silent days that came before. That night, we even slept in the same tent again.

But before we fell asleep, Ava admitted, “You know—this is the first relationship I’ve ever been in.”

“Really?” I answered, maybe a little too fast.

Ava turned to me and shot me a look, “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Well I just figured that you’ve dated someone before I guess.”

“Why do you think that?” she asked, still giving me that same look.

“Well you're pretty ,so I would guess there was at least one person who was interested in you.”

Ava turned away and retreated into her sleeping bag, “You can’t just say something that embarrassing Leo!” she blurted.

“What? It’s just the truth.”

Ava retreats further into her sleeping bag. “It’s just that I would spend all my time either working or studying. So I didn’t have time for a relationship. And things like that didn’t interest me back then.” Her tone softens a little, “But enough about me. What about you—have you ever been in a relationship?” She was asking but it seemed like she wanted me to say no.

“I haven’t either.”

Ava let out a quiet sigh of relief then asked, “How come?”

“Well I guess I wasn’t in the right mental state to be thinking about that type of stuff.”

“Oh, okay. I understand what you mean”

We continued talking until we accidentally fell asleep. I guess since we haven’t talked for a few days we just wanted to talk as much as possible.

The next morning, I woke up with her arms wrapped around me. It startled me, and I instinctively pulled away. I accidentally woke her up and she asked if there was something going on. I must’ve woken her, because she mumbled something about what was going on. Normally she would’ve been embarrassed, but I think she was too sleepy to notice. Once we were up, we washed up and changed clothes. Afterwards, we decided to clean up the mess from dinner last night. As we were cleaning I thought about how we were in this campsite for so long. We’re supposed to be living the remainder of our lives to the fullest so spending it camping isn’t really the best idea. I brought it up to Ava, and she agreed. She admitted she’d been getting tired of the forest. “Even the lake,” I teased. She immediately answered no. We shared a laugh and ultimately decided that we should find a new spot to settle. So we made a decision: today, we’d pack up and find somewhere new. I asked her if she wanted to go anywhere specific but she just said that she’s willing to go anywhere. I wasn’t familiar with the area, so we just picked a direction and started driving. Once we had everything packed, we hit the road—driving in no particular direction. The drive lasted four hours. It would've felt longer, but talking to Ava made it easier. She kept coming up with random games and ridiculous scenarios. It made the time pass fast. After a while, we decided to stop for the night. I took an exit and found an abandoned motel near a gas station. We’d check the station out tomorrow. For now, we needed sleep. We scouted the area first, just in case there were any criminals around. There weren’t. So we grabbed a key from the front desk and picked a room. It was a two-bed motel room, so we decided to sleep separately—especially since the beds were small. We ate dinner and went to sleep, saving our energy for exploring the area in the morning. But I couldn’t sleep. Not easily. My thoughts kept me up—but this time, they weren’t about my parents. They were about Ava. I kept thinking about all the moments we’d shared. The laughter. The warmth. The way she made me feel alive, even in this broken world. Then, without warning, a memory flashed in my head—my mother’s body. Her soulless eyes. Her limp frame in a pool of blood. I don’t ever want to see Ava like that. I’ll protect her. I’ll protect what we have. No matter the cost. If it ever comes to it again—this time, I won’t hesitate.