my tears ricochet

Chapter Sixty

Things started falling into place very quickly after the first sleepless night in Alexandria.

Aaron had shown up at the door to give keys over for two new apartments, breaking up the the unit that existed between Maggie and Daryl. Whichever way the power was shifting in the group as a whole, Daryl didn't care. Ivy was his priority, followed by his promise to keep an eye on the sisters.

Glenn was just a bonus.

Ivy looked uncomfortable watching the three slowly cross the walkway into their ground level apartment, all big windows and a tidy yard. He tried to sooth it by resting his hand on the back of her neck but she remained tense, measuring every step from their apartment to the one Aaron was leading them to.

"We tried to keep you all close, but we aren't used to finding big groups. Normally we get lucky if we find three or four people," Aaron told him as they walked, pointing out one of the supply shops as they passed by. "Maggie implied that you were close, though. So Deanna arranged for these apartments to be kept in easy walking distance."

Aaron passed over two keys and pointed at a doorway nestled between two closed shops. "No neighbours. It's private up there."

This whole world was unfamiliar. A pocket of normalcy, civilization tucked behind heavy walls. Relentlessly nostalgic.

The man seemed to read his uneasiness. "Why don't you come over for lunch? It'll just be Eric and I. We live in that house four doors down from Rick's."

He shrugged noncommittally and gently nudged Ivy in the direction of the doorway. It opened up to a dimly lit stairwell and they follow it up to a second door, marked with a sticky note with 'The Dixons' scrawled across it. Ivy yanked it down and stuffed it in her pocket, refusing to look at him. The motion took him by surprise but he wasn't going to call attention for her need for reassurance, that physical claim they had to a life.

"Ready?" He asked, sliding the key into the lock.

She said nothing. Ivy gazed at it silently, yielding nothing. When he opened the door she flinched.

"I'll do a sweep. Stay put," Daryl ordered, watching as she spun around and looked down the stairwell, knife suddenly in hand. They were used to these kind of motions. It wasn't the same as Rick checking every shadow for a loaded gun but he needed to do something to work away some of the unease.

Almost like checking beneath the bed or closet for monsters.

The apartment had a simple layout. He crossed through the doorway and saw the living room first, followed by the kitchen and dining area. It was all open concept and someone had left a basket on the table. The hallway was surprisingly narrow as it broke off to the bedrooms and bathroom, the two rooms divided by a wall.

"It's clear. All right, come on."

She didn't put the knife away but did obediently follow. The room made her look smaller. "So, this is normal?" Ivy asked quietly, fingertips skimming the countertops.

They were safe and sound. But safety was an illusion they had been chasing for so long they didn't know how to recognize it truly. "Might be."

In another universe, this could have been their home. His work boots would have been by the door, her school bag tossed on a chair. They would have figured this out. He would have figured this out.

The basket revealed two cans of soup and a few blankets. Someone had drawn a map and he called Ivy over to look at it, running her finger along the line connecting their place to Maggie's, and then to Abraham's. He and Rosita had been placed in the other house with a few others from the group, including Eugene. Nobody was sure how long that arrangement could last with the arctic shoulder Abraham was giving the man, but it was better than watching him beat him into the ground.