Reflections - TWD

83. Do what's right.

Isabella wouldn't leave her room. Not after what had happened a few days ago. The girl with one ear? That was fucking humiliating. Yes, it may have been funny to them. But they were the kids that still had their hearing intact, they didn't know what it was like.

She used to like having so much empathy for people, she thought that it made her good. But it didn't. It just made her feel like shit. Maybe the kids just needed someone else to make fun of to get through this tough time. Was that an excuse? No. But Isabella wouldn't ever stop excusing shitty behaviour as someone struggling.

Henry had gone back to the Kingdom, that was a relief. Isabella still blushed around him, but it wasn't the same anymore. She knew that he didn't like her and he never would like her.

"I'm gonna go help out that guy again, try to leave him some food and water. You coming?" Carl asked Isabella, standing in her doorway.

Isabella had put the patch back over her ear. "Sure," she mumbled and got up off her bed, and began walking downstairs next to Carl. "What if we can't find him?" She asked.

Carl shrugged. "He couldn't have gotten far. He didn't have anything, he wouldn't be able to get miles away without food or water."

Maybe he was already dead. That thought wouldn't shake from Isabella's mind. He could've been. It wasn't uncommon in this world. It was actually more common to die than not to. Out of the whole group that Isabella had started off with, only four of them were still standing.

They reached the bottom of the stairs and opened the front door, only to see Freddie standing on the porch. "Are you ready?" He looked up at Carl.

Isabella's mouth gaped open slightly and she shut her eyes for a second. "On second thought-" she turned around and grabbed onto the door handle, but Carl grabbed the back of her pink shirt.

"Nope. You already said yes. You two just need to apologise and move on," Carl raised his eyebrows at the two, looking between them like an angry parent, or big brother for that matter.

Freddie sighed. "Belly, I'm sorry."

"Hm?" Isabella craned her neck closer to him. "Sorry, you might wanna say that on my right side. That's my good ear," she tilted her head and narrowed her eyes.

Carl huffed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Bells," he said in a warning tone.

"Fine. It's fine," she mumbled. "Let's just go," she added before walking down the porch steps and then heading towards the front gates.

—

They made their way into the forest, Carl carrying a bottle of water and a couple of cans of food that were in a ziplock bag. The three edged towards a walker, who was reaching up to grab a plastic bag. This was clearly some sort of trap, the thing was, they weren't sure if it was made for walkers or humans.

The same man came up behind the walker, stabbing it in the back of the head.

"Hey," Freddie almost yelled in a tone that was guaranteed to scare the man. Carl shook his head and then held his arms out in front of him.

"It was my dad. There...there were warning shots above your head," he edged closer to the man, Isabella and Freddie both moving with him but sticking a little bit behind, as always. "He wasn't shooting at you. I'm Carl. This is Freddie and Isabella."

The man took a moment, his scared eyes turning more calm. He put his own hand to his chest. "Siddiq."

Carl nodded and held the supplies out in front of him. "Food and water."

"Why?" Siddiq cocked his head in an untrusting manner.

Carl took a deep breathe. "I guess you...you were talking about something your mom said...about helping people. And my mom told me that you got to do what's right."