Reflections - TWD

91. I'm just tryin'.

Daryl was sat outside on the wall having a smoke, and Isabella didn't have a care in the world about it. It didn't scare her anymore. She was annoyed though, not with Daryl, but with Freddie who was insisting he was taller.

"I'm at least an inch taller, Belly," Freddie teased, waving his hand above both of their heads.

"You ain't," Isabella swatted his hand away.

Freddie noticed Carol walking outside from the Sanctuary. "Mom! Aren't I taller than Belly?"

Carol just have a light laugh, making Daryl give one, too. "How 'bout we say your the same height?" Daryl suggested, his eyebrows raised a little bit.

"Because that's lying, Daryl," Freddie pretended to act shocked, and after a moment, Isabella and Freddie both burst into a fit of laughter and giggles.

Carol smiled at the pair having fun and then took a seat next to Daryl. "They're growing up so fast, aren't they?"

"Mhm," Daryl nodded, not even bothering to look Carol in the eye.

"You okay?" Carol asked.

"Yeah," Daryl mumbled, looking down and sighing before turning to look at Carol. "Just scared I ain't doin' enough for her, you know? I'm around more than I was, but...I don't know, I just wish I could take all'a the shit that she had to go through and make it mine. Just stings that when she was hurtin' the most, I was hardly ever there."

"You did your best," Carol reassured him.

"Yeah," Daryl scoffed, not really believing her words. "I know. I'm just...I'm just tryin'."

"And that's good enough, she's happy," Carol smiled and interlocked her arm with Daryl's, looking at the pair of laughing kids.

"Why aren't you in bed?" Daryl asked her at a normal volume so that the kids could hear their conversation now.

"Why aren't you?" Carol returned the question and then sighed, looking up at the dark sky. "We don't sleep."

"We're nocturnal!" Isabella yelled, throwing her hands up into the air.

"Ezekiel sleeps like a baby," Carol said, opening her arms to give Freddie a random hug, but a kind gesture. He quickly accepted it and ran up to the wall, wrapping his arms around her stomach.

"Does he snore fancy, too?" Daryl scoffed, making Isabella laugh slightly.

"Yeah," Freddie mumbled, still giggling.

"Stop it," Carol held back a laugh and ruffled the young boy's hair.

"He's all right," Daryl looked down, referring to Ezekiel. "He's a bit corny, but..."

"A bit?!" Isabella raised her eyebrows, pressing herself up to sit on the wall next to Daryl. He wrapped his arm around her, bringing her close. "He talks like a king!"

"He is a king," Carol reminded her, smiling and craning her neck to look at Isabella's face.

"Does that make you a Queen?" Isabella asked, tilting her head.

"I guess it does," Carol shrugged. She didn't seem to really care about the title, she was just happy with Ezekiel.

—

The next day, Isabella was at the Hilltop. She had been allowed on Daryl's motorbike to go, while Rick and Michonne had some really cool horses.

Daryl was untying the bandana from around Isabella's mouth, they had to wear one on the bike, but she was making it ten times more difficult by bouncing on her toes and talking. "Can I go see Maggie now?"

"Can you hold still?" He said in response, taking it around the back of her head and shoving it into his pocket. "Yeah, go see Maggie."

Isabella grinned brightly and ran over to where Maggie was, hugging her instantly. "Hi, Maggie," she smiled, looking up at her face and furrowing her brows at the bruise around the woman's eye. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," Maggie smiled and rubbed the girls back lightly before taking a step back.

Isabella's face fell. Maggie wasn't happy at all to see her, she just shrugged her off. Isabella gave a small smile between her and Daryl before heading up to the usual room that they have.

"Maggie hates me," Isabella said as soon as Daryl walked into the room after her.

"She don't," Daryl sighed shaking his head. "She just misses Glenn."

"Did you see the look on her face? She hates me," Isabella shook her head. "And you just don't talk to me about what I did because you think it was wrong, too."

"You're a kid, Bells. It ain't on you," Daryl shook his head.

There was no win to the situation that happened with Negan. If he lived, Glenn and Abraham wouldn't get the justice they deserved. If he died, Carl wouldn't be honored.

—

Isabella and Freddie were both leaning with their chins against the ledge on the window, looking down at what Maggie was about to do. Gregory was sat on a horse, a rope around his neck. All of the kids were gathered in one room, some of the younger ones started to leave so Isabella and Freddie chased after them.

"You can't go down there," Isabella tried to block their path, but they kept going.

"Hey! Listen to her!" Freddie was right behind Isabella, throwing his arm in the air.

They walked out of Barrington house, trying to grab onto the kids arms, but they just kept on shrugging them off and not saying a word.

"For the love of God! Stop it!" Gregory begged.

Michonne turned around, looking Isabella and Freddie in the eye for a moment. She quickly turned back to Maggie. "Maggie! Stop!" She lunged forward.

"No!" Rick grabbed her from behind, not realising what was going on and why Michonne was telling Maggie to stop.

Daryl hit the horse and it ran out, leaving Gregory hanging midair and gasping for breath, his eyes bulging out of his head, his whole face turning the brightest shade of red.

Isabella's eyes widened and Freddie turned her around quickly, bringing her head to his shoulder and trying to cover her right ear to hide the noise of Gregory choking.

"Get the children back in bed," Maggie ordered.

While the adults took responsibility for the younger ones, Freddie helped Isabella, taking her back up to her and Daryl's room and just sitting with her until she could form words again.

She'd seen people die before, she'd killed before. But it was something about seeing Maggie kill someone so brutally that just made her spine go cold.

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THAT BITCH IS DEAD FINALLY WOOOO

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the scene where Daryl, Carol, Freddie and Isabella are all happy melts my heart

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