Reflections - TWD

102. Promise.

Freddie had broken his promise to Carl. He wasn't being the big brother that he promised he would be.

That's what Isabella kept on thinking about, pacing the cellar. Between the girl's cell, back to Henry's cell. She'd heard him say it. She'd listen to him promise Carl. Maybe Freddie was thinking about it, too. Or maybe Freddie had forgotten about Carl.

Isabella thought that by the time she had grown up, the things that happened to her when she was little wouldn't affect her anymore, or that she wouldn't remember them. She remembered everything. Abraham, Glenn, Carl, Rick.

She couldn't remember Abraham or Glenn's voice. She wanted to so badly.

"Can you stop pacing? You're making me dizzy, Bells," Henry asked, shaking his head at her. "Plus, you're gonna hurt your rib even more. Sit down."

"Do you think Daryl is beating Freddie up?" Isabella asked, still pacing.

Henry's eyes went wide. "I doubt Daryl is beating Freddie up. It would be kind of funny, though."

Isabella tilted her head and then took a seat. "Fair point."

"Who's Freddie?" The girl rasped.

Isabella immediately started spilling everything. "He used to be my best friend. Then I lived in the woods for like six years. Now he hates me."

"Maybe you shouldn't be telling her all that stuff? We don't know her," Henry whispered, but the girl still heard it.

Isabella noticed that the girl kept on tugging on her ear, like it was hurting or something. "She's nice."

"You don't know that," the girl whispered.

Isabella shrugged and looked between the two, trying to add some humour to the conversation. "You know what? I think we could all be friends here."

"No," Henry and the girl both said in unison, making Isabella purse her lips.

Something about this girl wasn't right. In the sense that, when they'd found people from enemy groups before, they'd never just sat and cried. This girl was giving up. She was terrified, and it wasn't of anyone at the Hilltop. Isabella remembered how she flinched when Daryl shouted, that gave her a good idea of what the girl might be scared of.

"Okay," Isabella nodded. She turned to Henry, the girl seemed to like listening to their conversation. "You got one more night in here?"

Henry nodded. "Earl and Tara said so."

"Unbelievable. I love Tara, but you helped me and then she threw you back in here," Isabella sighed. "You don't even get your blacksmith training now."

"The blacksmith training wasn't the only thing I came to Hilltop for, you know? I was tired of being at the Kingdom all the time," Henry complained and Isabella tried not to let her eyes widen. Henry had just revealed to the girl where she was and the name of another community. Real smart.

"Maybe we should keep the communities to ourselves, Henry," Isabella suggested, trying not to sound too serious. Daryl would be pissed if he found out Henry said anything.

"Are you guys dating?" The girl suddenly asked.

"No," Henry and Isabella both said, shaking their heads. It annoyed Isabella to say no, she wanted to say yes. Henry was actually turning out to be a decent human being.

"Oh," the girl mumbled. "You seem like it."

"That's because Isabella had a huge crush on me when we were nine," Henry taunted Isabella, making her roll her eyes.

"Yeah. Remember when you asked me on a fake date?" Isabella scoffed. She wouldn't admit it, but that was probably one of the most embarrassing moments of her life, even if it was seven years ago. She'd try to make a joke out of it though.

"Oh, yeah," Henry sort of cringed. "Sorry about that."

"Bells!" Daryl yelled from the top of the cellar, she got up and walked up the stairs. "Ya feelin' okay? Any pain?"

Isabella let out a small laugh. "When did you become a doctor? I'm fine."

Daryl rolled his eyes. "Good. Good. The girl talkin'?"

Isabella shrugged. "A little. She's just asking questions."

"Like what? You tellin' her anythin'?" Daryl asked quickly. He was probably ready to run into the cellar and start yelling at people.

Isabella shook her head. "Nothing about the communities. She asked who Freddie was, and I told her that. She asked if I was dating Henry, I said no," Daryl could see by the look on Isabella's face that there was something she wasn't telling him.

"There anythin' else?"

"Someone told her about the communities. I didn't wanna say but I don't want her going to her group and telling them-"

"Someone meanin' Henry?" Daryl sighed, pinching his eyebrows together. Isabella slowly nodded, praying that Daryl wouldn't yell at Henry. "Jesus. Them two boys are as dumb as each other," he mumbled.

Daryl sighed and rubbed his forehead. He wasn't used to this, it had just been him and Isabella for years, but now he had to make decisions for other people.

He also wished they could just go back and live out there together again. Since he couldn't leave the tent door open, he'd always leave a flashlight on for Isabella, even if it got annoying when he'd have to find an abandoned store to get some more batteries for it. She was still scared of the dark, that would never go away.

"I don't know what to fuckin' do," Daryl sighed.

"She's scared," Isabella said firmly. "She's scared like I was at the farm. She was flinching and crying. She's terrified. She's calm now, who the hell is calm when they're locked up away from their group?" She shook her head. Daryl saved her, and she was going to save whoever this girl was. That was a promise she made to herself. If she ever found someone in the same situation as she was, she'd do everything in her power to get them out of it.

Daryl nodded, rubbing his chin. "When did ya get so smart? Haven't seen you do school work in years."

Isabella shrugged and laughed a little. "I don't think school work helps on that topic."

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super sorry for the short chapter!

i started a Peter Parker/ MCU fanfic called 'Beautiful Oblivion' if anyone is interested in checking it out I'd appreciate it! :)

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