You and Me Vs. The World

Chapter Five

Carl and Daryl both came back to the meeting place after a little while. "The hell happened to you?" Daryl asked, examining my squished leg.

"Long story," I said.

"Okay," Daryl said, gently setting my leg down. "Carl and I will go through what we got, and then we'll take you back to Hershel. He can take a look and see if there's anything he can do."

I nodded. After Carl and Daryl had compiled their findings, Daryl took the bag and Carl picked me up again. "You got her?" Daryl asked.

"I got her," Carl said.

"Don't drop her," Daryl said, turning back around.

"I would never drop her," Carl said, walking on.

When we arrived back at the prison, Carl took me straight to the cell block where Hershel had his medical patients. "What happened here?" Hershel asked, motioning towards a bed to put me on.

"I was crushed... By a door," I said, as Carl set me down gently.

"Wait here," Hershel said. "I've got to go get something."

With that, he left the room, leaving alone with Carl again. "Sorry," I said.

"For what?" he asked.

"For being such a bother. I mean, you've literally had to carry me everywhere."

"It's no big deal."

"Come on, you have to let me pay you back somehow."

He looked at me, right in my eyes. "Lexi," he said softly. "I really didn't mind carrying you. And I'd do it a hundred times more if I had to."

I swallowed. "Oh. Uh, okay."

Hershel came back at that time, carrying his medical bag. "Hope you don't mind, Carl," he said. "But I'm going to have to ask you to leave for a little while, okay?"

"Sure," he said, getting up.

He left the room, leaving me with Hershel. "Alright," Hershel said. "Let's roll these jeans up and have a look, shall we?"

I helped Hershel roll up my skinny jeans, and he gently examined my leg. He poked it a few times, and I winced in pain. "Yep," he said. "Broken. But I can snap it back it place, hang on."

I felt him grip my leg strongly, and jerk it back in place. I heard my bones snap back together, and the pain was unbearable. I screamed in pain, wrapping my arms around my leg and cradling it almost. "How's that feel?" Hershel asked.

"IT HURTS LIKE HELL!" I yelled back, tears of pain coming to my eyes.

Carl burst in the room. "I heard screaming, is everything alright?!" he asked nervously.

Hershel smiled. "The pain means it's working," he turned to Carl. "Stay with her for a little while, okay? I'll be back in a bit to check on her."

Carl pulled a chair up to the bedside. "How you feeling?" he asked.

"It hurts really bad," I said, bending my leg.

"I bet," Carl said, looking at it.

We sat there in a silence, aside from my occasional sobs of pain. After about twenty minutes, my leg cramped and locked up. I started sobbing trying to move my leg, but I couldn't. "Carl," I said between nervous sobs.

"What is it?" he asked.

"I can't move my leg... Shit! Carl, I can't move my leg!"

I started freaking out, kicking my good leg, trying to get the other one to move. I felt Carl grab my hand, squeezing it. "It's okay," he said. "Calm down, I've got it. Sit still."

I became still for a second, trying not to squirm. He gently reached over, and picked up my bad leg. He jerked it so my knee bent, and it popped really loudly. "Ah, shit!" I exclaimed in pain.

I felt Carl grab my hand again, and I sobbed again. After a little while, I got tired. I slowly drifted off to sleep, Carl still sitting there next to me. And the best part? He never let go of my hand.