Shaded In

A Little Unsteady

A/N: Sorry, I've been up north for the last week with barely a cell phone signal, let alone internet, so I haven't been able to post anything. Which has been driving me nuts because I haven't been able to write or respond to anything. So I'm behind on where I wanted to be. So again, sorry for the delay.

The trip back to the house had been an uneventful one, Louis surprisingly staying quiet again. That is until the cabin had come into view. "I've got it! Violentine!"

Violet gave him a weird look. "Do I even want to know?" Last thing she wanted to do was fuel another one of Louis's creative ideas.

Louis gave her an ear to ear smile. "It's yours and Clem's shipping name."

Violet let out a frustrated groan. "Louis so help me I will feed you to the walkers."

Louis gave her another smile as he shifted Chairels to his other shoulder. "Come on Vi your going to need all the help you can get. I will get you two together if it's the last thing I do."

Violet rolled her eyes for what felt like the hundredth time that day. Clem probably didn't even like her that way. "Not a word, to anyone!" She threatened him as they approached the porch of the cabin. She walked through the door leaving Louis alone.

Louis smirked, "Will see." He said to himself.

------

Luke was great full for the two of them volunteering to go get the water, it made preparing dinner a lot easier. Afterwards, they all settled on playing another card game before bed. This one with less eccentric questioning.

But before they departed into different bedrooms, Violet stopped Clem outside her door. "Hey, you gonna be okay?" She asked generally concerned for the girl after what happened last night.

"Yeah, I-I'll be fine," Clem said, although she wondered how much truth her words actually held. It was common for her to get little to no sleep after a big upsetting.

Violet didn't normally open her doors to just anyone, she wasn't the kind of person to get dragged into such emotional events. But she felt it was different with Clementine, and actually felt a need to help. "Well anyway, if-if you ever need to, talk or whatever, you can always come and get me. I-I don't mind." Violet felt her face flush at the words, luckily it was just dark enough to cover it.

Clem gave her a slight smile at her words. "Thanks. I'll keep that in mind. Night, Vi."

"Night, Clem," Violet said before she closed the door. Then walked across the hall to her and Louis's new room.

Clem thought she was getting better with coming to terms with her past, but some things still left her feeling a little uneasy and shaken. Last night had been rough, to say the least. It had been so long since she had a panic attack, and even longer since she had last opened up to someone. Talking with Violet had released some anxiety from within her, but it hurt to remember those things. Every time she had to reexplain how she managed to survive this long, it brought a dull pain that would surround her heart, like a wound that had reopened. It never got any easier, but someone always had to know how the girl in the baseball cap had made it this far, knowing she couldn't have done it alone. And every time it was like reliving each traumatic experience as the words slipped from her mouth, unable to escape there hold on her. Once again leaving her in a world of darkness.

Clem found herself thinking about it as she lay in bed. And thinking was never a great idea when it came to terms with her past. So many countless lives lost because of her. She tried to tell herself that it wasn't her fault, that everyone who she had lost had died knowing the risks, and had died for a reason...but it didn't stop it from hurting.