Tomorrow Will Come

Twenty one

Mary woke up at a little after two that morning, and jumped to see Magna sat by her bedside, fully awake, and Siddiq slept beside her.
"What's wrong?" Mary mumbled, and Magna smiled at her softly.
"Couldn't sleep. Was worried after all we went though, the infection would get you."
"We're safe now." Mary assured the woman, but Magna just sighed. "It's brought back memories, hasn't it? You said your home life was bad, when you was a kid. They hurt you, didn't they?"
"Until I got old enough for no one to hurt me again," Magna said simply, "who was it that hurt you? Your dad?"
"No. Never. He was the best dad. Is. Is the best dad. My biological mom's husband. Step dad, I guess. I don't really remember, but my cousin confirmed what we knew. That he was an abusive asshole that might have lead to my half brothers death."
"Wait, so how many brothers do you have?" Magna half laughed, and Mary smiled back sleepily.
"It is confusing. Four older ones. Carl, John, Adam, Andre. Carl and me have the same dad, and me and John and Adam had the same mom. Andre's my step brother, I guess, but he died before I met him. Michonne is technically my step mom, but she's literally my mom. She's RJ's mom, and me and Jay have the same dad. And Judith and Carl shared a mom. Lori. God, I loved her. So much. Judith's dad was... He was my dad's best friend. Him and Lori had an affair. It's really confusing. I don't really talk about it all. You know, we just call each other our brothers and sisters. I really don't think biology matters any more."
"I get that." Magna nodded, and Mary smiled back.
"Hey, Magna, can I tell you somethin'?"
"Shoot."
"I'm gay."
"No shit," Magna laughed softly, and Mary looked at her in confusion, "wait, is it a massive secret? Shit, sorry, I didn't..."
"No, it's fine. I just haven't told anyone, apart from my Uncle Aaron. How'd..."
"My gaydar's pretty good. Don't worry, I wouldn't ever tell anyone." Magna smiled with a wink, and Mary let out a small laugh. "It's scary for you, isn't it?"
"A bit." Mary admitted, biting her lip, and Magna put her hand on her shoulder.
"I was scared at first too. I was scared my family would hate me even more, and that I'd get teased, and I was scared that what if when I finally kissed a girl for the first time, I realised I was wrong."
"That's what I worry about. What if I'm wrong? What if I come out to my mom, then I'm like, "oh shit, never mind, I was wrong". Like, I've never even kissed anyone, not even a boy. So how can I know for a million percent?"
"Mary, kid, you don't have to know. And you don't owe anyone an explanation. It's okay if you think you're bisexual, or if you only like girls. It's fine no matter what. No ones gonna judge you, and you don't even have to put a label on it if you don't want to."
"I don't have to tell them?" Mary half asked, and Magna smiled sadly.
"No, kiddo. You don't have to tell anyone. Even when you do come out to people, you can just say you like girls. You don't have to label it. You do what you're comfortable with."
"How'd you get so good at knowing what to say?"
"I never had anyone to talk to about this stuff when I was your age. I guess I wanna make sure no one else has to think they're the only person in the world going through it. You like a girl?"
"Yeah."
"Who is she?"
"Her names Jennie. She's so pretty and she lives next door to me and she had the most beautiful dark shiny hair. And she's probably hating me right now, 'cos I told her I'd be away for a day at most."
"I'm sure she'll be so happy to see you." Magna assured her, and Mary smiled back at her.
"How'd you meet Yumiko then?"
"She was my lawyer." Magna laughed, and Mary chuckled back, her laugh raspy.
"No way!"
"Yeah way." Magna laughed back.
"Not gonna lie, that's pretty cool."
"What can I say, I'm a real charmer." Magna joked, and Mary laughed again, then began to gasp and splutter, struggling for her breath. The sound jolted Siddiq awake, and he was instantly by her side, helping her sit up and sliding her oxygen mask onto her face.
"Just breathe, it's okay. It's okay, I've got you." Siddiq soothed, as Mary struggled to get a breath.
"Sorry. Made her laugh." Magna mumbled, as Mary smiled weakly, finally able to breathe again.
"You should be asleep." Siddiq said sternly, and Mary almost gave him a laugh. "Wanna morphine increase?" He asked, and Mary nodded, allowing Siddiq to give her more morphine, and drifting off to sleep.

"Please promise me you'll drive safe." Alden sighed to Siddiq, as then bundled their supplies into a car; they usually only used fuel for the tractors or for electricity, but Mary couldn't take a horse ride home.
"Yeah, man. I got her." Siddiq reassured, and Alden hugged Mary carefully.
"Love you."
"Love you too." Mary mumbled into his shirt, and Alden kissed the top of her head.
"Alright, lets get you home." Jesus said finally, and Mary let go of Alden, and hugged Jesus as tightly as she could.
"I'm sorry."
"Don't be silly." Mary said firmly, kissing his cheek.
"Can you say that to your mom too?" Jesus joked, and Mary laughed back.
"She'll forgive you, don't worry. Might not forgive me though, when I confirm I was the one that made you leave me."
"She's your mom. She'll be mad, but that's all." Jesus assured her, and Mary nodded, then hugged Magna tightly.
"You got this." Magna said gently to Mary, referring to the conversation from earlier, and then Mary got into the back of the car, with Rosita and Siddiq in the front. The ride was long, but they finally arrived home in the early afternoon, and before Mary could even get out of the car, Michonne was beside her, hugging her tightly and crying softly into her hair.
"I'm okay, mom," Mary soothed, "I'm fine. You're like, hurting me with the tight hug, but I'm okay."
"I don't know if to hug you forever or to be mad. Why'd you tell him to leave you?" Michonne whispered shakily, releasing Mary and cupping her face into her hands.
"Because it was the safest option. I was so hurt, mom. I couldn't carry on running, I just couldn't. It hurt too much. And you know I'm too stubborn, Uncle Jesus didn't stand a chance against me when I've got an idea."
"And then they just took you?"
"Yeah. Me and Magna. It was... It was so scary."
"Was she good to you? Magna? Did she look after you?"
"She's definitely at auntie status now." Mary assured Michonne, and the woman nodded, understanding Mary response, and knowing that Magna had been amazing to her.
"Good. Come on, the kids have been so worried. They've both been sleeping in my bed." Michonne nodded, and they said goodbye to Rosita and Siddiq, leaving to go home. As soon as she walked through the door, RJ flew at Mary, his arms wrapped tightly around her waist, Judith joining.
"I missed you." RJ cried softly, and Mary kissed the top of his head.
"We thought you was gone." Judith mumbled, half embarrassed, and Mary kneeled down beside them, grasping at her chest in pain as she did so.
"I'd never just suddenly leave you two. I promise."
"Daddy did," Judith whispered shakily, "he was there, and then he wasn't. And we think he's dead but we don't have his body. And that's what I thought had happened to you too."
"As long as I have a say in it, or mommy does, that won't happen to me, okay?"
"Okay." RJ nodded solemnly, and Mary kissed him yet again.
"Nova taught me how to knit," Judith said suddenly, pride in her voice, "and Gracie too. So we knitted some of the squares for the blanket you're making for RJ."
"She said it made them feel close to you when you was gone." Michonne whispered to Mary, and the girl wiped a tear away, harshly reminded about when she'd do anything to feel closer to Carl when he died.
"I'm not goin' anywhere. I promise, okay? I'm still here. I'm not leaving you."