Dead Man Walking | Rick Grimes

|18|

"Are you okay?" I jumped at the sound of a familiar gruff voice. I didn't need to turn to know that it was Rick. I brought my knees to my chest, my arms wrapping around them, trying to regain my composure. Rick gripped the fence and lowered himself beside me, a groan escaping him.

"Damn," I attempted to smile, trying to make it seem as if all was fine and dandy, "You're an old man," Rick grinned, his eyes boring holes into me as he closely studied me.

"34 is too old," Rick agreed, flicking my arm, "You'll be my age one day, June. You, too, will know my pain,"

"Nope," I rebutted, "Forever stuck at 28, Grimes. My beauty will never fade, and my joints won't hate me more than they already do."

"You may be right about the beauty part, but mark my words, June, you'll know my pain soon enough," I purposely ignored the beauty remark, deciding not to look into it, and laughed. The sound of our laughter joined together, piercing the darkness around us. He's such a dork sometimes. "Seriously, June, are you okay?"

"I will be," I whispered as I looked into the night sky. The stars sprinkled the sky in a beautiful array of messiness. The moon was full and bright, beautifully illuminating the distant trees.

"You care for him that much, huh?" Rick asked, his hands coming down to play with the blades of grass.

"He's my family." I muttered, "Blood or not, he's my family, and if he would've died..." I cut myself off, not wanting to think about it anymore. "He's alive and well. That's all that matters to me."

"Andrea didn't mean to. She's just—"

"She's just what?" I practically shouted at Rick as I cut him off. "If she had pulled her head out of her ass and followed directions, none of this would've happened."

"Do you really think a knife to the throat would solve all that, though?" Rick asked me. I turned to look at him and sighed. I know I shouldn't have lost it as I did, but it happened, and I can do nothing to change it.

"I came so close to losing the one person that means a lot to me." I sniffled, "After losing my family, I thought I would be alone and wouldn't be affected by anyone's death again, but today proved me wrong. He's the closest thing to family I have, and I came so close to losing that today." We sat in complete silence, Rick seemingly deep in thought.

"He's the only person that means a lot to you?" Rick finally asked. I couldn't help but chuckle; out of everything I said, that's what he lingered on? "I thought we all would mean something to you."

"Don't get me wrong," I sighed, "I love all of you, and you all mean something to me, but Daryl is on a higher pedestal than you guys." I chuckled dryly, looking over at him and offering him a small smile. Rick started to laugh, his arm wrapping around my shoulders as we both looked off into the distance. I sighed and rested my head against his shoulder, letting myself melt into him as we admired the stars in the sky. We both relaxed, the silence embracing us as we sat and spent time unwinding after today. I looked up at Rick and admired his face, thinking about how he would look with a full-blown beard. Without thinking, I lifted my hand and started caressing his chin, feeling the prickly hairs growing.

"You should let it grow out." I finally murmured, still rubbing his chin, "I wonder what you would look like with a thick bushy beard." Rick laughed and looked down at me, his hand coming up to cradle mine that was on his face.

"I would look like a mountain man." He chuckled as he lowered our hands. I let a smile spread as I tried to picture him with a full beard, plaid, jeans, and an ax. Yeah, that's definitely engraining into my mind.

"Mm, how sexy," I teased, "I think you can rock it." Rick tilted his head back and laughed, the sound like music to my ears.

"That's one word that's never been used to describe me," He laughed, his eyes settling on our conjoined hands. I bit my lip and slowly peeled myself away from him, knowing that it'd look fishy if someone were to stumble upon us. I can't bear to imagine Lori seeing us, her heart shattering with betrayal. Nothing can happen between Rick and me, nothing. We need to stop with these little gestures and act more like friends. I can be touchy when I'm around someone I'm comfortable with, but the air between Rick and I is... it's too much. Rick looked at me and scrunched his eyebrows together, reaching out once more to at least grab my hand. The warm touch of his hand sent pleasant shockwaves through my stomach, making me smile slightly.

"Did you see Carl today?" Rick asked me softly. I gasped and shook my head, immediately feeling horrible for forgetting about the boy.

"Shit." I gasped as I tore my hand away from Rick and hid my face. "I completely forgot. With everything that happened today, it slipped my mind." I felt guilt heavy on my heart as I looked at Rick, his head shaking.

"Just see him as soon as you wake up." Rick smiled at me, his hand resting on my knee, "I'm sure he'll understand."

"I'm such a horrible person." I pouted, still feeling terrible.

"No, you're not." Rick laughed, rubbing my knee, "Don't stress out about it. He'll understand," I nodded at him and ran a hand through my hair, pulling out a few red strands and wincing. I sighed, deciding that I should at least rest up for the night.

"I should turn in." I announced as I stood up, "We're still gun training tomorrow?"

"Yeah," Rick answered as he stood up. We turned and started our walk back to the camp, a comfortable silence between us as we did so. I looked over at him and caught him staring at me, flashing a final smile. Rick returned the smile and stepped closer to me, our hands brushing every so often as we walked. I looked off the west and spotted the tent Daryl and I shared.

"That's me." I chuckled as I pointed to the tent. "Daryl wanted to keep our distance..." I trailed as I stared at the man, "Goodnight, Rick. I'll see you in the morning." I whispered and walked around him, slowly making my way to the tent as I heard him wish me goodnight. I opened the tent and smiled as I saw a sleeping Daryl tucked away in his sleeping bag. Approaching him, I kneeled and planted a soft kiss on the top of his head, just happy that he was safe and sound. I kicked off my boots and crawled into my sleeping bag, turning onto my side and grabbing the knife that was still on me. I placed it next to me and closed my eyes, sleep immediately claiming me.

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June 25, 2023

Hello, guys! 

I'm pumping these edits out slowly, but I'm gonna pick it up soon. It's my stupid eye, and I honestly think it's my glasses prescription. 

Anyway! If you guys see any grammar errors or discrepancies, please let me know so I could go in and fix it. I'm only human, and things do get past me.

For new readers, welcome! I'm glad you're enjoying the story thus far and hope you continue to enjoy it. For my lovely rereaders, I hope you notice the changes and like them :)

Have a safe and fun rest of your day! 

Con Mucho Amor, 

InMyDarkystHour