When The Camellia Wilts | The Walking Dead Fanfiction

When Two Worlds Collide

"When people cared about each other, they always found a way to make it work." 

- Nicholas Sparks

"Arden, we should take camp here. We can barely walk anymore." 

He sighed and shook his head, "It's okay. I can still walk." It was scaring her how far he was pushing himself. 

It has been a few weeks since  they were forced out of the cabin. She knows that he was blaming himself for not being strong enough, not cautious enough and just not being enough to protect them. "Arden. Please, stop." He looked at her before nodding understandingly. 

He gently sat her down on the flat ground and put their bags on the ground. "You can sleep. I'll take watch." She was quick to reject the idea. He has been doing all the work for both of them. "You have been taking watch for quite a while. You've also been carrying me for most of the time. You need to rest. You can't protect us both when you're sick." He bit his lip, looking at her seriously. 

He didn't trust himself, didn't think he deserved to rest at all. "I won't be able to sleep. I can't." He dropped his head down which further deepened Aliya's worries. He was blaming himself for what happened. Blaming himself for something that wasn't their fault but Ezekiel and the family. "You do know that what happened wasn't your fault, right?" He shook his head, hatred for himself was evident in his face. 

"It was never your fault." She pointed at her own chest, "It wasn't mine either! It was Ezekiel and the family who fucked us over. It's not our fault." Her voice cracked while the tears that she was keeping at bay, fell all at once. The vulnerability of her voice made him look up. 

Aliya looked at him in the eye, "It's not healthy anymore, Arden. I'm losing you." His face fell even more as he saw the look on her face. She was so sad, so desperate, so scared that he was spiralling down. He couldn't help but put both of his hands on her cheeks, before slowly pulling her in for a hug. "You're not losing me. I promise." He could feel her sobbing violently. 

"I'll take a rest, we'll pick up tomorrow morning. Okay?" She pulled away, wiping her tears before nodding at him. "Thank you." She whispered before helping him set up the mat that he was going to sleep on. 

She sat next to him on the mat, whispering a 'goodnight' before she jumped a bit when she felt Arden's arm snake around her waist. She looked at it for a bit before putting her hand on his in comfort. She was glad that he did so as it gave her comfort too, assuring her that he was still there. 

Like he promised. 

==+==

They were feeling very optimistic about today's journey. They both feel that today was the day that they will find their new home. A safer and better home.