wastelands → the walking dead ¹

[ 004 ] bruises.

— CHAPTER FOUR.
bruises.

RICK, DARYL, T-DOG, AND Glenn leave for Atlanta. Rick talked to Odessa about the way she talked to her mom and that he would always be there by her side no matter what. She told him she loved him. He told her he loved her too.

Now he is gone again and Odessa can only think, what if he doesn't come back this time?

She doesn't want to be anywhere near her mother so she sits with the other ladies of the camp, washing clothes.

She sits between Amy and Carol, glancing at Shane and Carl every couple seconds. He is trying to teach her baby brother how to catch frogs.

"Can someone explain to me how the women would up doin' all the Hattie McDaniel work?" Jacqui asks.

"The world ended. Didn't you get the memo?" Amy glances at her.

"It's just the way it is," Carol says, glancing back at her asshole husband. This causes Odessa to look back at him with a disgusted look.

"Shouldn't be that way," Odessa looks over at her. "Women aren't slaves. We're badasses, we're superheroes."

Carol smiles softly at her. "Yes, we are. I do miss my Maytag though."

"I miss my Benz, my Sat Nav." Andrea then says.

"I miss my coffeemaker with that dual-drip filter and built-in grinder, honey," Jacqui grins.

"My computer. . . texting." Amy says with a sad look on her face.

"I miss my roller skates," Odessa frowns. "And music."

"I miss my vibrator," Andrea says so suddenly that it catches Odessa off guard. She snorts at the woman's comment.

And what catches her even more off guard is Carol saying, "me, too." The five women laugh harder at her comment.

But their brief moment of happiness and laughter is ruined by a big, ugly, smelly monster walking up behind them. "What's so funny?"

"Just swapping war stories, Ed." Andrea replies.

Ed lingers behind the five as if examining their work, "dude." Odessa turns around to face him, "do you have a problem?"

"Nothin' that concerns you," he eyes Odessa, "and you ought to focus on your work. This ain't no comedy club." He then says to his wife.

Odessa's eyes narrow. She can sense Andrea becoming more angry by the second as well. 

She then looks up to see Lori and Shane talking in the distance. She frowns, her eyes moving downwards.

Ed continues to stand behind the group of five until Andrea finally snaps it, "Ed, tell ya what—" she stands, "you don't like how your laundry is done, you are welcome to pitch in and do it yourself. Here." She tosses a wet shirt into his hands. He is fast to sling it back at her, the wet fabric whipping her hard in the neck.