warning: mentions of torture/physical abuse, rape + sexual innuendos
THIRTEEN: THE SCARS OF TORMENT
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"I'M SORRY," JOSEPHINE laments after examining Glenn's face and finding no broken bones. He is a burgundy portrait of pain, and it's Josephine's silence who was responsible.
She tears off an inch of the hem of his shirt he immediately slipped over her so he can wipe away the dry traces of blood from his face. By doing so, the black shirt becomes shorter and Josephine feels the cold night air pass through the cracks of the warehouse and onto her exposed and tortured skin.
They sit against the wall, shoulder to small gap to shoulder.
"I should have told him," Josephine clarifies before turning to face him, her eyes watering. "When he pointed his gun at you, I shouldn't have hesitated. He could have killed you."
"Hey," Glenn grabs her hand, which she unintentionally flinches before relaxing. "I don't blame you. You had to think about it, you had to." He pauses, finding the courage to ask. "Did he—?"
Josephine lets go of his hand to tuck the sides of the shirt into her thighs. She shakes her head, tangled hair falling to the side of her face to block her reaction.
"If he di—"
"Glenn," Her voice breaks, and he immediately stops talking. He instead asks if she's alright.
"I'll be fine," She sighs and leans her head back to focus on the tainted table. He tries to comfort her again with a few more sympathetic words. "Believe me, I'm fine."
She says as convincingly as possible because there is no way she can tell him, Glenn, I'm fine, I swear, I am getting better at seeing people I love get hurt right in front of me. Yes, I'm completely fine.
"This is gonna make me sound like a total dick," Glenn begins, swallowing every so often to relieve his dry throat. "But I'm glad it was you and me on that run because it could have been Maggie."
She breathes out her sister's name at the same time. She nods, agreeing one hundred percent. Josephine wants to slice away the first layer of her skin after her meeting with the governor, but given the chance to redo this entire day, she would still sacrifice herself if it meant Maggie would never sit face-to-face with the devil himself.
Glenn is the one to come up with a plan. After snapping the legs off the table to create a wooden stake, the duo waits two feet behind the door, listening closely for any sound of someone approaching. They stay hovering, on high alert, their hearts accelerating with every passing minute.
Stuck in this obscure storage unit, Josephine can only think of her family. They're probably worried and on edge wondering where she and Glenn are. Her thoughts wander to Rick; if he's still mourning deep in the prison, or if someone notified him of their disappearance? And even if he was made aware, how would he find them? They're on their own, and they only had one chance.
