Solitude -> The Walking Dead

60

My blonde hair was up to my waist, it had thinned out and I had split ends but it was still in better shape than I expected it to be. It was my body that I couldn't recognize. Whoever said thinner is better was wrong.

It was still me but not quite right. The proportions of me were wrong. And then there were the scars.

It had been so long since I had to even think about the ones on my back but now they were staring at me. There was also a gunshot scar on my stomach, a thin but long scar on my side, one underneath my jaw that I never even noticed.

My body was a war zone reflecting all that had been done to it. I took a deep breath refusing to look away. It didn't matter. The past didn't matter anymore.

I got dressed in the clothing that the residents of Alexandria left. The tank top that I had on didn't cover my scars and I hesitated before adding a light jean jacket over it. Not quite ready for the questions.

As I left the bathroom, Michonne took her turn to shower. Dakota was waiting for me in one of the rooms while everyone else was downstairs. She had been drying her own hair.

I went through the drawers as she looked at me in confusion. Once I found what I wanted, I handed it to her.

"You want me to cut your hair? I haven't done that sorta thing in a while." She responded.

I shrugged before plopping down onto the bed in front of her. She used her own towel on me so we wouldn't get hair everywhere.

"It's getting in the way. And I don't trust anyone else with it." I replied.

At least no one in the post apocalyptic world. Dakota made shitty coffee, but a haircut was a different story. When she was little, she used to cut our dolls' hair whenever she was bored.

Our mother got tired of it and refused to buy more of them. So Dakota switched to her own hair instead. And that was something our mother didn't care about as it cost her no money.

"Maybe you just want to look nice for your boyfriend. He's certainly put in the effort to look nicer."

My heart started racing at that word. Boyfriend. Rick Grimes was my boyfriend. It sounded like something a child would say yet it warmed my heart. Her choice of words almost distracted me from what she said.

I frowned. "What on Earth are you talking about?"

She smirked as she cut my hair, pieces of it already on the ground. I motioned to her how short she should cut it and she nodded. It's only hair, it'll grow back.

"You'll see." She replied to my question.

I snorted. "Well, thanks for the cryptic answer."

I fiddled with my fingers as I waited for the haircut to be over. Being in an actual house was putting me on edge. Last time I was in one was right after reuniting with Rick and Carl.

It wasn't exactly the brightest period of my life. And I was really cold towards them. I'm not great with it right now, either, but I'm trying. Always fucking trying.

"How did your interview with Deanna go?" Dakota asked.

Another twist in the Alexandria story that I didn't see coming. Deanna, the leader, filming some type of interviews with survivors. I didn't see the point in it but I agreed to it nonetheless.

"Fine, I guess. She didn't offer me a job though, said she's still figuring me out."

I might've adjusted her words a bit. What she said was that I seemed lost, like I'm holding back. Which I was but only not to seem like an asshole. New start and all that.