Solitude -> The Walking Dead

62

Dorian and Rhea deserve this place. I didn't get the chance to promise Ryan that I'd take care of them, but I'm going to act as if I did.

He wanted to be a good father to them. I would make sure he always is in their eyes.

"Rick thinks they need to change, doesn't he?" Abby said.

Rick looks the part of this place, but he doesn't like it. His tense stare at the residents and the fake smiles, they all give away how much he wishes he could do things his way.

But he's also trying not to be what he had to be outside these walls. A ruthless killer protecting his family.

"Yeah, he does. And he's not wrong about that."

Living the way they do, they're going to die. Might even take us with them. But pushing them to change too soon will cause them to kick us out.

So trying to adapt to them, it is. Until we figure out a better plan.

-----

"How is she doing?" I asked.

Rick sighed before leaning in to kiss my cheek. The urge to kiss him on the mouth was strong but I held back due to Glenn and Maggie being in the hospital room.

"Stable for now." He replied.

Tara laid unconscious in her bed with a gauze wrapped around her head. I didn't think their first ever run with Deanna's crew would go so badly. Tara injured, Noah and Aiden dead.

According to Deanna, Glenn and Nicholas had different versions of the same event. She said neither was to leave Alexandria until she figures out what to do. Or more specifically, who to believe.

"Have you gotten anything to eat?" I asked Rick.

Maggie adjusted Tara's blanket without saying anything. Both her and Glenn were silent while Rick and I spoke in hushed voices.

"I have to go deal with something first, but I'll see you later, okay?" He said.

I nodded as he left the building. This whole situation was getting messier by the second. It wasn't going to be easy coexisting with these people. Even less so than expected.

"Have you seen Nicholas?" Glenn asked.

I frowned. "He was near one of the cars."

Maggie glanced at her husband with wariness written all over her face. I shared it, but I didn't think Glenn would do anything rash. He wasn't the type.

However, he did see Noah die in front of his eyes. That was bound to mess with a person.

"Glenn, I don't think that's a good idea." Maggie warned.

His shoulders tensed as he glanced at Tara. It wasn't his fault that any of this happened, but I knew he probably didn't believe that right now.

"Well, I'm all out of good ones." He mumbled.

He walked past me and I resisted the urge to go after him. It wasn't my fight, but his. Whatever happened between Nicholas and him won't be solved by me meddling. Even if I really wanted to.

Two of our members had been harmed because of people from Alexandria. It was more than enough to rile me up. But I had to keep holding up the mask, to ensure our stay here.

I sighed. "I miss the days where I could just punch people who annoyed me."

Maggie smiled as I lowered myself dramatically into the chair on the other side of Tara. People call me a bitch to my face and behind my back, but the truth is, most of the time I'm not wrong.