Losing Hope *EDITING*

Chapter 29; Glenn Rhee

"How is she?" Lori asked as she came towards me where I leaned against the small barn. We moved after we got Claire to calm down from the woods. The cabin had got over run when we got back and now we found this barn.

I'm just glad we found Claire before the walkers showed up because honestly, she isn't in the right state of mind. I don't know what's going on with her, but it's scaring the shit out of me. I don't want to lose her physically or mentally.

"Look for yourself," I muttered. I nodded my head to the other side of the barn, walking over with Lori. Claire sat against the wall, her knees pulled to her chest and her eyes trained in front of her. "She's been sitting here like that for a good 2 hours since we got here."

"Daryl said those mushrooms she ate aren't going to kill her, but they did change her brain imbalance for a bit. She should be fine now."

I sighed, crossing my arms over my chest. "Then why won't she move?"

"She's lost people Glenn. She didn't even grieve like a normal teenage girl when she found Randall that night," Lori said. "It's only natural for someone like her to lose her mind when death is every where she goes."

Someone like her. I scoffed, my eyes cutting at Lori. "What do you mean someone like her?" I hissed. No way was I going to stand around and just let everyone imply things about her. "Nothing is wrong with her, she just hasn't had time to adjust to this world like the rest of us," I added, my tone as cold as ice. "Don't just make assumptions about her."

Lori avoided my gaze, her mouth opening and closing a few times. "Sorry, I just meant she's fragile Glenn. She wan't made for a world like this."

"You don't know anything about her."

"And you do?" she shot back. I scowled. Now it was my turn to avoid her eyes. "That's what I thought. Glenn I used to be just like her when I was younger, I know what she's going through except she has to deal with it in this type of environment."

I sighed, my eyes trained on Claire. "Will she be okay?"

Lori placed her hand on my shoulder, giving it a small squeeze. "Yeah, she'll get through it as long as she has someone like you around. You're good for her."

Lori squeezed my shoulder once more before walking off. She should actually be trying to rest as much as she can, she's starting to show her baby bump with the past few weeks that have passed. It isn't that big, but she is showing. I stuffed my hands in my pockets, trailing slowly over to Claire. I took a spot next to her --wrapping an arm around her shoulders and pulling her into my side. She may not be talking to me again; actually she hasn't spoken a word to me since that night in the car.

I hurt her by thinking she actually liked Daryl more than me and I understand that. I shouldn't have doubted her so easily, but I'm just a kid too. I have no experience of real love either; only people that ever said they even loved me before was my mom and sisters.

"Do you want to talk?" I asked quietly.

I glanced at her, waiting for some kind of reply. She just kept her eyes straight ahead of her --the redness from her crying and the dark circles under her eyes from lack of sleep made her look almost sickly with her pale skin and sunken in cheeks.

I dug through my pockets, pulling at the other half of a granola bar I saved. I held it out to Claire, expecting her to grab it. "Claire, can you please eat this."

She grabbed it, taking the wrapper off slowly and stuffing the small half into her mouth. I smiled, glad she was at least doing something.

"Glenn," she whispered.