my tears ricochet

Chapter Sixty

"He's teaching Beth and I how to write in code," Ivy told him. "It's kind of fun."

Anytime there was a scrap piece of paper, Ivy or Beth would snatch it up, writing an exchange back and forth. They had slipped notes to each other in the church, anxiously whittling away the tense silence until the morning hours had hit. "That so?"

Abraham seemed to have taken to the pair of girls. He recalled his statement about having two daughters, once, and Daryl saw the old life in the man whenever he turned to refill their water bottles, chattering on about some story just barely appropriate for their age.

It wasn't something he was going to complain about. Daryl split watching Beth and Ivy with Glenn and Maggie, but it was nice having an additional set of eyes keeping a look out.

They had been told to explore Alexandria. Eventually they would be shuffled to their jobs and figure out routines, but there were a few days set aside to adjust. "So, lunch?"

"If you want."

"Do you?"

Ivy shrugged, turning to examine the coffee maker on the counter. "I don't care."

Her uneasiness made him feel apprehensive about pushing. They were crossing into unfamiliar territory and he didn't know how to smooth it over. "We'll go. Check it out."

"What if they're eating people?" Ivy asked suddenly, frowning. "How do we know?"

Maggie and Glenn's desire to shield Ivy from knowing about the cannibalism in Terminus hadn't quite worked out when Oscar's leg had been hacked off. "I'll check it first. Think I wouldn't know?"

The clock on the wall was working, a miracle after days of roaming the world without a clue to what day it even was, revealing they had two hours before they needed to head to Aaron's. "Wanna stay here or go out?"

"Stay," she said immediately, hand bracing herself against the counter like she thought he might drag her out the door. And Daryl was relieved because he didn't want to go outside. It was easier to adjust if they kept out of sight and away from the people clearly watching from porches and windows, somewhere safe to keep Ivy in his sight.

There was one door in and out of the apartment. No balconies, no second exit. Daryl locked the door shut for good measure and tried to take some reassurance in the click.

.

Lunch was awkward. Aaron and Eric both tried to keep conversation going but it died quickly, their half failing to contribute much of anything.

Apparently Aaron was a fairly decent hunter because their meal consisted of a rabbit stew, one that he had shot the day before. Ivy pointedly watched him to start eating before she tried it, face unreadable as she waited for his silent approval.

"Lousie makes the rolls with honey," Eric said pleasantly. "But you have to trade something to get them. Apparently it's a family recipe that she plans to take with her to the grave."

"That so?" Aaron asked like he didn't already know the story. "You do a lot of cooking before all this?"

"Sure," Daryl said, clipped. He had done plenty with wild game. Didn't care much about the fancy rolls but had managed to keep his freezer packed tight. And that required cooking it at some point. And, for two boys who spent a childhood hungry, both he and Merle knew their way around a kitchen.

"Have you met anyone yet?" Aaron asked Ivy, smiling.

Ivy was looking at the table, disconnected from the stilted conversation. Daryl gently knocked his knuckles against the surface to catch her attention by the vibrations and when she looked up, he pointed at his eyes and then towards Aaron's mouth. She neatly swivelled her attention over to the man, watching him intently.