"𝐜𝐨𝐰𝐛𝐨𝐲 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐦𝐞„

thirty six, what?

She took a last look at Rick and Daryl as they watched their car drive off, away into the foliage.

For hours, they all sat in the blistering heat, Jane holding a baby whilst slowly flaking dried blood off her own hands. She thought about what might've happened to Aaron to shake him up so bad. Had he came along with someone that didn't come back with him? His boyfriend, maybe? If so, she felt terrible for him. Lately all the signs had been pointing to losing Carl, but not necessarily in a permanent way. Argument or not, at-least he was still breathing.

She thought about Carl a lot on the ride, actually. It was the baby that had provoked it, because she couldn't stop realising how much she really needed him. Sure, she was strong, and could handle herself, but without him, there were no sweet moments that she could enjoy anymore....like babies or jokes or Daryl's weird facial expressions.

Without him everything was just so....bland. No, worse. She believed that being away from him actually took away from her life, and incredibly at that. She thought about how easily he could lull this baby into sleep, and then, made the mistake of thinking about him cradling it and kissing it's forehead gently. At that, she was ready to start crying as loud as the child was, tears welling up in her eyes though she felt she had no right to cry. It had all been her fault and now, instead of dealing with it, she'd been shipped off to hilltop - who knows how long she would be there?

The baby grabbed at her hair once again, and she immediately cursed herself for releasing an "ow!" Out loud. Aaron gave her one speckled glance, then turned his eyes back to the road. He never moved them after that, staring out in-front of him with some sort of sick-willed determination.

She wondered what Carl would think about her fleeing to hilltop. Would he be worried? Would he think it was because of the fight? Would he know she was forced into the car with a baby in her hands? No. Probably not. She honestly forgot how tiring it was to be away from him, and, though she enjoyed her alone time, being forced from him was bringing back some terrible memories.

She could do just fine without him, but, he was a such a luxury that she had gotten used to. It felt as if he was the only person in the world who really, truly, loved her. And now, it was all messed up.

They arrived at hilltop at almost nightfall, and the gates were quick to greet them with a creak as they opened stiffly in their favour. Enid, Ellie, Tonya, max and Maggie had heard of their arrival and were waiting patiently to greet them, though a tad frightened about what state they'd be in when they got here.

When Jane stepped out the car, everyone was shocked to see a baby in her hands. Ellie's first thought was that her and Carl had had a child, but, then she did the math and quickly shook that off. Surprisingly, Aaron took Gracie from Jane as soon as he got out of the car, and went inside, saying a word to no one. Ellie rushed over to Jane, followed by Enid and the three other girls. They engulfed her in their warmth, and it felt so so nice. Maybe she had been wrong about Carl being the only one that loved her, because this right here felt exactly like love.

"Is Carl in the car?" Little max asked, and it felt as if the world went silent.

"Oh, no, honey, he's back at Alexandria," Jane answered swiftly, but there was something in her voice that directed the girls in all different directions. Either way, they knew something had happened, and without a word, brought her into their caravan and settled her in.