Sweet and Salty ~ Carl Grimes

Alcoholic - 046

Y'all I gotta stop breaking my own schedule 😔🙄! But I'm updating Tuesday and Thursday this week as well simply because then this weekend *something* is gonna happen to that one guy we all want GONE. And I can't wait, so here's me being impatient for my own book xxx

Brooks waited until she could hear the snoring of her family travelling through the cell block, before she could make her move. Her small, bare feet hit the concrete ground before she went out onto the runway. She could spot Daryl sleeping on his little perch on top of the stairs, but luckily there was a clear path past him. Cam was downstairs, and that's where she needed to be.

Creeping every step to avoid waking her people, her eyes scanned the very dark cell block. The only light came in through the barred windows, shining moonlight through. Brooks' eyes ached with how much crying she'd done recently, if it wasn't for her determination then she'd have been passed out in her bed like everyone else.

She could hear the loud snoring coming from Cam's room, and she smiled. At least he was one of the people who was passed out, asleep. Brooks knew that some people would still be awake with the looming threat of the Governor, but Cam wasn't one of those people. He was sleeping off his morning drinks.

Brooks flickered on the yellow light lantern that was on the bottom of his bed. She watched him carefully, but he didn't stir. Brooks knew that he wouldn't, because she's seen an alcoholic's coma more times than she could remember. Sometimes Will would sleep for days, all of the doors out of the house would be locked, and he'd have hidden the keys... But, then he'd beat Brooks to hell and back for letting the dog shit in the house, when neither of them could escape the house for several days. His logic never made sense.

First, she checked under the bed. Clear. Then, behind the sink. Clear. Then under the back of the toilet where all the systems and that were. Clear. Then she searched his whole bag. Clear. Finally, she took a chance and pulled herself onto the top bunk. There was an unused duvet there, but it seemed like it was on something. She pulled back the duvet and there it was. A couple dozen cans of beer, some used, some not. Several jars of whiskey, and rum, and two bottles of wine. Most of it was half drunken, or empty. Her heart broke for Cam, he really had snapped.

She could only take a couple things at a time. Her small hands, and the jumping down from the top bunk really slowed her down. All of this movement around a sleeping Cam did make her anxious, she didn't want him to wake up until she was done. What she was doing, was pouring it all down the sink and then leaving the rubbish underneath his bed. He couldn't do anything with the rubbish.

On the last journey, she was emptying the last bottle of wine when a cold, metal hand grabbed her wrist and pulled her back. Gasping in shock, Brooks looked up to Cam who was awake, his eyes red and puffy - but, awake. He was shaking slightly, whether it was in the cold of night, or the anger he felt because of Brooks, she didn't know.

He snatched the bottle from her hand and noticed there was less than a third left. "What the hell are you doing?" He hissed at her, the smell of beer slapped her in the face. He hadn't had any mints, or minty gum before bed so she could smell it all.

"Helpin'." She answered, trying to snatch the bottle back, but he just held it up in the air.

"You're stealing from me, you little shit!" Cam shouted, dropping her wrist, still drunk from his before-bed drinks.

Brooks' heart dropped at his word choice, and she took a step back in fear. This was usually around the time her father would start beating on her. "I - no, Cam! You're an alcoholic, you can't be drinkin', you know that!"

"I can do whatever the fuck I want." He hissed, going over to his bed and throwing himself onto it while drinking the white wine from the bottle.

Daryl came in, drawn by the noise as he looked between Cam and Brooks. "Hell's goin' on, in 'ere?"