Forever Unfinished // Carl Grimes

Chapter 21

Carl held Lauren in his arms while she slipped in and out of consciousness. He could feel her heart beat against his chest as he lifted her into the air. She was too warm, and too pale. Her skin was clammy and her cheeks looked sunken. Her blue eyes fluttered open and she stared up at Carl as he walked.

"You're okay," She said quietly, her head resting on Carl's bicep as he pushed open the door of the small stone bungalo. Declan had come to and once he gained his awareness, he helped Carl carry Lauren into the basement. He didn't ask what was wrong, he could imagine it.

Valorie was pacing across the room when they entered the basement, her hands resting on her swollen belly. She let out a sigh of relief when she saw them all but she gasped when she saw them carrying a faint Lauren.

"What happened?" Valorie said, moving out of the way so they could place Lauren on one of the beds in the far corner of the room. Valorie studied Lauren, looking for any sign of new wounds. She felt slightly more relaxed when she didn't find anything.

"She collapsed after she shot Bennett," Carl said, his face showing nothing but worry. "I told you to stay inside."

"If I did, you'd be dead." Lauren laughed dispite the situation. She lethargically propped herself up on the bed and laid her head against the headboard.

"You need to rest," Valorie fretted, handing Lauren an assortment of colourful pills and a bottle of clean water. "Take these."

Lauren swallowed the antibiotic medicine with a scrunched up nose. Valorie checked her shoulder wound and changed up the bandage so it was clean. The light was dimming so Valorie flicked on the generator and the room lit up in hundreds of small lights all over the ceiling.

"It's beautiful," She smiled, a smile that warmed Carl's heart. A smile from Lauren was always something he cherished, it was a smile that you would never forget, one of them rare smiles that leave you.

"I thought about you the first time I saw them," Carl admitted with a smile while he watched the twinkling lights. "I knew you would love them."

"I do," She smiled again, watching the lights that resembelled stars.

"You'll get better," Valorie promised her, but their was doubt in her voice. "It'll get worse before it gets better. But for now you need to sleep. It's getting dark."

Lauren nodded and put her head down on the soft pillow. Carl sat by the bed until her breathing fell into a rhythm and her tensed body relaxed.

"Do you think she'll be okay?" Carl asked Valorie while he watched her sleep. Her chest gently rising and falling.

"I really don't know, Carl." Valorie admitted. "She needs to fight it, but I think she has lost her will to fight. She needs something to fight for. She needs you, Carl."

Carl wished for nothing more than to glue together the broken pieces of their hearts, in hope that this time, it would last forever.

~•~

Carl woke to wimpering and thrashing, he jumped out of his bed and followed the noise to where Lauren was asleep. He gently shook her and whispered her name until she came back to reality, she clutched his arms, sweat coating her face. Carl felt around until he found his flashlight and flicked on the light, he grabbed a match and lit the lantern that sat on a small bedside table beside where Lauren was staying.

"Just a bad dream," She breathed, wiping away the cold sweat from her face and neck. She regulated her breathing and took a gulp of water from the bottle that Valorie gave her earlier.