Forever Unfinished // Carl Grimes

Chapter 29

Lauren stepped out into the crowded courtyard. Grey clouds covered the sky above her, they watched her. Some wept for those they had lost, others looked at her with sympathy, pitying her. She felt nothing but weak.

Stark white sheets covered the deceased. There wasn't many, just a few. Many more were injured. The crowd seemed to part for her, they looked away from her, unable to match her gaze. They felt sorry for her, for what she had to do.

Sam was waiting for her, along with Josh and some of the other guards. They smiled a sad smile, they had lost friends too.

"What do we do with the body?" Sam asked Lauren who bit her lip to stem the flow of salty tears.

"Murderers will not be buried within these walls."

~•~

12 Hours Earlier

"You haven't moved all day," Carl noted with a sigh, "You spent last night on the couch. I know you're mad at me. I'm sorry, I just don't want you to get hurt."

Lauren looked up at him from her seat on the living room floor and sighed. What had he done to deserve this? The guilt ripped her apart every time he tried to speak. How could she have even indulged Ethan's ludacris proposal? Why was she to tempted?

"It's not that, Carl."

"Then what is it?" He said, only raising his voice slightly. She looked up at him, her eyes stinging with tears, "Please tell me he didn't touch you."

Lauren stayed silent for a moment, her lips pressed into a thin line while Carl became more unhinged by every passing second.

"He.. He kissed me," Lauren said slowly, making sure he heard every stomach-wrenching syllable. She felt guilty; guilty that she let him mess with her head, guilty that she didn't see it coming, guilty that she let her guard down and above all, guilty that his lips touched hers.

Carl looked away from her, his breathing ragged as he tried to contain his emotions. His fists were clenched tightly at his sides, his knuckles white.

"Did you kiss him back?"

Lauren paused for a moment, taking a deep breath. She didn't kiss him back, but it took a moment for her to realise what he was doing. She was so lost in her thoughts, how could she let that happen?

"I didn't," She said sternly, her eyes brimmed with guilty tears, "As soon as I realised what was happening, I pushed him off and left."

She sucked in a shaky breath, would he be angry?

"He offered me to lead with him. I didn't know what to say. Then he mentioned you," Lauren looked up at Carl, her eyes glassy. "He said that you don't see my strength. That you think I'm fragile. That I'm a leader, and I shouldn't listen to you. I don't know what happened, I was so lost, so confused and I let him use my ego against me. I should have realised when he moved closer I just-"

"It's okay," Carl said quickly, obviously not wanting to hear any more. He took a deep breath and looked at her. He trusted her, he knew that this affected her, "I'm not angry at you."

"You should be!" Lauren jumped up from her chair, "Hate me, Carl! Please hate me."

He wrapped his arms around her while she pounded on his chest, sobbing while she did so. There was only few times Carl had seen her so broken.