One Last Whisper [c.g]

[7]

Carl continues to farm as me and Beth chat away, talking about little things. It's nice, talking about something apart from dead people and how the world use to be. I feel kinda guilty for having fun. Somewhere out there were my friends. Maybe in trouble...and here I was, talking about irrelevant things.

It takes a little while before they stop farming and everyone is sweating under the scorching sun.
Hershel taps Beth's shoulder, pulling her attention away from our conversation.
"As a reward for bein' the best entertainment possible, here's a tomato each." he takes two tomatos off of their vines and tosses them to us. I never really used to like tomatoes all that much but I ate it like it was an apple. I enjoyed it, which surprised me.

After eating, Carl put his hat on and put away his shovel. Then he joined Beth and I, who had sat down to eat at a picnic table.
"Hey there." Carl looks down at me, an awry look on his face. "You're short." He simply says.
"Short? I am not short. You're just tall." I retort, laughing slightly.
He shrugs, giving me a look of disbelief. "Are you ready to go?" Carl asks.
Beth leans In. "Go where?" She curiously questions.

Carl grins. "(Y/n) needs to find some people, figured I may as well help her- if it means missing my duty up in the guard tower" Carl tips his head back so his hat doesn't cover his face.

Beth smiles. "Stay safe Carl. We need you back here. You too Y/n." She gets up and leaves us, venturing through the entrance of the prison.
"Is their anything you need to grab before we go?" I ask. He nods.
"I wanna get some more ammo and another gun. Do you need anything?" Carl holds eye contact with me, and even though I know its rude, I can't look him in his eyes. They're so alluring, and I was going to get overwhelmed by it. I didn't want to blush, but I could already feel the blood rushing to my cheeks.
"Ammo I guess." I tell him. He nods, departing from me to go get it.

Once Carl and I are finally ready to go, Rick and Daryl open up the gates and we voyage outside. We push through the walkers.

Once we're in the forests away from the walkers, we stop running and walk.

"So who exactly are we looking for?" Carl inquires, sliding his gun back into its holster.
"I guess Hockey first. He was with Butch, his dog and Butch was found not far from here yesterday. I assume Hockeys not far from where we found Butch." My heart is beating harder with the thought of one of them being in trouble. If they were in danger, it was partially my fault.
"What does he look like?" Carl shyly asks. I shrug, picturing Hockey in my head.
"Uh, he has short brown hair. He's sixteen, but he's pretty tall. He's also tan." I keep alert because the walkers could be anywhere. As I speak to Carl, I scan the bush and shrubbery, making sure that I was prepared for walkers if they were to come.
"Was he your boyfriend?" Carl slowly questions. I snap my head in his direction, feeling butterflies emerge in my stomach. I smile to myself.
"No. We were always so close, right from the start... I just think we were a better team when we were friends than if we were together. So no, he wasn't." I tell him. For a second, Carl looks relieved.
"I didn't mean to b-" Carl starts. As he talks, he is interrupted by a loud moan. A walker. Great. I pull out my gun to shoot it but Carl motions for me to put it away. He pulls out a machete and kills the walker.
"Thanks" I breath out. No reason really. Carl says nothing in response.

We get out of the forest and enter streets and small houses. I remember it from yesterday.
We walk along the road. The street has cute little houses lined up along it. The street looks untouched by all the horrors of the world. Everything is still and quiet.
"Lets search the houses," Carl directs. "He could be anywhere"
I nod and together we walk up to the porch of a cute white house. It reminded me of my old home.
"It's locked" Carl disappointedly says, his shoulders sagging. I jump at that.
I slip a bobby pin out of my hair and begin picking the lock. Before all this I didn't have the faintest clue to pick a lock but Hockey had taught me. I owed a lot of my skills to Hockey.
I walk through the house calling his name.
"Hockey?!?!?" I yell. I walk up the stairs, wondering through a maze or rooms and stairs. Somehow I end up in a young boys bedroom. I feel a pang in my chest as I scan the bedroom. I guess it triggers some pretty ugly emotions that I'd always tried to hide.
We all used to be like this...a room we so desperately wanted privacy in, a wall we covered with posters, draws we hesistated to keep clean, and all those things...just gone.
I sit on the bed, my eyes welling up with tears.
I'm flustered and frustrated all at once.
I miss him.
I miss everything
So so much.
I start crying. I hate the fact that I'm crying but I need to let it out. It doesn't help that my stomach hurts either.
Carl walks in and sits next to me. He puts a hand lightly on my shoulder. I jump at the contact but soon accept it.
"Hey," he coos. "It's okay. We'll find him" I stop crying, looking up at Carl.
"Why did you do it?" I ask. "Why did you let me in?"
He looks at me with his amazing blue eyes and I stare back at him.
"Because I like you Y/n." he smiles. "I like the way that you won't give up and I like the way that I've smiled more times with you than times without you already. I like you. Even though It hasn't been long, I feel like you're the light at the end of my tunnel. Maybe I'm delusional from all the pain that Ive felt, but when I laid eyes on you I felt hope that I haven't felt in a long while." He puts his hand on my cheek and wipes away a tear with his thumb

"You're the beginning of something good."

I put my arms around him and hug him. I feel comfort in his embrace. I feel familiar. I agree with Carl. This...us...it was the start of something good.

We pull away.
"Lets get what we can out of the cupboards and head home" I say. "Home"