epiphany // c.g

pretty : 9

     After hanging out for a while, and playing some video games, I had gotten to know Enid really well.

"So how'd you end up here?" She asked, looking over at me.

"Umm... Well, I kinda saved them from being murdered so... my dad was pretty mad about that. But I ran away and Rick and Carl found me sleeping in a hollowed-out tree trunk." I responded, furrowing my eyebrows. She nodded slightly, her mouth open.

     "I can definitely tell you've been outside." She said and gestures to my nasty clothes. I nodded, looking down at myself. I just remembered that I had not yet taken a shower.

"Oh, yeah.... I should probably go clean up. I'll go." I said, pushing myself off the ground. Carl looked up at me before standing up too.

"I've gotta go watch Judith." He said, wrapping his arm around my waist. He knew he didn't need to help me anymore, right? Enid said goodbye to both of us before we left.

     "You know you don't need to do that anymore, right?" I ask, staring up at the sun as we leave the house. He chuckled a bit and I gave him a weird look.

     "I know. But I want to." He responded. Confused, I looked at him.

     "What's that supposed to mean? It doesn't hurt right now." I respond. He looked at me with a smirk on his face.

     "You don't get it, do you?" He asked me, seriously. I shook my head vigorously, wondering what he meant. A chuckle left his mouth before it went silent.

"Ok then." I whispered, rolling my eyes slightly. Soon, we arrived at the house I'm assuming was now my home. "So this is the place." I said jokingly. He nodded, letting go of my waist and pushing the oak door open.

     "You and I have to share a room. But there's two different beds." He says as he shows me to the stairs. We both walk up, me in front of him.

"It's nice in here. At least nicer than I'm used to." I say, walking down the hallway as the floor creaks. "So you have running water, even showers?" I ask, making sure the rumors were true.

"Yup. In fact you should probably take one ." He teases me, walking up to an open door.

"I will. But I don't have any clothes. And I'm not putting these nasty clothes on after." I gesture to my dirty, smelly clothes. I walk into the room, seeing two twin-sized blue beds.

     "I'll get some of Enid's close really fast. You get... adjusted I guess. See you in a minute." He says, and walks out the door. Listening closely, I can hear him rush down the stairs and out the door.

Alone now, I scan the room more intently. The bed nearest to the door's covers are messed up, someone had obviously been sleeping in it- Carl, of course. A book bag leaned against it, a picture on the desk across the room in a frame, and a sheriff's hat laying on the bed.

     "You like it so far?" I jumped as a female voice was heard from behind me. I swiftly turned around, only to see Maggie with her short pixie cut, which I loved. She was holding Judy, who was very interested in everything but Maggie, as she squirmed around.

     "Um... yeah. Never thought I'd see a normal place again. Really. Everything was normal before this, of course, and then I lived in a trailer for who knows how long- what, 3 years?" I said, all in one breath. She chuckled, looking down at Judith and back up at me.

"Yeah, 2 or 3 years, I'd say. I don't know if this is weird to ask- and you don't have to if you don't want- but we're you ever... scared of your dad?" She continued the conversation, only to leave a moment of silence afterward.

"Um- yeah I guess. Watching him kill all those people, it sticks with you. I mean, you guys already know that though. Considering he was this close with you guys." I made a small space between my fingers to represent what I meant. "And after I let you guys go, it was a living hell. Literally." She nodded, contemplating what I had said. Just then, the front door opened and closed, revealing Carl as he ran up the wooden stairs. He held a pile of clothes, and a pair of shoes.

"Thanks." I said, as he handed the clothes over to me. He nodded, walking over to get Judith from Maggie.

     "Well, I'm gonna go take a shower. See you guys later, I guess." Carl smiled at me as I walked away, and Maggie turned to him whispering something I couldn't hear. Just as I turned away, I could see his face go red. What did she say?

     The clean, serene tiles surprised me, because all I was used to seeing was grimy walls and floors. It was like everything was normal again. Minus dad.

     I turned the water to the highest heat, peeling my nasty clothes off of my dirty body.  Blood stained my shirt in some places, my hair had bits of dirt and dried blood, and there was dirt all over me. I felt kind of bad, getting bits of dirt on the perfectly clean tile.

As soon as the steamy hot water hit my back, I let my thoughts go down the drain along with the dirt. I must've used a whole bottle of shampoo and body wash, but I didn't care in the moment. After half an hour at least, I hesitantly turned the warm water off, not wanting it to stop.

     Shivering, I threw my clothes on as quickly as possible. It took me awhile to brush out my hair, considering I never really brushed it anymore.

I walked out of the bathroom, a pile of clothes in my hand, walking back into Carl and I's room. He was laying on the bed reading a comic book.

"Haven't seen many of those in a while," I began, interrupting his reading, "Now where do I put, um, these?" I lifted the clothes up. He lifted himself off the bed, taking the clothes and smiling at me. Before walking down the stairs, he stared at me for a moment.

"What? Did I miss a spot?" I asked jokingly, and looked down at myself.

"No you just look, pretty," he stuttered, "Pretty good." (a/n when you st af)

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(word count: 1090)
IM A PIECE OF TRASH I NEVER UPDATE IM SORRY. LIKE REALLY :((( anyways... sunday murdered my soul. I'm gonna stop talking about that bc I'll cry in school lmao.
So yeah. How do you guys like it? ALSO ALMOST 500 READS IM SO HAPPY ILY GUYS SM!!!!!!! This chapter was kinda flat oops. I'll try and update monsters soon (for those who read it) vote, comment, be active readers! I love getting feedback! Love you, baii

-Bry (Bree) ❤️