Not Like Before (Discontinued)

Chapter 10

2 weeks later

//Tess' POV

I was waiting for Carl for our weekly check in when I heard many footsteps from behind me.

I turned around to see Carl, with his entire group, walking up to me.

The sherif's son walked up to me with a hopeful smile on his face.

"You did it," I breathed, happily shocked.

"Actually," Carl corrected. "I wasn't the one that persuaded them."

Enid walked up next to him. He took her hand.

I looked at her. "It was you?"

She nodded modestly.

"Thank you," I said, genuinely thankful.

She smiled a little and shrugged.

The three of us turned to Carl's group.

"I know a lot of you still might not have the best opinion of me," I admitted to them, causing them to exchange a few glances. "But I wanted to thank you for agreeing to help us. And trust me, nobody hates Negan more than me."

Once they were done communicating without words to each other, they all looked at me and nodded determinedly. And that's when I fully knew.

These people were with me. They were with Carl. They were with Enid.

I looked around at everyone, trying to remember their strengths and weaknesses.

They all had good aim. Rick was a natural leader, good with persuasion and quite aggressive when needed.

Daryl was very good at offense fighting, often being the first one to fire.

Glenn was good at reasoning, but was forceful when he needed to be.

Maggie, along with Rick was a natural leader.

Carl was diplomatic and observant. He could analyze anyone's very next move. And his aim, despite having one eye, was amazing.

Abraham was very intimidating with his large size and army scars. It seemed like assault rifles were made to be used by him.

Sasha was, without a doubt, the best sharpshooter. She could be of immense use.

Tara, along with Glenn, was good at reasoning with people. And she wasn't too bad with a 9mm either.

Eugene was extremely smart. Not the best fighter, but definitely the brains of the operation.

Rosita was good at hand-to-hand combat, her knife skills being top notch.

And Enid was like Rosita, amazing with a knife.

I decided that I had a pretty good army right here.

I glanced over at Carl, who was already looking at me. For the first time in what feels like forever, him and I shared a real, genuine smile, like the kind we shared while we were dating. But at the same time, not like that kind at all.

It felt like we were reaching for each other but never actually touching.