Cherokee Roses {Daryl Dixon's Daughter}

f o u r t y f i v e

"Sure didn't look like it." Dad speaks up from beside me.

"I called for help, help came." He says smiling eerily, but once he notices none of us smiling back he turns back to Rick. "Do you have, have any food? Whatever I had left, it just hit the ground."

"We got some pecans." Carl says handing over the pecans we'd been sharing with each other. 

"Thank you." He says grateful and Judith takes it as her moment to be known and she coos. "That's a beautiful child."

None of us say anything. In fact everyone makes it known that their weapons are nearby. We're protective of the young child.

"Do you have a camp?" The man asks  Rick. 

"No. Do you?"

"I have a church." Gabriel tells us after looking around hesitantly. 

"Put your hands above your head." Rick says sternly and Gabriel does as told as Rick begins to pat him down.  "How many walkers have you killed?"

"Not any actually." Gabriel says. 

"Turn around." Rick says spinning him around. "How many people have you killed?"

"None!" the priest whimpers. 

"Why?" Rick all but growls out. 

"Because the Lord abhors violence." He tells us with a straight face. The man is dead serious.

"What have you done?" Rick whispers and if I weren't so close to him I wouldn't have heard him. Gabriel looks around, uncomfortable with Ricks questions and our pressing stares. "We've all done something."

"I'm a sinner." He admits. "I sin almost every day. But those sins, I confess them to God, not strangers."

"You said you had a church?" Michonne asks from the other side of the priest. He nods before leading us in the direction of it. Dad pushes Carl and I behind him, making it so that Michonne and himself are right in front of us, and right behind Rick and Gabriel. 

"Stay back here," he tells both of us. "We don't know who this guy is."

"Hey, earlier." Rick asks him. "Were you watching us?"

"I keep to myself." he tells us. "Nowadays, people are just as dangerous as the dead, don't you think?"

"No people are worse." Dad tells him truthfully.

"Well, I wasn't watching you." Gabriel says going into a long spiel about how he's barely left his church, and then his attempts at humor. I roll my eyes as I block him out. 

Soon enough, we arrive at the church. I can't help but be reminded of the one we were at the day Carl got shot. That seemed so long ago, and it was. Carl and I are no longer the defenseless twelve year olds, we're somewhere around 14 or who knows even 15 at this point. 

"Mind if we have a look around first?" Rick asks Gabriel before we head inside. "We just wanna make sure we hold onto our squirrels."

Half of the group heads inside, making sure things are clear while the rest of us stay outside. Somehow, Judith is once again in my arms. Gabriel looks around at us nervously, almost as if he has something to hide and I furrow my brows. 

"What's on your mind?" Elisa says resting a hand on my shoulder. I tense up and she quickly takes it off. 

"Its nothing." I say brushing my thoughts off.

"I spent months here without stepping out the front door, if you found someone inside, well it would've been surprising."

"Thanks for this." Carl says to Gabriel as I hand Judith over to him.