Breathin // Glenn Rhee

Chapter Fourty Nine- Infection

We went to the dining area and sat down at one of the tables. It's dark outside and a little breezy but it feels nice. The walkers outside by the fences are piling up a little more. The thought of them knocking down one side of the fences slips into my mind. But then I had to keep my mind focused on Theo's parents.

"Theo saved my life. I was separated from Rick and my group last winter. He helped me find his people and I promised him I'd help him find you guys. I tried. I tried my hardest, I did everything I could to save his life. And I failed."

"Wait. Wait." Mary begins crying, covering her mouth with both of her hands.

"He's-He's dead?" John asks.

"He is." I nodded.

"But-But your husband said it was a simple thing? That you guys were just doing training?" Mary asks.

"It was simple. But everything just fell apart." I say.

"H-How could this have happened?" Mary cries.

"What happened?" John asks.

"A simple task. A simple survival task. He said it was simple." Mary continues, leaning over and crying in her hands.

"It was." I explain. Without warning I felt a hand come in contact with my right cheek. I quickly held onto my cheek, shocked that I'd just been slapped.

"Shut up!" Growls John. I stood up and walked away from them. I saw Rick and the others a small distance from us. Glenn steps in front of me, grabbing my shoulders.

"We didn't want you to-"

"No! Don't!" I snap and pushed him away from me. I avoid eye contact with Rick and kept walking. I can't believe that just happened. I mean they do blame me. I killed their son. It was my responsibility to keep him alive and I didn't. I failed Theo.

The Next Morning...

I've had some sleep and everything that's happened yesterday is now in the past. I don't have any grudges against Theo's father, John, slapping me across the face because he and his wife, Mary believe I killed their son, which I did, is okay with them. All I have to do is avoid them and my mood will be great. They live in Cellblock D so I at least won't have to see them or do anything related with them. Besides the point, now they know that their son is dead, they might just move on from the prison and keep going. Fine by me.

I did my usual work. Cutting the carrots and other veggies we've planted. Rick and a few others are doing their own thing too. Michonne is back, she's out in the field talking to Rick and Carl. From the looks of it, she might be leaving again, which is weird, she was just hurt. Carol still at the grill, Daryl still getting the usual, unwanted flirts from Carol. Daryl tried to talk to me about the situation but I keep denying him. I don't wanna talk! I just wanna do my own thing and move on from the past. Glenn gets it. He understands I don't wanna talk. Daryl, same as the others, should understand that. Speaking of which, Glenn is behind me, staring at me. I know this because I know when he's staring at me, even if he's standing behind me. I just know and I don't even have to turn around to confirm that.

"What are you staring at?" I ask.

"Uh. How'd you know it was me?" He asks.

"I had Theo, Glenn. One, if he wanted something, he'd stand behind me, stare until he figured out if the question was important enough to ask me or not. And two, I know when you're staring." I say.

"So you know." He says approaching behind me, leaning over my shoulder to hover over me.

"I know." I smile at him. He remains in his spot, not even moving.