𝐍𝐄𝐔𝐑𝐎𝐓𝐈𝐂 | 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘭𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘥

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐑𝐓𝐄𝐄𝐍

He only spoke to question how much further they had to go, and that was it. 

"What do ya think I did?" was her response to Noah once she'd swallowed the emotion regarding Beth. She watched the teenager shift in the seat in front of her, twisting to look at her, his eyes were scrutinizing and curious, trying to lock down a vibe for her. She schooled her features and lent back into the seat, not giving anything away, though there was little to give away now. His question meant nothing, but his curiosity did. 

"I have no idea." He chuckled, soft and meaningless. He lent his chin on the seat and watched her as she huffed a noise through her nose, "Drug dealer?" 

Unexpectedly, Delaney snorted. She shot him a look which made him break out into a grin, followed by a chuff of his own laughter when she winked. "You, were not." Glenn lent further into the middle of the seats, his dark eyes looking at her as if she'd tell him the real answer. Delaney saw the two of them share a look, 

"Well, I figured you had to be something interesting, you know? You got that kind of vibe." Noah continued, not believing her but also not, not believing her. She shifted on the chair and drew her leg up onto it, pressing her boot into the material. With her chin on her knee she admired the softness of Noah's confession, allowing herself to feel the lightness of being thought of like that - as someone interesting. "So, what kind of drugs did you sell?" 

Delaney huffed out another laugh, spotting Tyreese as he shook his head in good humor in the front,

"Ah, the usual." Delaney grinned into the material of her jeans, "Meth, coke, the odd bit of Mary Jane..." She saw Noah's narrowed stare, "What, ya don't believe me?" 

"Absolutely not - " 

"I was a Mechanic." Came her honest reply, after a moment. She saw Noah's brows raise at that and he lent a bit closer to the seat, "Fixed up cars and bikes - worked in a auto shop." She heard Glenn hum from where he was still leaning between her and Rick, prompting her to turn her head and spot the small smile on his features. He was probably thinking of when he'd seen her with the oil all over her jeans, and the dark black staining beneath her fingernails. 

"That makes sense." He shot her a smile, leaning back to sit more comfortably, "You seemed pretty at home with the grease on your jeans." 

Delaney shrugged, "Should 'a seen my clothes before this, and ma hands...God, Eleanor used to fuckin' hate it - wash those hands Delaney Dixon or I'll - " she hesitated with a frown drawing her brows in together, remembering Eleanor but also realizing she'd just shared a part of herself out loud without thinking much of it. There was a palpable thick silence that followed her breathy stop, and not a single person in that car said a word, not trusting themselves to. 

Rick had turned to listen to her, now his eyes were looking at her with that same questioning stare she'd met so many times.

"Who is Eleanor?" Tyreese decided to be the one to ask and Delaney figured that was probably best. If Rick would have questioned her she could have slammed on the breaks and told him to mind his own fucking business, but Tyreese had spoken in such a soft, hesitant way that it just - she felt so tired. With her forehead resting down onto her knee, Delaney held her breath, fingers reaching for her aching ribs. 

"Someone I lost." 

Again, a silence came and Delaney didn't have the energy to break it. She sat in silence, thinking of Eleanor with a horrible numbness in her chest, hating that she had no idea what had happened to her. Delaney's girlfriend had been gone from her home, her father and baby sister too, so part of Delaney had hoped that she was out there somewhere, safe, sound. Another part of her also realized the reality of the situation, and that perhaps it was entirely possible that she was just gone.