Eyes Wide Open [TWD]

°•intro•°

"C'mon babygirl," dad rushes downstairs. I look up from my homework in confusion.

"Are we going to see Uncle Rick?" I ask, knowing he gets nervous when we're visiting him.

"Not yet. We're going to Aunt Lori and Carl's house first," he says nervously.

"Are we going out for dinner with them?"

"No sweetie. Please just get ready," he nearly pleads.

The look on his face is enough for me to know to listen. I nod and pick up my purse which contains my coloring book, crayons, Lisa Frank lip gloss I got for my twelfth birthday two months ago, and some of daddy's old gas cards that I play with.

He holds my hand and locks the door behind him before we go to the truck. As always, he picks me up and lets me crawl from the driver's seat to the backseat.

Aunt Lori walks out her house with a suitcase and her purse, which I'm sure holds the same things mine does, and she and Carl get in the truck. I don't pay attention to what they're saying because dad always said it's rude to intervene in an adult conversation.

--

When I wake up, I find Carl and myself both with our heads on the windows. The seat belt itches on my neck and I'm sure it left a mark. It's dark now, I'm unsure of how long I was asleep. Dad and Lori notice Carl and I have woken up.

"We're going for a walk," dad says.

We all get out the car and I hold Lori's hand, immediately nervous about our surroundings. Cars everywhere, about three to four beside each other to fit on the road. Some even off the road near the trees.

"Excuse me sir, do you know what's causing the jam?" Dad asks a heavier set man.

"Naw man I don't," He grunts.

They bury themselves in a conversation and a woman with little to no hair and a girl my age walks up to Lori, Carl, and I. The woman introduces herself as Carol, Her husband as Ed, and her daughter as Sophia.

The adult women point us to the tailgate of Carol's car where they have playing cards. Carl and Sophia play with the cards where as I sit quietly playing with the tips of my hair before Lori and my dad approach.

"Shane and I are gonna walk ahead, see what we can see," Lori says.

Carl and I nod. Dad quickly kisses my head and they begin walking through the maze of vehicles.

"Your dad's nice," Sophia says as Carol walks around the truck to get her purse.

"Thanks," I say shyly and turn back to see what Carol is doing.

"Where's yours?" She asks Carl.

Ed shuts the door soon after Carol opens it and gets in her face. I immediately narrow my eyes as he glares deeply into her eyes. She says something and looks down before circling back toward us.

"My dad's dead," Carl says simply.

I turn my attention back to him and huff at the statement.

Rick, Carl's dad, works with my dad at the police department. He got shot a few weeks ago and daddy said he's in a coma. Doctors said he can pull through, but then again he might not.

I've grown up with the Grimes family in my life. Daddy said he and Rick were best friends in high school and are still friends. They used to tell Carl and I stories all the time. There was one about how daddy stole the principal's car and drove it into a chicken coop.

Then, they grew up, got jobs together, got married to their wives months apart from each other, and had kids- Carl and I, months apart.

So, it's basically inevitable Carl and I are also close. We've been friends since we were still wearing diapers. Even though Carl is turning thirteen this year, and I just turned twelve, I still try to keep up with him.

I say nothing at Carl's sentence but lay my head on his shoulder to comfort him and they continue their game in silence.

--

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