"What can I do for you?" Nicholes spoke as Austin headed for the gate the next day.
"Open it." he spoke.
"Are you going on a run with someone?" he asked him with curious eyes.
"Oh my god." Austin laughed to himself as he ran a hand over his face, "Dude, opened the damn gate."
"No can do unless you can give me a reason." he shook his head. "For everyones safety it stays closed as much as possible."
"I need space." Austin stared as him. "That good enough for you?"
"Sorry, no." Nicholas shook his head.
Ausrin ran a hand over his face again, giving a hum as he pushed the bandana up on his head more. "Okay."
He turned for just a second before turning back around and colliding his fist with Nichols nose. "How's that for a reason, huh? That better?"
"Hey!" a brunette man was running their way. "Nichols, you okay?"
"Aw, you worried?" Austin mocked him, shoving him suddenly.
"Back off." Spencer shoved his arms away.
"Open the gate!" Austin shouted as Nicholes got up with a bloody nose. "You can't lock me in here!"
"We're not suppose to-" Spencer started, but it only earned him a hit to the face. "Jesus!"
"Open.The.Gate." he broke it down like he was speaking to a toddler.
"Austin!" Aaron ran over when he saw the pair of bloody nose. "What are you doing?"
"You never said your girl gang was gonna isolate us in here." Austin glared at him. "I need space!"
"The woods aren't cleared." Aaron shook his head.
"Yeah, neither is the rest of the world and i've made it this far." Austin shrugged his shoulders dramatically. "You gonna let me out?"
Aaron looked to Nicholas. "It's okay. Can you just promise to stay close?"
"You got it, Clinton." Austin mocked the first president that came to mind, leaving the gate when Nichols opened it for him.
"You back already?" Rick looked to Austin as he came home that night. "You fine anything?"
Austin looked at his group in the living room, staring at his dad in a police uniform. "What the hell are you wearing?"
"Sizing." Rick corrected him. "Deanna thinks I could help."
"Cool." Austin walked past him as Noah's eyes followed.
"You find anything?" Rick repeated himself.
"I can hear the ocean." he said, stripping his shirt off in the room where they had been putting their dirty laundry. "I don't know where it's at though."
"The ocean?" Noah walked into the kitchen as Austin walked out of the small room. "We're close by?"
"Don't know." he spoke in return, heading for the chairs. "I was gonna go look for it tomorrow."
"Yeah." Rick looked up at him as he went, the scar on his hip to his ribs on display. "Maybe take someone with you?"
Austin headed into the bathroom, turning on the shower. Noah looked to Rick. "He's getting there."
"No." Rick shook his head. "He just wants me to think he is."
Austin had left Alexandria as soon as the sun came up, the sunset shining down on him as he followed his tracks, waiting for a sound. He didn't sleep much, but he hadn't since Beth died. He's gotta use to sleeping next to someone, and now there wasn't anyone. He rubbed his eyes to rid the tiredness, pausing when he saw it.
A flash of blonde hair running through the trees right infront of him.
"Hey!" Austin called, but they were gone. He waited, turning to the right and seeing it again. A blonde pony tail, a familiar laugh, running.
His breathing picked up, because now she stood from a distance. But, he could sort her out of anywhere. He had bad vision, but he knew Beth Greene went her saw her.
Austin inhaled panicky, feeling a stutter in his step. "Beth!"
She turned, disappearing. Austin ran to the place she had, falling onto his knees as he looked around everywhere. She wasn't there, he had to remind himself that he held her dead body, he lowered her into her grave, she was dead. But, she was just here. She was just a few feet away and running through these woods. He chunked a hand full of leaves. "Beth!"
The sound of the ocean was heavier from where he was, looking around for the blonde. "Where are you!"
Nothing, absolutely nothing.
"You clean up nice." Carl mocked his older brother in the slights when he finally showed up to the welcoming party, recently showered with wet hair and better clothes. "Not your scene?"
"Something like that." he looked around. "Do you remember holidays with moms family or no?"
"Ugh, not really." Carl shook his head. "Just a little."
"It use to be like this." he reminded him of memories he didn't have, pushing the bandana up on his head better. "And everyone forgot I existed once you were born."
"Probably because i'm so much cuter then you." Carl teased as Austin cracked him a grin, shoving his head. The younger boys eyes fell to the little string around Austin's neck. "Is that Beths?"
Austin realized he'd been looking at the wish bone necklace. "You made that for her, didn't you?"
"I wanted something of hers. And she didn't have a bag, so I couldn't take her clothes." Austin spoke as he pushed the wishbone into his shirt as the string burned his neck slightly. "I was thinking...I made a pretty bad impression on these people and don't think I can bring myself to play some fake person right now."
"Okay." Carl nodded, waiting for him to go on.
"There'd a bench, near the Gazebo. I passed it coming from the gates today." Austin looked over at him. "Do you think you could ask Deanne if we can get Beth's name engraved in it? Since she would have really liked it here."
"I can ask her." Carl nodded, looking over toward Ron. "Ron's mom does sculptors, maybe you can use something of hers."
Austin gave him a shy look. "Will you ask for me?"
Carl had to chuckle. "Yeah, i'll ask."
As he went off with his friends, Austin was left in the house with plenty of people talking about him. Between showing up covered in blood, having a very snappy interview with Deanne, then hitting Spencer and Nichols, he'd built up a reputation in just a matter of two days.
His eyes fell onto a shadow at the top of the stairs, the yellow shirt and cowboy boots on display, but her face was shadowed. Rick watched his son from across the room, his gaze following his. Only, he saw nothing, while Austin was seeing his dead girlfriend.
•
kylie speaks
this era was my least
favorite grief era but
thankfully it doesn't last
too many chapters