03 : BEEF WITH A GROWN MAN
" Then maybe you're not as tough as you think you are. "
- ʟᴜᴄʏ ꜰɪɴᴄʜ
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CAROL hadn't left Sophia's side since she arrived. Rightfully so, she did go missing for days without any trail.
They were sitting in the living room with everyone gathered around them. Most of them were talking to the pair, seeing if they were okay. The other old man, Hershel, was looking at Sophia's wounded leg in the mean time while his daughter Maggie was preparing dinner.
Lucy on the other hand, was leaning against a wall in the room awkwardly. No one had really acknowledged her yet, which she totally understood but it was a bit awkward for her. She didn't even know any of their names, the only names she knew were picked up from the conversations they've been having.
"There." Hershel said after bandaging her friend's leg. "You'll have to take it easy and be careful but your leg is just fine."
She let out a breath in relief. "Thank you, sir."
Carol squeezed her hand comfortly as Sophia gave her a smile before leaning her head onto her mom's shoulder.
The sight made Lucy happy. It was nice to see that she still had her mom. Same with Carl, or atleast that's what she asumes. By the looks of it, Carl still had both of his parents. He should not take them for granted.
Speaking of Carl, apperently he got shot while they were looking for Sophia. It was how they ended up at the farm in the first place. Maybe that was the gunshot they heard a few days ago. Even though he was up and walking, he still had to take it easy as he was still recovering.
Maggie walked into the room with a kitchen towell thrown over her shoulder. She looked towards Carl's mom. "Dinner's ready. Could you help me set up the table?"
"Of course." She nodded.
One of the guys, Shane, was staring at Lucy. She shifted uncomfortably as she felt his eyes burning holes into her skull. She risked a glance towards him and regretted that immediately. He glared at her and raised his eyebrows as if he was challenging her.
Lucy walked out of the room, going to the dining room instead. It didn't go completely unnoticed since Shane was still glaring at her but other than that, no one payed close attention to her.
In the dining room Maggie and Carl's mom were setting the table. Maggie was talking about some guy named Glenn, whoever that was. Seeming to distracted by the conversation, they didn't notice the younger girl's presence.
She cleared her throat awkwardly in order to get their attention. They turned to her, both seeming quite startled.
"Uhm." Lucy started. "Do you need help?"
They shared a look before Carl's mom spoke up. "That's nice, sweetheart but you really don't have to-"
"I want too." She cut her off. "Please." At this point she was practically begging them. Any normal kid would've done anything to avoid doing chores.
Lucy never had to do any chores. Instead she was locked up in her room all day, ordered to do nothing but sit around and be quiet. If she didn't obey, if she tried to sneak out, if she made too much noise , she'd be waking up with fresh bruises the next day.
She'd much rather do chores than spend another minute in her room. Of course now, she wasn't at home. She wasn't in her room. She wasn't with her dad. And even though all those things were long gone, it felt like she was back into that nightmare. Like her dad was still lurking in the shadows.
The guy, Shane, reminded her of him. He looked at her the same way her father used to. With disgust. He had the same cold eyes, the same disgusted look.
Lucy always felt so stupid for getting triggered by things like that, small, dumb things. Like someone giving you a dirty look, someone yelling, stuff like that. Even though he's dead, it was still like her dad was always near her. He was always in her head. Always.
The two older women noticed her discomfort as one of them placed a hand on her shoulder. The feeling of Maggie's hand snapped her out of her thoughts
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm-" She took a deep breath. "I'm fine."
They didn't seem convinced but continued nontheless.
"You can start putting down the plates." Carl's mom suggested to which Lucy only nodded.
She did as she was told and put the plates on the table. The talking stopped, the only noise of people talking being in the living room. The mood completely changed. Or maybe that was just Lucy. She was too busy sulking to think about.
"You never told us your name." The long haired brunette stated, making Lucy look up from the plates in her hands.
"It's Lucy. Lucy Finch."
She nodded before introducing herself. "I'm Lori, this is Maggie."
Well, atleast she doesn't have to keep calling her Carl's mom anymore.
"So" Lori started. "How come you're with Sophia? Where are your parents?"
Lucy thought it was pretty obvious where they were. When you see a child in an apocalypse without parents, they were most likely dead. Or maybe she asked the question because every kid on the farm still had their parents. Except for Lucy.
"She got attacked by a biter, I couldn't just leave her." She explained, ignoring the question about her parents.
"You killed a walker?" Maggie frowned, as if she wasn't completely sure a thirteen year old was able too. Fair enough. "All by yourself?"
"I didn't kill it. " She explained. "I lead it away."
Technically it was the truth, she did lead that biter away but that wasn't the only one they've come acrose. So to answer Maggie's question, yes, she killed a 'walker' all by herself but she almost died doing so. She would be dead if it weren't for Daryl.
Maggie and Lori shared another look. Maybe they didn't believe her. Maybe they didn't believe the fact that she survived on her own, that she killed walkers, that she saved Sophia. Lucy's been on the road ever since this whole thing started. She's seen a lot, she's been through a lot and she's lost a lot.
"Sweetie, how old are you?"
"Thirteen."
"Thirteen." Lori repeated as she let out a dry chuckle. "And you've been alone this entire time?"
"I was with a group but uh- they died. I've been alone ever since." Lucy finished placing down all the plates. "Done." She stated. She didn't want to talk about this anymore, all she wanted to do was eat and sleep. The other two seemed to get the hint, fortunately.
"I'll go get the others."
Lucy was basically inhaling the food on her plate. She hadn't had a home cooked meal in ages. Sophia on the other hand, was eating her food in a more proper way. probably because she'd be too impolite otherwise but Lucy didn't really think about that at the moment.
She finished her food while some hadn't even started yet. Fortunately for her, no one seemed to care. Well, no one except for Shane, who clearly still wasn't a big fan of hers. He was still giving her dirty looks every now and then. Less than before but still enough to make her feel uncomfortable. She tried to ignore it, keeping her mind occupied with the food instead.
Carol stood up with an extra plate of food in her hands. "I uh- I'm gonna bring this to Daryl. He won't eat otherwise."
"Can I come with you?" Sophia asked her mom who nodded in return.
"Of course, baby." She smiled. "We'll be back in a minute." Was all she said before wandering out of the room with her daughter trailing behind her.
The only person Lucy felt comfortable with is now gone, making this whole situation even more awkward.
Lori's husband, Rick, took a glance at her before he decided to finally talk to her. "So uh- you never told us your name."
"Lucy." She muttered, looking down at her plate in order to avoid eye contact.
"Why were you with Sophia?" Shane joined in, asking the question rather threatening.
"She got attacked by biters." She glared at him, returning the same energy. "I saved her. So maybe, just maybe, you should consider being nicer to me."
The threat may not seem much to him but she was serious. She wouldn't be able to fight him but she sure as hell was able to outsmart him. It didn't take a genius to see that he wasn't the brightest cookie in the jar. Or maybe that was just her.
"What, a little girl like you was able to fight a walker?" He huffed. "Hell, even we still have trouble fighting those things."
"Then maybe you're not as tough as you think you are."
That seemed to have pushed his buttons even more. He slammed his hands on the table, causing everyone ,including Lucy, to jump. He pointed an accusing finger at the girl but before he could say anything, Rick had already cut him off.
"That's enough." He said, though it didn't stop the staring, or more like glaring, contest between Shane and Lucy. "We'll talk about this in the morning."
"Rick-"
"In the morning, Shane."
Shane stood up so fast that his chair almost fell over. He stomped out of the room angrily. It amazed Lucy how a grown man could still act like a complete toddler.
The silence after was uncomfortable. Everyone had stopped talking, just glancing at eachother, mostly at Lucy, every now and then. She decided that that was enough for the night. She walked away from the table, without a word. She could hear some faint whispering behind her but she ignored it. She didn't know where she was going, she just wanted to get out of the house.
She figured she probably shouldn't go far, so she sat on the steps that lead to the house instead of wandering off. Lucy still had her gun and knife. The fact that they didn't ask to hand over any weapons she owned surprised her. Maybe they forgot, being to busy with Sophia instead. Not that she was complaining.
She took her knife out, tracing the beautiful flowers that were carved in. She's always loved flowers. Not because she particularly liked them but because her mother did.
The house used to be covered in flowers. More flowers than furniture. Her father never liked it but he tolerated it because she loved them. Lucy never thought much about flowers, sure they were nice but she never thought they were special, like her mom did.
After her death, her father destroyed every single one of them. The flowers themselves, stuff with flower prints, everything.
The door behind her opened, making her jump slightly. She turned her head towards the door to see who came out of the house.
"Uh, hi." It was the asian guy. He walked up to her before taking a seat next to her. "Rick told me to go find you."
"Couldn't he just find me himself?" Lucy scoffed, not taking her eyes of the knife in her hands.
"He's talking to Shane right now, so-"
"Oh, right." She rolled her eyes at the mention of him. "Shane, the guy who thinks he's so much better than everyone else."
The guy laughed at that. "I promise he isn't always like that."
"Mhm, sure."
Something in her gut told her that he was wrong. Not lying necessarily but just having the wrong thoughts about him. Then again, she didn't know anything about Shane. She didn't know anything about any of them, so maybe she was the one that was wrong.
"Cool knife." He pointed at the weapon in her hands. "Where'd you get it?"
"I found it a few days ago when I first met Sophia." Lucy told him, finally taking her eyes off the knife.
He hummed in return. "Have you been alone this entire time?"
"Only for about a week." She answered. "My entire group uh- they died."
"Oh." He mumbled, regretting asking it in the first place. "I'm sorry."
Lucy shrugged as she gave him a sad smile. "I wasn't that close with anyone anyways."
"Still." The guy said. "You're one tough kid."
Not that tough apperently since she almost got killed today. She would be dead if it weren't for Daryl.
"Thanks, uh-" She cut herself off as she realized she still didn't know his name. "I'm sorry, what's your name again?"
"Glenn."
So he's the guy Maggie was talking about earlier. She thought he was dead but here he is, breathing and alive.
"Wait, wait." She furrowed her eyebrows before slightly laughing to herself. "You're Glenn?"
He frowned, giving her a confusing look. "Yeah?"
"I thought you were dead." She laughed which was probably not the smartest thing to say without context. Glenn looked even more confused now.
"What?"
"Maggie, she was talking about you." Lucy explained, she shook her head in disbelief. "I thought you were her dead boyfriend or something."
"Maggie talked about me?" He practically had heart eyes as he asked the question. Lucy gave him a knowing look and teasing smile which caused him to snap out of whatever love trance he was in. "I mean, yeah, of course she talks about me."
"Mhm."
"Well, I'm clearly not dead." He gestured towards himself. "Still very much alive."
"Are you atleast her boyfriend then?" Lucy gave him a sheepish smile. She was messing with him, though he didn't seem to get that.
"What? No, no-" He denied before stopping himself. "Maybe. I don't know, okay?" He put his head in his hands out of frustration as Lucy tried her best not to laugh at the poor guy.
"Doesn't seem complicated at all." She joked while Glenn sighed.
"You can sleep in my tent for the night if you want." He told her, trying to avoid the subject.
Lucy nodded. "Thank you."
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"What are you looking at exactly?" Lucy asked Glenn as she eyed him suspiciously.
He lowered the binoculors. "What? Nothing. I'm not looking at anything."
"Right." She narrowed her eyes at him while Glenn was looking through the binoculors once again.
It's been a few days since Lucy arrived at the farm. She's been properly introduced to everyone by now. Well, almost everyone. She still hasn't had the chance to talk to Carl. Same with Sophia, although she already knew her, they hadn't talked ever since they got here.
On the bright side, she's been getting pretty close with Glenn. He allowed her to stay in his tent which she was grateful for. Shane on the other hand, was still not too fond of her but left her alone most of the time.
Maggie walked towards them, bastket in her hands with a stressed ,yet stern, look on her face. "Could you be more obvious?" She placed the basket down as Glenn sighed. "Here enjoy."
"Are you trying to buy my silence with fruit?"
Lucy had no idea what was going but she was guessing Maggie was the reason Glenn has been acting so suspicious.
"Of course not." Maggie frowned. "There's also jerky."
The younger girl made a disgusted face at the mention of jerky. Even though she was grateful for finding jerky a few days ago, she still had to resist the urge to throw up at the thought of eating it.
"Ew."
"What's wrong with jerky?" The short haired brunette asked while Lucy kept frowning.
"What's wrong with jerky?" She repeated as if she couldn't believe her ears.
Before either of them could say anything else, Glenn interrupted them. "Will you please tell me why your dad has a secret barn full of walkers?"
Lucy's eyes widened before she whipped her head towards the barn. Maggie hit Glenn's arm at the mention of the barn. "Seriously?"
"Sorry." He apologized, rubbing his arm. "It's creepy."
"Shh." Maggie shushed Glenn.
"You know that right?"
"Shh." She shushed him again.
"No, no, no." Lucy spoke up, finally able to take her eyes of the barn. "He's right. Why do you have biters- I mean walkers in your barn?"
"Just trust me on this, okay?"
She wasn't too sure if she could. Sure, she got along with Maggie and she trusted her but not with something like this. How would keeping flesh eating freaks in your barn help in any kind of way?
"But I suck at lying." Glenn whispered. "I can't even play poker, it's too much like lying."
"You have to keep this too yourself, both of you, please." With that, she walked away as quick as possible, not bothering waiting for their answer.
"What the fuck."
"Morning, Dale." Lucy greeted, with Glenn walking right behind her. She held the basket with fruit up. "Want some peaches?"
"That would be lovely." Dale smiled before grabbeing one. "Thank you."
"Sup?" T -Dog rubbed his eyes.
"Nothing." Glenn said anxiously. "Nothing's up. Why?"
He wasn't joking when he said he wasn't good at lying. That made it even more difficult for Lucy since she would probably have to cover up his weird behavior.
Dale and T- Dog gave him a weird look while Lucy handed him a peach. Glenn was already walking away by the time they could ask what was going on.
"What's up with him?"
She glanced at Glenn before turning back to the two men infront of her. "Just Glenn being Glenn, I guess." She shrugged.
"Well, uh- thanks for the peaches." T -Dog thanked to which she gave him a light nod.
"No problem." Was all she said before running after Glenn. He was leaning against a tree near the tents, rubbing his forehead in frustration.
"What the hell was that?"
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Lucy is the biggest Shane anti fr