❛ SURVIVOR'S HEART ! ❜
chapter twenty-four ―― he'll make it back
ˏˋ°•*⁀➷ "I MEAN, IT WAS LEGENDARY." Rick spoke, his voice low as he sat in the chair next to Carl's bed. Lori sat on the bed, next to the boy and Charlie sat on the floor with her back against the wall and an oversized flannel that Maggie had given her when the girl got cold. "Did you ever hear about the time Shane stole Kingsley's car?" Charlie chuckled at the memory of the day her brother had picked her up from school and told her about the glorious day he'd had.
"Yeah." Lori nodded, her voice shaky.
"The principal's car. Right out of the teachers' lot middle of the school day." He shook his head, looking over Charlie who had closed her eyes and leaned her head back against the wall. "Shane steps out of lunch and makes a beeline to Kingsley's Hyundai. . ." He chuckled a little when Charlie's smile grew. "-wires the ignition, peels out, drives down Dylan Drive to that chicken farm out there. You've heard this before, right?"
"Many, many times." Charlie mumbled, her smile still wide and her eyes still closed – she had always loved this story. Mostly because her brother was a badass and she looked up to him, but also because of the joy she saw on his face that day, like he had done the coolest thing in the world – he was rolling on cloud nine for at least a week afterwards. He was in such a good mood that he had taken her out for ice cream almost every night they week, before she told him she'd had entirely too much and she couldn't eat another bite.
"So he pulls it into one of the big holdin' pens." He continued. "Kingsley, he waxed that thing every month, had the auto shop vacuum it out every week. Shane, he parks it in this huge pen with a couple hundred Rhode Island Reds, he busts open bags of seed in the back seat, rolls down all the windows, and then starts sprinting back to school. It's three miles away easy. He's back in time to finish his sandwich before the bell. And then the bell rings, Shane gets up and when he runs into Kingsley in the hallway he looks out the window and says-"
"Principal Kingsley, your coupe's gone." Charlie cut him off, a quiet laugh behind her words.
"Yeah." Rick chuckled a little as he looked at the girl, she had yet to move, then he looked over at Lori. "Coupe, like chicken coop." He clarified.
"I get it." Lori told him.
"Of course you do." He nodded. "You've heard this story a thousand times."
"Maybe more." Charlie quipped.
"What you said before, you're right." Rick told his wife. "Shane's gonna make it back with what the doctor needs. He'll make it back."
"Always does." Charlie mumbled, mostly to herself.
"Hershel said you need to eat." The older brunette told him, not looking away from Carl.
"Carl's gonna be alright."
"Please, for me." She was close to begging him to eat, he needed it after two blood transfusions. "You gotta keep your strength up." He leaned back in his chair and grabbed the sandwich Maggie had brought him earlier and he took a bite as Lori held Carl's hand.
"He'll make it back." Charlie mumbled, her voice a low whisper. "He'll make it back." She pushed herself up and made her way out of the room, keeping her arm to her chest, then the door opened and Maggie walked in, Mason, Glenn and T-Dog behind her,
"Charlie." Mason let his bag and gun fall to the floor before he rushed past Maggie to hug the girl. "You're okay." He mumbled into her hair as he squeezed her and she patted his back with her right arm.
"Yeah, in pain though." She gritted out and he quickly pulled back, his arms raised a little so he didn't hurt her again.
"How are you walking?" Glenn asked, stepping towards them. "We heard you got shot." The brunette looked over at him before pulling the shoulder of the flannel she wore down, showing them the bandage on her shoulder.
"Carl got the worst of it." She told him as she fixed the shirt over her shoulder. "Went straight through me and hit him." Then her eyes landed on T. "You look worse than I do." She mumbled, stepping towards him and wrapping her good arm around his shoulders.
"I'll be alright." He patted her back with his good arm before she pulled back and smiled a little as she shoved Glenn's shoulder a little.
"I'm glad you're okay." He told her as he stepped closer to her and wrapped her in a hug, being mindful not to hit her shoulder. When they pulled back she looked over at Mason, who had tears in his eyes as he looked at the girl.
"Mase-"
"You scared the hell out of me." He told her, pulling into another hug and she chuckled a little against his chest – tears filling her eyes again even when she tried to fight them off.
"How's Carl?" Glenn asked, his voice a little shaky like he was scared to ask.
"He's gonna be alright." Charlie told him, and he knew better than to argue that that had not been what he asked.
"He's this way." Maggie told them, pointing towards the room and Glenn turned, taking slow steps towards the door and T-Dog followed him with Maggie close behind them.
"Hey." Glenn pulled the hat from his head as they stepped into the room and Charlie pulled Mason to the room she had been staying in, closing the door behind them and when she looked at the boy again he still had tears in his eyes.
"I'm okay." She squeezed his hand. "See? I'm right here."
"You can't do that to me again." He told her. "Hearing that you got shot, that was– that was the worst feeling ever. And not knowing if you were okay, I wanted to stay, to help the others with the sign for Sophia but I couldn't when I didn't know if you had-"
"Mason. I'm really okay." She mumbled, stretching onto her toes with her arm around his shoulders. "I promise."
"I love you, weirdo."
"I love you more." She hummed as she let go and dropped back down to her heels. "How are the others?" She asked as she sat on the bed, wiping her face as he sat next to her. "How's Josh?"
"He's alright." He told her. "Still in a mood about you."
"This is why you don't let me get drunk." She mumbled, shaking her head. "What about everyone else? Carol? Andrea, Dale. . ."
"Daryl?" He smirked a little and she punched his shoulder.
"Just tell me."
"Carol's a mess, who wouldn't be in her situation?" He shrugged. "And Andrea and Dale are still a bit at odds, he took her gun away from her – said he didn't trust her with it. And Daryl, well, he's Daryl. Did seem a little pissed after hearing that you and Carl were shot." He told her and she looked down at her hands, a smile tugging at her lips. "Oh, and he had Merle's stash, gave T some pills to help with his arm. Said Merle got the clap on occasion." She laughed and a smile pulled at his lips as she fell back against the mattress. "Yeah, I thought you'd find that funny." He chuckled, laying down next to her then they heard a truck pull up and Charlie sat up, her smile gone.
"Shane's back." She pushed herself up and rushed out of the room and out to the porch, passing Hershel and T-Dog, she stopped close to the steps when she saw her brother. His eyes were wide as he looked up at her, there was something off about the way he looked up at her but she didn't care to process it as she hurried down the steps towards him. When she was close enough she jumped, wrapping her arms around him despite the pain in her shoulder. "Bubba." She sighed and he wrapped his arms around her waist, keeping her close.
"I promised, didn't I?" He mumbled and she chuckled, though it was more of a sob then an actual laugh.
>>>>> • <<<<<
ˏˋ°•*⁀➷ CHARLIE SAT ON THE GROUND, between Shane and Mason, all three were leaning against the truck while Rick and Lori sat on the porch steps and T-Dog sat in the rocking chair on the porch. It was quiet as they waited and Charlie kept her right arm wrapped around Shane's arm and her head on his shoulder. She was tired, but she wanted to stay awake to know how Carl was, she needed to know because her brave face was wearing thin.
She let her eyes drift closed, not bothering to open them when a jacket was placed over her – she knew it was Mason who had covered her up. He just wanted her to get some much needed rest, but he also knew that she wouldn't let herself sleep until she knew how Carl was – whether it was good or bad, she needed to know.
They all sat up when the door opened and Hershel stepped out onto the porch, Glenn and Maggie behind him. "He seems to have stabilized." The vet smiled at the boy's parents and Charlie let out a breath as she relaxed against Mason, both still on the ground but Shane had pushed himself to his feet, struggling to stand. Rick let out a grateful sigh as he walked up the porch and hugged the vet.
"I don't have words." Lori told him, happy tears running down her cheeks and Charlie let out a breath as she tucked herself into Mason's chest, a smile on her face and happy tears rolling down her cheeks onto his shirt.
"I don't either. Wish I did." Hershel told her. "How do I tell Patricia about Otis?" He asked and Charlie looked up when Shane shifted a little – he still had a wide eyed look on his face – she could tell he was hiding something.
"You go with Carl." Rick turned to Lori. "I'll go with Hershel." Then everyone walked inside and Mason looked down at Charlie, she was pretty much asleep against him.
"Okay, let's get you to bed." He mumbled as he sat up, she groaned, but didn't fight him as he stood up and lifted her off the ground before carrying her into the house and the room they had been in before. She was asleep before he even put her down and he smiled as he covered her up, kissing her forehead as he moved around the bed, kicking his shoes off and laying down next to her.
NOVA SPEAKS !
i'm bored and impulsive
so here's another chapter!!
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