The next morning, Lillian woke up quite early. Everything hurt pretty bad still, she planned to go back in the house and ask for more painkillers from Hershel again. When Lillian walked out of the tent, she saw Carl walk by with his mom.
"Carl!" Lillian called out, a smile spreading across her face. She watched as Carl looked at her, then back at his mom, and then once again to her before he ran over.
"Lilli!" Carl approached her with a smile as well before giving her a weird look.
"What?" Lillian's face dropped, furrowing her eyebrows at the boy.
"What happened to your face?" Carl reached his hand up but Lillian backed away.
"Fell off a horse. Rolled down a hill."
"Woah! You were all by yourself?"
"No. Daryl was with me."
"Daryl let you go?"
"He did. Probably won't anymore." Lillian replied, her tone laced with disappointment. "How are you feeling?"
"Waaay better! Like my hat?" Carl smiled proudly.
"Your dad's hat? Yeah." Lillian reached up and smacked the rim of it. "Why do you have it?"
"Well it's my hat now. He gave it to me cause i got shot, just like he did." Carl fixed his hat, crossing his arms over his chest.
"Okay, tough guy." Lillian laughed at him.
"Good morning, Lillian." Lori said with a smile as she walked up to the kids. "Let's go get some food, kids. Hershel gave me some pain medicine for you, Lillian." Lori told the girl. Lillian was very grateful that she didn't have to go get it herself but didn't say anything. She simply followed along side of Carl as they walked to the fire pit.
Lillian sat down on a log but regretted how fast she did as the pain in her stomach reminded her of the bruise. She let out a small noise as she squeezed her eyes.
"You okay?" Carl asked her with a concerned look as he sat down on his own log. Lori walked over to the girl, holding out three two different pills with a water. Lillian took the pills and drank the water quickly. She had a hard time taking pills if she sat and hesitated, so she didn't.
"I've got a pretty bad bruise from the fall. Or as Colton says 'gnarly' bruise." Lillian informed him. Lori handed both of the kids a paper plate of food. Lillian looked at what was some type of meat sitting on the plate.
"Colton?" Carl questioned.
"Yeah. The blond boy. He's apart of Hershel's family."
"Ohh that kid. He's annoying." Carl shrugged as he took a bite of his food. Lillian took a small bite of hers, she still couldn't tell what it was but continued to eat it. She ignored Carl's comment. She didn't quite understand what everyone had against Colton.
"Be nice, Carl." Lori told Carl in a stern voice. "Lillian, why don't you go shower when you are finished eating?" She stood behind Carl with her hands on her hips.
"Yeah, you kinda smell." Carl jokes, scrunching his face with a smile. Lillian looked at Carl, knowing that she probably did smell.
"You smell!" She threw back at Carl.
Before Carl could say anything more, Lori cut in. "Lillian." She raised her eyebrows. Lillian hunched her shoulders, looking down at her food.
"Yeah." She mumbled, not wanting to get herself in more trouble. Lillian did suddenly notice that she had been wearing the same clothes for a couple of days. They had dried in the Georgia sun both times that they had gotten wet, leaving them dirty and smelly. She didn't really have any other clothes though, all of her clothes were in her mama's bag which got left at the CDC.
Lillian, with a loss of appetite, got up and set her plate on the log as she moved towards the house.
"Lilli." Carl called out. She turned to see him digging in his pocket, pulling out the shark figurine she had left for him. Lillian held back a smile as she took a step towards him to grab it. "Thanks for letting me barrow it."
Lillian sent a nod at the boy before making her way back up to the house. When she had gotten to the steps of the porch, Maggie walked out of the house.
"Well good morning." Maggie smiled.
"Can i shower?" Lillian ask her, slowly stepping up the final step.
"Yeah! Let me show you where it is." Maggie held the door open for the girl. Lillian walked in and quickly followed behind Maggie as she led them to the bathroom.
"I'll get you a towel. Do you need clothes, sweetheart?" Maggie asked the girl, which Lillian responded with a nod. "Bethy still has a lot of her old clothes, i'll go get them and we will see if they fit you." Maggie turned, stepping out for a couple of seconds before she stepped back in with a towel. She laid the towel neatly on the sink. "Start your shower, i'll have clothes for you by the time you're done." Maggie smiled at the girl before turning and walking out, closing the door behind her.
Lillian locked the door quietly before stepping over to the shower and turning the nob, which turned on the shower. She set the figurine on the sink, looking at where the mirror was. She hadn't looked in the mirror in a while she wondered how bad it was but at the same time didn't really want to see. She didn't contemplate much, she decided to just get in the shower, avoiding the mirror.
Once her shower was done, she wrapped the towel around her shoulders which covered the entirety of her body. It was just in time for Maggie to knock on the door. Lillian unlocked the door, quickly wrapping her arm back around herself with the towel afterwards before Maggie opened the door.
"So i've got a couple of tank tops, two regular shirts, and these pants." Maggie set all of the clothes on the counter. "Do you need anything else?" She asked, kindly.
"Uhm— Do you think you can do my hair?" Lillian asked nervously.
"Of course! Just come out into the dining room when you're done." Maggie then turned and walked out.
Lillian looked at all of the clothes. She wasn't quite sure what do wear, but she knew the tank tops were probably not the best option. She ended up slipping on the jeans and a plain light blue shirt. The other one had a unicorn on it, which Lillian thought was too girly for her. Then she went and got her hair brushed from Maggie before she headed back outside.
When Lillian did step outside, she watched as two of their cars drove away. She almost wanted to scream and run after them. Her heart beat was loud in her ears, frozen in place as she watched the cars move.
"Hey Lilli." She heard Colton's voice from behind her. He was standing in the door way, holding the door open as he looked at her. She turned around to look at him, tears forming in her eyes. She couldn't believe she just got left behind. "What's wrong?" Colton furrowed his eyebrows at her.
"They're leaving?" She asked, her voice cracking.
"Oh— yeah. They're coming back though! They went to go practice shooting. I asked Hershel if I could go, he said no." Colton sighed. Lillian felt immediate relief wash over her. " 'Kids don't belong around guns' " Colton mocked Hershel in a deeper voice. Lillian let out a small giggle at the boy.
"Wanna play a card game? I have Go Fish." Colton smiled.
"Sure!" Lillian made her way back onto the porch.
"I have to warn you— I'm an all time winner. I'm the best at Go Fish." Colton bragged, walking inside.
"I'm sure." Lillian scoffed, her voice sarcastic as she followed behind the boy. She used to play Go Fish with her parents, when they would do family game time. Her daddy would always get frustrated and slam his deck on the dining room table before storming out. Her mama would call him a sore loser.
The kids went up to Colton's room and played the game on his bed. Of course, Colton was winning every single time. Eventually, Carl had gotten back and they all played together.
"Lillian, do you have a jellyfish?" Carl asked her.
"Nope!"
"Are you sure?" Carl huffed in frustration.
"I am completely sure." Lillian confirmed.
"Dang, Carl. You suck at this game." Colton laughed at him.
"No! You're just cheating."
"Go fish, Carl!" Lillian flashed Carl a cheeky smile.
"You go fish Lillian! I'm done with this game!" Carl threw down his cards.
"Carl, c'mon dude. It's just a game. Don't be such a ball clincher." Colton exclaimed with a smile on his face. Both Carl and Lillian gave him a weird look.
"Ball clincher?" Lillian ask the boy.
"I heard it on a TV show once. Anyways, let's continue!"
"No! I'm done. I'm not a ball clincher and i'm not your friend either." Carl slid off of the bed before leaving the room. Lillian glanced over at Colton before she quickly walked after the Carl.
"Carl!" Lillian called out as she ran down the stairs behind him. She followed him outside, grabbing his arm once they had made it off the porch steps. "Carl, he's just being silly. Come back inside and we can play something else."
"No." Carl tore his arm away from Lillian. "I am not a ball clincher!" Carl raised his voice and began walking again. Lillian laughed to herself, holding back a smile. She thought the insult was funny even if she didn't know what it means.
"You don't have to be!" She tried to reason, following after him.
"Lillian." Carl stopped and turned, his arms crossed over his chest. "Listen, i'm not a little kid anymore. I shoot guns and stuff. I'm gonna protect this camp and find Sophia. I don't want to play games with people who can't do what I do." Carl stood tall as he spoke confidently. He turned and walked away after Lillian couldn't find any words to say to him.
"Okay, ball clincher!" She yelled at him. She huffed before turning to go back into the house. Lillian and Colton continued to play like nothing had happened, but Lillian got bored after a while and decided she just wanted to go back to her tent.
When Lillian got back to her tent, Daryl was in there. He was laying on his back with the lamp on because the sun had been setting. Lillian walked in, sitting down on her, well Merle's old sleeping bag with a huff.
"Daryl." Lillian tried to get his attention. He only hummed in acknowledgment. "What's a ball clincher?"
"What?" Daryl turned to face her.
"A ball clincher, what is it?" Lillian repeated herself.
"An annoyin' person... Where'd ya hear that from?" Daryl asked the girl, his voice light. He almost sounded like he was holding back a laugh.
"Colton called Carl a ball clincher cause he was being a sore loser in Go Fish."
"Colton said that?"
"Yep! Carl was being a real ball clincher." Lillian tucker her hair behind her ears as she looked at Daryl. He had a grin on his face.
"Okay, girl. Why don't ya go change for bed?" Daryl suggested. Lillian agreed, grabbing her only pair of leggings and a different shirt that she had and ran off to the RV to change. She didn't get very far when she heard Daryl let out a laugh.
Lillian was proud of herself for the rest of the night. When she had gotten back she basically went to sleep with a smile on her face.
Before she went to sleep, she wondered why Carl was being so mean. He hadn't gotten any older from when he had gotten shot to when he's now walking around. He was still the same age. She wondered why he was suddenly too good for her. Maybe he had been just mad that he lost. He didn't seem to like Colton that much, but to be fair he had called Carl a ball clincher.
But also in Colton's defense, he was being annoying. That's just who Carl was though, like when he thought he was so good at skipping rocks but he hadn't been. Maybe Carl would come back around. He might've not been Colton's friend, but Lillian thought that her and Carl were still friends so maybe he would just be nicer tomorrow.
A little bit of a short chapter
this one was very funny to write for me and so i didn't want to spoil it by introducing what's gonna happen in the next chapter (when glenn announces the walkers)
i also have been getting quite a few followers, i love you guys! Also to the people that have commented, marry me
i hope you enjoyed this chapter as much as i did