My eyes drowsily open. It's hard to see much at the moment but they come into focus in time. I don't even try to look at my surroundings and just sit up, which I very quickly regret. I gasp as the throbbing pain begins, I scrape my teeth together at the excruciating pain.
"Woah." I hear someone say coming over and comforting me laying me back down, I don't catch who they are as I'm too busy fighting the urge to scream. "Dr Harlan!"
This time I actually do scream, not loud but it was a scream. Pretty embarrassing and weak of me right?
I'm then sweetly hushed by someone, who gently strokes my hair while doing so. The hush is familiar and just from the hush I can tell exactly who it is.
"Paul?" I groan, holding my head eyes squeezed shut.
"Shh." He continues to hush me. "Don't talk, you're alright."
I manage barley to open my eyes, and I straight away see baby blue ones staring back down at me. I look around and I notice something familiar about the room too, It's Paul's. I look to the windows and I see the dark sky, with not a glimpse of the sun in sight, it must be late. My gaze returns to Paul.
"What happened?" I ask, my head spinning with the questions I have for him.
He gives me a look raising his eyebrows looking to me for the answer when I just stare back at him blankly he laughs. "Well, you definitely didn't do what I asked you too. You got a few hard hits to the face, but your heads sore because the girlfriend of the guy you murdered, Hit you in the back of the head with a shovel." He says it like he's defending the girl.
"Well." I sigh, looking away at the window. "He tried to kill my dad."
"I know." He starts. "You did the right thing-The only thing you could have done, but it was stupid you could have got killed."
I pause for a minute. "Anyway, what's the time?... Where is everyone?"
"Your Dad went home they had to- to check on your brother or something? It's roughly twelve." He says looking at the window.
I sit up again forgetting about my head, I hiss at the pain as Paul lays me back down. "I have- I have to get home. I have to see my brother!" I say through gritted teeth, due to the pain.
"I'm taking you back home tomorrow. You were needing medical attention, you couldn't have gone home. It could cause too much damage." He finishes just as Dr Harlan comes rushing in.
Paul stands up making room for Dr Harlan to sit, and he sits right where my legs are. Paul stands to the side holding his head with his finger and thumb.
"How are you?" Dr Harlan asks, I haven't ever met him before but I can tell he's a nice person.
"My heads sore... I need to get home." I insist.
He laughs slightly. "Jesus will take you home tomorrow. For now, drink water and rest. You're recovering from a small coma, most last days or even weeks your lucky, you must be a fast healer." I nod as I'm not really sure how to reply and there's silence for a minute. "Okay I'll speak to you in the morning before you leave, for now, take these pain killers and rest" He smiles standing up and handing the painkillers to Paul exiting the room, as Paul thanks him.
He swiftly grabs a bottle of water from the table and walks over to me. He gently sits me up holding the back of my head making sure I don't do what was done previously. He puts a pillow behind me, making it comfortable. He hands me the water and the two white painkillers he pop's from the packet. I swig them both back easily handing the water back to him. He goes to lay me back down again but I wave my hand.
"No," I say holding my forehead. "I want to stay awake."
"Dr Harlan says you should rest." He argues.
"I know what Dr Harlan said... But I don't feel like sleeping." I lay my hand to the side. "...So they all just left me here?" I swallow.
"Yeah, No your Dad said that you would be fine to come home but Dr Harlan insisted that you stay the night. Your Dad said that he'd have to leave to check up on Carl. The rest went with him." He finishes.
"Oh," I sigh. "So how did I end up in your bed?" I raise an eyebrow laughing.
He laughs too. "The trailer beds aren't so comfy and I was the only person here that really knew you."
"You know nothing about me." I smile. "And I know nothing about you."
"Ok.ay" He looks to the ceiling laying down on top of my feet. "My full names Paul Monroe Rovia. Before all of this I was a collage student studying all kinds of things, cause I couldn't decide what I wanted my career to be. I lived with my girlfriend her name was Amber." I look down on him, he's affected by the subject but I can tell he's no longer in pain.
"I thought you and Victoria were together." I laugh trying to ease tension.
"No." He laughs back. "She was Bestfriends with my little sister Bliss, I was always around them since they were only two years younger. Victoria lost her family, we were all she had left. Once Bliss died she turned to me for everything." Another touchy subject.
"I'm so sorry, I never mean't to bring all this up." I shake my head disappointed in myself.
"No, No it's fine it was a long time ago. Anyway, how bout' you telling me something's about you." He shuts his eyes resting them.
"My full name is Dylan Harper Grimes. I was only fifteen when this all started so I lived with my Mom, Dad and Carl. I had a good life." I smile back on memories. "Nothing ever bad happened to us, ever." I look down to my hands twirling my thumbs.
"Tell me more," Paul says his eyes still squeezed shut.
"I loved my sciences in school biology especially. I studied a lot of languages, I knew Spanish fluently, French fluently, Japanese slightly and German Fluently. I wanted to be a translator so I could travel the world and do something I was passionate about." I sigh.
"You had your whole life planned out at fifteen and I didn't have a clue what I wanted to do at the age of twenty-one." He laughs slightly.
"Well, it wasn't that easy." I remind myself. "I also wanted to build a family. Have kids get married but I couldn't do that while I was travelling the world."
"You know not all that stuff is still taken from you." He looks at me now. "You can still have a family."
"Well it isn't as simple as it sounds, is it?" I ask.
"Guess not." He says looking back up at the ceiling.
There's silence for a minute as I restrain myself from staring at him. He sighs.
I look down at my hands. "You miss her?... Amber?" I say still not looking.
He gives it a minute "Sometimes, as I said it was a long time ago. People heal."
I look down on him as he looks up at me, I try with all my strength to look away but his eyes hold me captive. Just looking at each other intensely. Then I register what he said.
It was a long time ago. People heal.
Then I suddenly start remembering my mother, my bestfriend, Judith, Dale. My breath becomes shaky.
"H-how do you do it?" I ask genuinely wanting the answer, I can't take all this grief.
He shrugs "I have people to support me, things to keep me busy, People to keep alive. I don't have the time to drown myself in grief, I just get on with it." He replies simply.
My hopeful expression fades, he notices and realizes it's not the answer I was looking for.
"Think of it this way," He starts sitting up slightly. "Your on a hilltop alone, its sunny and birds are singing. But this dark cloud sweeps over lightning and thunder starts. You try run away from it, down the hill but it seems never ending. Then you trip over a tree stump, it came out of no where and you weren't expecting it. You stumble and get a few cuts but you keep running. Then there's a bigger one and you weren't prepared for it ethier. You trip and fall into a dark hole in the ground. You fall deeper and deeper into the darkness. Once you finally reach the bottom your friends and family crowd the hole. They throw things to try get you out of it. But they don't understand the only thing you need is a rope, and that's the one thing they don't throw... You just need to find your rope, climb your way out. you'll survive it." He finishes calmly.
My eyes connect with his and honestly I think I found my way out of that hole already.
(A/N: It's been awhile I know, I know. I have been extremely busy with school, and am actually having quite a bad experience with school at the moment : (. I've been reading a lot more than writing recently since reading is my way out from bad things. Also just want to ask if anyone knows any good Carl Grimes fanfictions that I probably haven't read yet? I have become quite obsessed with Carl and Enid right now, and might consider writing one for them. Let me know what you think about that. Okay not sure when next update will be with all this drama going on at school, but i'll try make it soon)