When Daryl shook me awake and set me on the ground, I smiled shyly. I'd told him I needed a break and had apparently fallen asleep. I guess he took it upon himself to carry me all the way to the prison.
"Sorry you had to carry me. You could've just woken me up." I uttered, somewhat embarrassed. He glanced over at me.
"Yeah, I could've." he said firmly before turning back to face forward. It made me want to cry. I'd been at the prison for little more than a week, gone from it or unconscious more than staying there, and Daryl was willing to search for me and carry me for miles. He really was like a father. He didn't seem to care that we hardly even knew each other.
We entered the clearing surrounding the prison and I started to get excited. I was finally back home! I had no clue when I'd started to refer to the prison as home, but I had. I was content to have a place to call home and at least one person to call family, even if my mom and Renae were gone. Soon enough I'd probably be calling the other people here family. So they can die and leave me emotionally scarred yet again I thought bitterly. I shoved the thought from my mind, much like shoving a person from a building. I planned on never thinking like that again, never seeing that person again. Watching it splatter as it hit the ground. God, I was twisted.
As we approached the gates, Glenn and Maggie tugged them open. I guess Tyrese had come up with some kind of pulley system so only one gate would open at a time. It worked smoothly and efficiently, making invading walkers much less likely. Maggie crumpled me into a hug, Glenn smiling beside her. I was realizing more and more just how charitable and, for lack of a better word, good these people were. Maggie barely knew me. All she knew was I was friends with her sister and here she was squeezing the air out of me and forcing love into me to take its place. When she pulled away, I smiled at her, my eyelids already drooping in protest.
"Go inside, sweetheart. You look so tired." she said lowly. Her voice was less chirpy and humming bird-like than Beth's, but still made me melt. Maybe it was the airy southern accent, I don't know. I nodded drowsily and stumbled off to go inside. Daryl stayed outside to talk to Maggie and Glenn, probably about the past few days' events.
I was immediately faced by Rick when I dragged the door open with intense effort. He glared at me like I had done something to him, then strutted away as if he owned the place, which he kind of did. I shrugged it off, my mind and body being so tired, and stepped inside. I wanted to find Carl first, then Trinity. I knew Trinity would probably make a scene, and I'd probably do the same. I figured she had been as worried about me as I had about her and our reuniting would be filled with tears and joy. I wanted to put that off until after I'd talked to Carl.
I slunk past our cell, not having the heart to look in at Trinity. I knew she'd be there. If not, she probably would've seen me by now. I glanced into Carl's cell, only to see his dad. I kept walking as if I had somewhere else to be and had glanced in by chance. I stepped into Beth's cell instead, where she was playing with Judith with a few plastic cups and a small teddy bear. She glanced up at me and her face lit up. She dropped the cup from her hand and stood to hug me.
She pulled away quickly and said quietly,"You're back!" with a smile before adding,"Carl's in the cafeteria." I grinned at her. She knew exactly who I wanted.
"Thanks," I said shyly. It was kind of embarrassing but also exhilarating that everyone knew about us now. I tripped out of her cell, my face burning, and crept past mine and Trinity's cell yet again. Once I got to the main room, I ran across the makeshift carpet to get to the cafeteria.
I took a deep breath before pushing open one of the doors. Carl hadn't seemed to notice me yet. He was sitting with his back turned, so I crept up on him. I grabbed him from behind and he yelled and fell off his chair. I laughed at him, and when he saw it was me he smiled sheepishly. He stood and hugged me tightly, wrapping his arms around my waist.
"I missed you." he said quietly, his face next to my ear. My laughing was reduced to giggles as he squeezed me tighter.
"I missed you, too." I said, smiling to myself. My fingers tingled from having contact with him, and I regretfully pulled away, the tingling sensation fading away. I noticed a notebook and pen on the ground and picked them up for him. I wasn't planning on reading his journal as I picked it up, despite how much I wanted to. It was his business.
"You can't see that!" he said, flustered. He snatched the journal away from me, making me kind of suspicious.
"Um, okay..." I trailed off.
"It was a present for you for when you got back, but it's not finished." he admitted. I was relieved by the reason, but still a little suspicious. I couldn't really help it.
"Alright!" I smiled,"I have to go see Trinity. I wanted to talk to you first, because seeing Trinity is going to be a water work. Carl's face darkened when I mentioned Trinity.
"Your sister is completely pissed," he informed me without hesitation.
"What? Why?" I asked. I could tell I sounded as confused as I felt.
"We don't really know. We figured she'd be sad when you were lost, but she was a total bitch instead. No offense." he told me, his eyes were wider than usual. I had no clue what it meant, but it made him look innocent and sweet. I waved off the insult at my sister, Carl was just being honest, after all.
"Well let's hope she'll feel better when she knows I'm back," I mumbled before grabbing Carl's hand and making my way to my cell.
"Stay out here," I whispered to him when we reached the hallway with my cell in it. He shook his head and I raised my eyebrows at him as if to say, "Really?" He just grinned at me, so I rolled my eyes and gestured for him to follow.
I found Trinity sitting on my bed, her knees pulled to her chest. She was sewing her torn clothes, which was a constant cycle for us. We were always repairing clothes, only to rip new holes.
"Hey Trinity," I said, my voice getting scratchy from lack of sleep. Now my voice was refusing to cooperate along with my heavy eyelids.
She looked up from her work. Her face melted into love and care before violently snapping into rage.
"Where the hell were you?" Trinity screeched, standing and dropping everything on the floor. The sewing needle clattered to the cement, ringing like a snapping bone.
"I... got lost." I managed to spit out. I was shocked by her anger. I hadn't heard her yell in a long time. I felt tears fill my eyes and I fought to keep them from spilling over. I didn't blink, a trick I'd taught myself a long time ago. I cursed my emotional sensitivity.
"Well you should've never left the yard! Are you retarded?" Trinity screamed rhetorically.
"Sorry," I apologized, looking down as tears and surprise blurred both my vision and my thoughts. I felt Carl's warm fingers touch my arm lightly and glanced over at his hand, keeping my head down.
"It's not her fault," Carl said lowly. I stared up at him in disbelief. It was not good to question Trinity's authority.
"What did you fucking say to me, brat?" Trinity growled, taking a few steps so she was hardly a foot from Carl. He tugged his hand away from my arm.
"I said it's not her damn fault!" Carl said lowly, yelling the word 'fault'. Silence chilled the room for a moment, before Trinity reached up and smacked Carl hard across the face. The sound from the impact rang out around the room. Trinity looked surprised by her actions as Carl reached up and gingerly touched his cheek.
I didn't know what to do, so I grabbed Carl's hand and dragged him out and down the hall. I tugged him to the doors which led down into the Tombs. I tugged it open, grabbing two flashlights from a bin next to the door. I placed one in his hand and took the other, leading him in. I glanced over at him to see tears in his eyes. I didn't say anything because he was clearly trying to hide them, but it made my chest pang with guilt and pain for Carl.
I had no clue as to what the layout of the Tombs were, so Carl led me to a higher section, where the rooms were only partially underground. There were high windows here, so natural light was let in. It was less creepy that way. We left the flashlights next to the door, brightening the room further.
I acted like I was trying to perfect the flashlights' positioning to give Carl a chance to wipe his eyes. I found it adorable that he tried to act manly, but I didn't want to tell him that right now.
I turned back to Carl, sitting next to him against a wall.
"I'm so sorry about Trinity," I told him, my voice cracking a little,"I didn't know she was going to act that way. It's my fault. I shouldn't have brought you in there with me."
"It wasn't your fault. It was hers. Don't try to take the blame for what she did," Carl said, his voice gentle but insistent. I just nodded and rested my head against the wall, gazing at him. He didn't look too upset about what had happened.
Carl slipped his left arm around my waist and pulled me close, so I would be sitting on his lap if he pulled me closer. I lifted his hat to reveal his eyes and closed the space between us, kissing those soft lips and feeling a wave of adrenaline pass to my fingers and down my legs. I kept the kiss short and sweet, then pulled away, but Carl put his right hand lightly on the side of my head and kissed me again. My head spun at how romantic he could be, the tingling getting stronger.
When our lips slowed and drifted apart, I opened my eyes.
"You know," I whispered, smiling a bit,"there's a bright red hand print on the side of your face."
Our faces were inches apart, and he moved his head away and rested it against the wall as he laughed. I giggled a little and laid down, the exhaustion hitting me even stronger than earlier. I relaxed with my back against the wall and my head on Carl's leg.
"You're a good pillow," I told him sleepily, shutting my eyes. I heard him chuckle a bit as he lightly petted my hair.
"Tell me about your dad," I mumbled, despite knowing that I was about to fall asleep. Carl began to tell me about how his dad always went for Saturday morning runs back when he was sheriff of their town, and how he and Carl's mom would only let Carl go if he finished all his chores on Friday night. Both of his parents always pitched in to help on Fridays so he could go for a run because they knew how much he loved it. I wished I could've helped him more with the current issue, but this was the best I could do in my current state.
I couldn't help so I listened, content with my life right now. Not with all of the Trinity business, just right now, in the Tombs, Carl speaking quietly about his old life as sleep took over.
~Author's Note~
WE'VE INCREASED OUR READS BY 1,000 SINCE LAST CHAPTER. 5,000 FREAKIN' READS?!?!?!?!? I LOVE YOU SO FLIPPIN' MUCH, GIRAFFES. <33333333333333
Thank you thank you thank you if you want me to do anything for you guys in honor of your epicness just say the word and I will try <3
Love you, darlings and I hope you enjoyed this chapter! I don't really like it that much, but hey. Plus, I've been planning these events for the past three(?) chapters. Evil Trinity! Mwahahaha!
*DISCLAIMER TYPE THINGY*
I do NOT support using retarded as an insult, like Trinity did in this chapter. I hate when people use retarded (or gay) as an insult, so I made Trinity call Nikki retarded to show her bitchiness. Not trying to offend anyone!