Don't Close Your Eyes [TWD]

°•thirteen•°

As the clean up for the night was coming to an end, a tug at my sleeve and hushed whisper of 'hey' draws my attention.

"Hey," I smile a bit once I see it's Tara.

"I uh, I told Maggie," she nods, glancing at my eyes before looking to the floor, "Rick already knew. He said I didn't have to tell everyone if I didn't want to. But, I felt like I owed her that. So..... I told her."

"That's good. Really. Judging by how calm it is, I'll say she took it well?" I finally manage to say.

"Mhm.. She said it's good I'm here now," Tara smiles a bit, looking back to me again.

"That's all that matters," I reaffirm with a nod.

Tara shortly laughs, "You sound just like her."

"And I will take that as a compliment," I shrug.

"How long have your parents been together? Did Maggie remarry before or after all this?" she questions and I can't help but laugh a bit more as I realize her thoughts.

"As far as I know he's her only husband ever," I answer.

"As far as you know?" Tara repeats.

"Technically, or legally, not even by blood, am I related to either. Kate either," I explain.

"Ah," she nods, "Now I feel dumb for assuming."

"It's fine. Completely understandable," I say, setting more plates to the side before we begin walking to an empty pew.

"So, your birth parents are...? If you don't mind me asking, that is," Tara wonders, leaning back as comfortably as she can on such hard seating.

I sigh a little, rolling the thought around in my head before I meet her eyes again. Tara and I had been through a lot in just a couple weeks time. I wasn't quite sure how I'd gone from hating her to adoring her so quickly, yet here I was. I trusted her enough to get on Abraham's truck, to go to Terminus together, to fight Terminus, and to stay close even here. And now, readying myself to tell her about such a thing that only select people know about.

"My parents met in school. My mom said that she didn't even know he existed.  He said that he was amazed by her the moment she walked in the door. They said they went against every teen cliché possible. He was on the football team- and apparently sucked at playing. She was an average C student that preferred to stay in the music room playing guitar."

I smile a bit, when thinking about my birth parents, I only seemed to talk about tragedy, betrayal, confusion, and hurt. To speak of their love story that they'd told me about many of times was a switch up. But, a welcomed switch up.

"My mom met Rick first. He was tutoring her so she didn't fail completely."

"You knew Rick before all this?" Tara asks, shock written on her face.

"Long before," I nod.

We both look in his direction where he's whispering to Tyreese in a corner and I inhale before continuing.

"Rick and my dad had been friends since elementary. They were classmates and hated each other for months until they were put in a group project and actually spoke to each other. Became inseparable after that. So, when my dad walked into Rick's house after football practice and saw his crush at the dining room table, he was excited to say the least."

"Finally had a reason to talk to her. Mutual friend," Tara figures, smiling softly.

"They became friends after that. Rick said he felt like a third wheel from then until he met his wife. During their high school years, my mom's family moved out of state. Her dad was in the military and had come back for awhile and they had to change location. Then, by some luck, they ended up going to the same college."