Forever and Always

Mom and Friends

Suddenly, the door burst open. I saw the one person that I had been thinking about for so long.
Her short hair had grown longer and she was panting, but she was still there.
"Mom?"
"Jocelyn!" She cried as she pulled me into a tight hug.
We stood there, sobbing into each other's shoulders while everyone else looked at us with happiness.
I thought she was gone forever. That I would never see her smile or frown or grin or cries.
That I would never see her. But here she was.
When we had finished crying, she pushed me back to get a full look.
"I've missed you so much," she said.
I looked at her again,"Me too."
"I'm so happy that you took such care of your brother."
I smiled,"Thats what family is for, right?"

For a while, we sat there discussing what had happened ever since the day that I had to shoot my mother.
I introduced her to everyone that was sitting min the room that she didn't know. First Rick, then Maggie, then Beth, and finally Lori.
I then told her all about what had happened after she had left. I told her all about Daryl, Glenn, Carl and Judith.
She seemed to be really interested in my relationship with Carl.
Normally, I would have shut her out but I was so happy that I was actually seeing her again that I didn't care anymore.
I told her everything. From how he was being an ass to the times where we promised our love to each other.
I skipped over the time when we had almost actually promised our love if you get what I'm saying.
My mind jumped to the ring that Carl gave me. There is was, shining in my finger. When Lori saw it, she smiled.

The scientists came and told us that we had to leave the room because somebody else was coming out of the coma and they needed the space for their family.
My mom gave Rick and all of my other family members our address and said that they could come over any time. She then thanked them for being a good family to me and we walked out of the building.
It looked the same as the simulation, except there weren't any undead being walking around.
We walked into the house and it still smelt of flowers.
"Your stepfather is still in there,"my mother said annoyed.
I guess she still remembered what he did when the apocalypse happened.
"You might want to go take a shower. You've been in the simulation for about a year."
A year???
When I went in, I was fifteen going on sixteen. If it had been a year already, I was sixteen and about to turn seventeen.
I had missed out on so much. My sweet sixteen. My friends.
She patted my head and moved to the kitchen. I walked up the stairs and into my room. All of my clothes were folded and put away. It looked as if my mother had some extra time in her hands while I was in the coma.
When I finished taking a shower, I moved downstairs and sat in the kitchen with my mom.
She took a phone out of her pocket and I realized that it was mine.
"The scientists paid to connect your phone again."
I looked at it. It was amazing how fast everything was going back to normal. But I didn't want it to. I wanted Carl back.
"I programmed all of their numbers into it already."
I guessed that she was talking about Maggie, Beth, Rick, and Lori.
A text came through the phone.
"We need to talk."
I looked at the name.
Stevan.
I quickly typed back,"When? Where?"
His next text came through,"Now. The Triangle."
I told my mom that I was going out. she hesitated at first, but quickly agreed.

I pushed through the bushes and came through to find Stevan sitting in his rock.
"Joce." he said as he stood up.
I walked over to him and looked him dead in the eye.
Then I attacked him.
"You fucking asshole. You dirty piece of worthlessness. You gave up. I needed you and you left!" I screamed in between punches.
He guarded his body and tried to dodge my punches. Most of his blocks worked, others didn't.
"I'm sorry." He said when he got a grasp on my hands and was able to keep them in place.
"I couldn't deal with it. I had a double take right before that damned Walker bit me. I wasn't going to go through with it. I can deal with him if that's what you need. But that's gonna be hard. If I want to remain friends with you, I have to learn how to deal with it."
"What if that had been real?" I spat. "We wouldn't have had a second chance. You would have been one and there wouldn't have been anything anybody could have done."
He let my hands go,"I know. I've been out a longer time than you and I used that time to think. I'm lucky to have this second chance. I want to make the best of it. Please forgive me."
I stared at him a long while.
"Friends for life, right?" I said.
He nodded with a chuckle,"Friends for life."