succumb - glenn rhee

[TWENTY-FOUR] who is to blame

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR// WHO IS TO BLAME
"SHE'S RIGHT
TO BLAME ME."

ִֶָ 𓂃⊹ ִֶָ

Time slowed as Jade watched Sophia's corpse fall to the ground in front of Rick. Her heart beat was loud in her ears as she watched Sophia's blood seep into the ground surrounding her.

The normal dusty beige becoming a dark, crimson brown color. Plagued with not only the Sophia's blood but but the blood of the Greene's loved ones. The dirt beneath them would never look the same, it was no longer a piece of the farm land.

It was the place of a massacre, where to many lives had been lost, where friends and family were finally seen as decaying versions of their past selves.

Despite the comfort brought to her from residing in Glenn's arms, she pushed herself away from him. Feeling the onset of a panic attack, she stumbled away, needing nothing more than to be far away from the sight.

Unaware of the angry mother following right behind her, Jade's footsteps were short and slow, barely able to make it to first tree near the campsite before Carol reached her.

The older woman's hands pushed on Jade's shoulders, shoving her to the ground with a short grunt.  Her sobs were loud as she turned Jade onto her back. Carol pushed and slapped at the brunette, exclaiming her anger Jade.

Jade's hands barely moved as she tried to block Carol's hits. The Horvath's breathing was shallow as she continued panicking, her world blurred, not even being able to see the woman on top of her.

The shouts of her group and family fell silent to her ears as they urged Carol to stop, even pulling at the woman. Daryl's arms finally wrapped around Carol's waist pulling her off of Jade and carrying her towards the main house to allow her to calm down. 

Glenn and Dale each grabbed one of Jade's arms, pulling her up and quickly moving her towards the RV. Each of them noticed the girls quick breathing, the insane amount of sweat on her face, the violent shaking of her hands and legs.

Sitting her down in the captains chair, Glenn knelt down in front of her, grabbing her face in his hands. Slightly moving it to assure her gaze was set on him.

"Elizabeth, Liz, it's okay. Everything's okay. Focus on your breathing. Focus on me."

As Glenn held her close, speaking words of comfort in a soft and caring tone, Dale frantically moved around the RV. Gabbing her a blanket, water, and a cloth to clean the dirt and blood of of her face from Carol's numerous impacts.

The father moved around the back of the chair, wrapping her tightly in the blanket as a kind of compression, having known from past attacks it helped to calm her down. His hands were firmly placed on her shoulder, rubbing circles with his fingers as a way to ground his daughter.

Her breathing was shallow as Glenn rubbed the cloth along her face, the brunette silently using the texture of the cloth as something to focus on. One of her hands was latched onto Glenn's wrist, the other on her chest as she attempted to calm her breathing. Many sobs escaped her mouth, along with inaudible mutters of words.

"She..she's right." The Horvath girl muttered, her lower lip quivering. "I.. I'm the one who lost her. She's dead because of me. Carol doesn't have a daughter because of me. She's right to blame me."

"No. No, she's not, Jade. You did all you could." Dale spoke, giving his daughter a kiss on her hairline.

"I should've done more. She was just a kid."

"There was nothing more you could have done, Elizabeth. This, what happened to Sophia, was not your fault." Glenn confirmed, stroking the side of her face.

"No. You're both wrong. This, this is my fault." Jade continued, her voice cracking as she spoke.

Glenn and Dale each looked at one another, having no idea what else to say as a way to comfort the girl they each cared so much about.

"I can't let anyone else die."

xx
word count : 703

small chapter, and i know thats not something carol would normally do- but im making them have a rocky relationship for something i have planned in the future :)