⤐ 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐤𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐥𝐨𝐰 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐲 𝐚𝐥𝐬𝐨 𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐬𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝.
"I need you to listen to me. When we're out there together, if I say run, run. If I tell you to leave me, then damn it, you le...
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⤐
For the first time in months, Zepp ate a meal with her family.
Candlelight illuminated the dining room table and shadows flickered along the walls. She chose a seat next to Abraham, the chair on the other side empty. Before she could motion to Daryl who was watching her from across the room, Maggie plopped down with a smile and a plate full of food. She shot an apologetic glance at Daryl as he grabbed a spot next to Rick.
"I'm starvin'," Maggie quipped, shoveling her butter beans and potatoes onto her spoon. "How was your day?" she asked Zepp between bites.
Zepp glanced towards where Rick and Daryl were whispering to each other, Daryl's plate barely touched. She hid a smile and turned back to Maggie as she ripped a bite off her dinner roll. "I had a good day, actually," she murmured.
Maggie beamed and popped a piece of chicken in her mouth. "I'm glad." She lowered her voice and leaned in slightly. "We've missed you."
Zepp returned the smile and nodded silently. "How have you been?" she shifted the conversation away from herself. "Busy keeping this place running, I'm sure."
Maggie smiled again, a playful and mysterious glint twisted in. "Well, you've missed a few things here and there. Only one big thing though."
The chatter around them grew louder as everyone finished their meals, sipping on their one glass of wine they were rationed for dinner. It was then Zepp noticed Maggie drinking water instead.
"I'm pregnant," she whispered. Her grin was bright, but her eyes were tweaked with worry. Beside her, Glenn wrapped an arm around her shoulders as he answered Enid and Carl's endless questions. He'll be an amazing father, Zepp thought. She didn't know what to say. Congratulations seemed wrong, but she also didn't want to spoil it if Maggie was happy. Too many thoughts were rattling around in her brain. She thought of Lori, Rick's wife who gave her life for Judith's. To raise a child in this world was more terrifying than taking on a herd of walkers. But she knew one thing Maggie needed now was support.
"That's huge," she offered. "I'm here for whatever you need, okay?" She squeezed her hand tightly where it rest on the dinner table. Maggie exhaled deeply and nodded, squeezing back.
They finished their dinner together, and Zepp politely listened to her chatter and Glenn's, but her brain was getting foggy.. distant. The clink of dishes going in the sink clanged on her skull. The buzz of voices rang through her ears, though it started sounding farther and farther away. Everyone moved around her as she stayed in her chair, her eye catching the scuff mark on the wall across from her. The scuff mark Veronica produced when she accidentally scraped her chair against the plaster, earning a soft scolding from Carol and a snorting giggle from Tara. She felt her absence everywhere she looked in this house.
