Forever ~~ Carl Grimes Love Story (Sequel)

Chapter 71

"Why don't I get you changed? You can finish eating after," Mom suggested. "Rick-"

"I'll wait outside," Rick said, rushing out the door with the glass of water in his hands. 

"Here you can wear something other than jeans," Mom told me.

"Okay," I agreed, allowing her to dress me. My cheeks burned bright red but I still let her. Once she was done, she called Rick back in. 

"Let's finish your sandwich now, okay?" Mom suggested. I nodded, taking another bite before pushing it away. "I'm done."

"No, you're not," Rick said. "It's been god knows how long since you've eaten, so eat."

"I'm not hungry. I feel nauseous," I whimpered, leaning my head back momentarily.

"That's because you haven't eaten in a while," Mom pointed out, giving me a stern look. I let out a huff, taking the sandwich back. Slowly, I finished it and drank the remaining water out of my glass. 

"Can I see Henry?" I asked. They both looked hesitant, sharing a concerned look. 

"I'll talk to Carol. See if he's up for talking," Rick said, standing up.

"Thanks," I mumbled as he left. 

"Did you really see Glenn?" Mom asked after we sat in silence for a while. I glanced up at her, meeting her eyes.

"Yeah, I did," I said, looking down at my hands in my lap. "He missed us."

"I'm sure he did," Mom said. "Do you want anything else to eat?"

"No, I'm good," I said quickly. She smiled gently, placing a hand over mine.

"Okay. You let me know if you need anything."

"I will, mom. Don't worry too much," I chuckled slightly.

"I have to worry. I can't let you out of my sight," Mom said.

"I guess not," I agreed, nodding. "Do we have any pain meds?"

I noticed Mom's eyebrows furrow in concern. "Yeah, why?"

"My head hurts. I hit it when I collapsed a couple of days ago," I explained.

"Let me see."

"No, I'm fine. It just gave me a headache," I said, taking a deep breath. 

"Just let me look at it," Mom ordered. Eventually, I gave in a leaned forward, allowing her to move my hair.  "It's a little bloody but I don't see much."

"I told you, I'm fine," I said, rolling my eyes.

"Don't roll your eyes at me. You may be hurt but I'm not dealing with the attitude." 

"Sorry," I mumbled. Suddenly, the door flung open, and in came two blonde-haired boys and Rick.

"Sorry, Theo was hanging out with Henry and I couldn't get Henry without him," Rick apologized as Theo quickly climbed onto my bed, throwing his arms around me.

"It's okay. Thank you," I smiled, opening my other arm out for Henry to climb into. He didn't waste any time, latching onto me. Mom and Rick moved to the doorway, having a quiet conversation until Rick left.

"Thank you. Thank you so much, Rori," Henry whispered into my ear. However, I didn't say anything. I kept hugging him until he pulled away. 

Theo rubbed under his nose with his sleeves as he cried silently, pulling away from me. He remained sitting on my legs.

"Are you okay?" Theo asked, carefully inspecting me. 

"I'm alright," I said, smiling. "Don't worry about me." 

"Rick went to get you some pain pills," Mom informed me. I nodded. 

"Pain pills?" Theo gave me a concerned look.

"I'm alright, Theo. I'm okay," I reassured the boy.

"Did you find a house? While you were out there?" Henry asked. I stared at him for a moment before shaking my head, which I instantly regretted. 

"No, I didn't but I'm back and that's all that matters," I said, shooting him another smile. "Who found you?"

"Carol and Morgan," Henry replied. The door opened again and in stepped Rick with pills and another glass of water. 

"Hey, boys, why don't we let Rori rest for a bit, yeah?" Mom suggested.

"Okay," the boys agreed. Theo took hold of Mom's hand and she led the two boys out of the room.

"Where's Carl?" I asked Rick, taking the pills from him. "Thanks." 

"You're welcome. Carl's in his room. He's been hiding in there since you went missing. We tried to get him to come out but he wouldn't," Rick explained as I popped the pills in my mouth, swallowing them with a little help of water. "You should get some sleep."

"Yeah," I nodded, cringing as I moved to lie down. Rick leaned down, pressing a gentle kiss on my forehead. "Will you stay until I fall asleep?"

"Of course," Rick said, sitting in the chair beside my bed. I gently grabbed onto his hand, allowing myself to fall asleep. 

------------------

When I woke up, the room was dark. It seemed to have been night time and nobody was in my room. My body was still sore from dehydration, but I pushed myself to stand. My head spun slightly and I pushed past it. Thankfully, the room Carl usually stayed in was only down the hall from mine. It wasn't far of a walk. 

I assumed he was reading a comic or sleeping, so I just stepped inside. True to my word, he was asleep. He looked peaceful. Free of worry. As quietly as possible, I moved to stand beside his bed, gently sitting down. The bed dipped slightly and I gently shook him.

"Carl," I whispered. He shifted slightly but didn't move. I shook him again and he jolted away, reaching under his pillow to grab a gun. I barely flinched as he aimed it at me. "It's me."

"Rori?" Carl looked confused, drowsy. When it finally hit him, he dropped the gun and grabbed onto me. I could hear him begin to cry into my shoulder as he clung to me. He was like a small koala bear hanging onto his mother. He pulled away to pull me into a kiss.

A kiss I longed for, I wanted so desperately. I craved more when he pulled away from me. He pulled away, holding me by my shoulders.

"You're okay?"

"I'm okay," I nodded, gently resting my forehead against his. "Just sore."

"What happened to you?" Carl asked. "I was so worried."

"I got stuck outside the gates. I had Henry with me and we got lost. Eventually, we got separated," I explained, cupping his face. "But I'm back now and that's all that matters."

"That's all that matters," Carl agreed.