Scarlett Greene hadn't spoken since she was twelve. After her Daddy was arrested for abuse when she was seventeen, she is sent to live with her Uncle Hershel. Her life gets better, but the trauma is still there.
When the apocalypse begins, she take...
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grief
CARL NEVER KNEW SCARLETT WHEN SHE WOULD NOT TALK TO HIM. It was weird speaking and not getting a response at all. He was lucky to get a head nod. He felt his own jaw clench at the thought of anyone hurting Scarlett the way she had been hurt. That man... that asshole would die. He would be sure of it.
"Scarlett, can you come inside? Dad's real worried," Carl said after a while. He brought in the 'Dad' card to try and get her. He knew she loved Rick, and maybe it would help to talk to him. After all, Carl and Rick were the first people she spoke to in a long. "Please."
Something in Scarlett snapped at the helpless little 'please' that left his lips. She finally nodded, noticing it was getting late. Standing up, she began walking to the cell block, pausing to make sure Carl was coming with her. She still felt safe around the ass-kicker.
Carl walked inside first, and Scarlett followed. She winced as all eyes turned to her while the conversations stopped. Carl scowled at how obvious they were being, so he turned to Scarlett. "We got spaghetti o's for dinner," he said with a grin. "I know you love those. C'mon." He did not grab her hand despite his initial thought to.
Scarlett followed Carl to the table and sat down. Carol poured her a bowl as Hershel called Scarlett's name from inside of his cell. She ignored him, and Maggie scolded Hershel as he tried to stand. Scarlett winced as Hershel tried again, so before she could take a bite of the food that seemed most unappealing after seeing her Daddy again... she got up and walked over to Hershel's cell.
He sighed in relief when he saw her.
"We're going to keep as far from him as we can, you hear me? I'll talk to him," Hershel promised. "I won't let him hurt you." Same thing everyone was saying, but they could not stop him. He was everywhere. In the prison. In her thoughts. In her nightmares. "Scarlett!" he yelled when she tried to turn and leave. "You will not let him set you back! I won't let him do that to you!"
Scarlett kept her back to him as she took deep breaths. Not saying anything, she walked outside again, getting her hunting knife out on her way. She ignored Carl's pleas for her to come eat. She ignored Hershel yelling for her. She ignored it all.
Getting outside, she was happy to see it was just about dark. She stalked over to the fence were the groans only grew at her being there. She clutched her hunting knife tightly before getting so close to them, she almost felt the one walker grab her wrist. Without wasting a second, she stabbed him in the head.
She turned and got the woman next to him. She just kept going. She stabbed each walker that dared get too close to the gate. Her jaw stayed clenched and her grip stayed firm around the handle as she kept the pace.
They fell dramatically, blood spewing everywhere. She knew it was on her. It was on the gate. On her knife. She could not care. She did not care.
It was about ten minutes later she felt the tears begin. Her thoughts only growing darker as she thought of her mother. She had a feeling her Daddy killed her Mama. Maybe not physically, but everything he put them through... she was not surprised to find her mother surrounded in vomit and pills when she was twelve.
Scarlett remembered sitting with her mother, wiping her mouth to make her look less sickly. She had brushed her hair away, mumbling, "I know this is what you wanted, Mama, but why'd you leave me with him? I could'a came with you!" over and over. Marina's head was in Scarlett's lap when the police showed up. No one could pry the little girl from her mother until her Daddy showed up. The anger in his eyes. The sadness. Scarlett never saw him look regretful before that.
Her slashes were getting sloppy as she sobbed loudly. She was probably attracting more walkers rather than getting rid of them, but her cries were valid. She had never gotten it out this way. She had never let herself grieve between fighting off her Daddy and trying to heal with the Greenes.
She screamed so loud as she sent a final slash into a child walker, feeling warm arms cascade around her as she fell to her knees. The body behind her fell with her, moving her head into his chest as she sobbed louder.
"Scarlett, hey, hey," Rick's soothing voice cooed as he took the knife away and sat it on the ground. He did not even care that he was getting filthy from the blood and walker guts on his girl, for he knew she needed him. "Let it out, darlin'." Scarlett held Rick tightly, her knuckles turning white from the grip.
"I just want it to stop!" she cried, her voice broken and hard to understand through the cries. "Make it stop, Rick!"
Rick felt a tear leave his own eye as he mumbled, "I'm gon' try. I promise. Shh. Deep breaths."
Scarlett felt herself not being able to breathe again as another attack hit her. She shook her head, "I... don't. I don't have my m-medicine."
"I know. I'm gon' take care of you. Just breathe in and out for me, please?" he pleaded as the groans from the walkers became louder. He noticed her cries had stopped as he hiccuped slightly between breaths. He sat his chin on her head while his hands rubbed up and down on her back and arm. He felt her shiver slightly as she counted her breaths aloud. "I'm gon' take care of you," he said again, rocking them slightly.
Nodding, she let her grip loosen as she relaxed slightly. Rick could feel her heart rate become normal. He could feel her slow breaths on her neck. He picked up his chin and kissed her forehead.
"Let's get you cleaned up," he whispered. "Get some rest, yeah?"
"He's in the prison, Rick," she replied just as soft.
"I'll kill him. Just give me the word," he murmured, the threat real in his tone.
"Y-You can't," she whimpered.
Rick scoffed slightly, shaking his head. Standing, he helped her stand with him. Grabbing her knife, he connected it to his own belt as began to lead them back to the prison where that bastard was in right at that moment.
