𝐖𝐀𝐋𝐋𝐅𝐋𝐎𝐖𝐄𝐑 - carl grimes .

❺ - dustgrub

act one - chapter five
"dustgrub"
- soobriety -

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MAY FLED THE CAR AS SOON AS IT ENTERED THE PRISON.

If she's good at one thing, it's running away from her problems. She left the bag in the car, an unknown number of things in her pockets as she trampled away from the vehicle, from Glenn and Maggie. Recent events still held a sizable pit in her stomach, something she had no clue how to deal with. So she ran from it all.

She knew it looked weird from a distance. She could feel, like a minor prodding, outside stares of those who were watching the events take place. The way she sped away, like the run itself was a disaster. Which it wasn't to anyone except for May. The run went rather smoothly, all things considered, smoother than the girl thinks it should've been, regarding the things that took place in the small shop.

It was just the small, aching fact that something could've happened; the idea that Glenn's blood was almost on her hands, and Maggie's could of very easily been as well. It's enraging, how something like that can bother her so much. Something didn't happen, she should be glad about that, and she is, but everything was so close to falling apart again. Again.

She's angry at herself. She's angry at the two, for not caring more. But most of all, she's scared. Scared of the idea that she's getting too close. Her walls are falling, crumbling under comforting smiles and words of affirmation. It scares her more than she thinks it does.

So she does what she knows: she runs. She'd tried once before at the prison, a much more drastic version of what she's doing now, but it was an effort nonetheless. And just like before, Glenn's the one to trail after her.

"Hey, wait up," he calls, just before May's feet travel from gravel onto the pavement. She doesn't want to turn around, for all of her courage has burned out like an aged candle. She doesn't have to turn around, though, since his walk has turned into a jog and he's reached her in mere seconds.

Glenn matches her strides. A minor detail, but she notices it because of the way the girl is hanging her head. May slows. She can't decipher if it's on purpose or not.

"I, uh, picked this up for you. I saw it at the store, and thought you might be able to use it."

He holds out a yellow box. Worn out and dusty, the label is barely legible, but she can still read it: Sidewalk Chalk, Assorted Colors, 32 count. "For all of your drawings."

And like molten lava, May erupts. Frustration sizzles, boiling over her tongue. She turns to him, courage out the window.

"Why are you so fixated on me?"

She almost regrets it after she says it — after watching as Glenn stills, stunned. "What?"

And for the first time, Glenn sounds actually hurt. It startles May, but she doesn't stop. She can't stop.

"I try to leave, and you stop me. I almost get you killed, and you have the audacity to ask if I'm okay," Her voice is aggressive, and a part of her believes that this is nothing Glenn deserves. Still, she carries on. "Why do you care so much? I'm just a stranger. I'm a nobody."