𝘐𝘯𝘷𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘚𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 // 𝘋𝘢𝘳𝘺𝘭 𝘋𝘪𝘹𝘰𝘯

ᴅɪᴢᴢʏ

It takes me walking around the truck and up and down the trail twice to finally sit back down at the fire. I thought about telling Rick that I heard something but I don't want to risk it. Not when Rick might explode by the looks of it.

He's sitting next to Lori now, an angry and tired look on his pale face. When I first met the group I thought I had a good understanding of Lori. That she was a devoted mother and wife, struck by grief and stuck to live in this new cruel world by herself. Man was I wrong.

Don't get me wrong though, Lori is a devoted mother, better than what I've seen. I think the stress of everything around her just made it easy for her to run to Shane the way she did. The same way she ran to me.

We started off as friends, me helping Carl here and there, watching him when Lori was "doing something". But our friendship turned sour when I found out about the baby. The fact that Lori slept with Rick's best friend not even two months after him falling into a coma didn't sit right with me.

Because Lori is a good mother she just chooses to cling onto these men like she needs them, like there is no other way for her to survive.

I watch Rick and Lori whisper back and forth before Rick gets up suddenly, scratching the back of his head. It pains me to see them like this, fighting. Especially when I saw how happy they were when they first saw each other again. To think we just thought Rick was some random guy stuck in a tank.

"Scarlet?" Carl taps my shoulder causing me to look at him with a small smile on my face. He looks so much older than when I first met him, more tired even.

"Carl?" He's crisscrossed next to me, a rock he found placed in between his fingers.

He looks at me for a moment before speaking "Can I sleep with you tonight?" It comes out as a whisper, one that makes me look at him sadly. I know that feeling so well, the feeling of being stuck in between your fighting parents, being stuck in between the people who swore to put you first and in this moment aren't.

I nod silently causing a toothy smile to form on his little face. There's nothing I wouldn't do for Carl. I've only ever felt that way for Glenn and my mom.

The group falls into a comfortable silence, some finishing up their little meal, some planning out where they're sleeping. It didn't surprise me when Carl asked if he could sleep with me because it's something he's never done before but because it made me come to the realization that I haven't slept in two days.

Yawning, I feel a weight pressed onto my right shoulder. I look down slowly and smile at the sleeping boy. I look up to see Rick already looking at me, a smile on his face as well. There's nothing Rick wouldn't do for Carl. I give him a nod before shifting a little.

Carl lets out a yawn, an embarrassed look creeping up on his face. "Why don't we go to the truck?" With a nod from Carl, we both stand up. He grabs my hand and begins to walk to the truck but the world is spinning and my ears are ringing.

I want to tell Carl to slow down, to let me stop for a minute, but my mouth feels like jello when I try to speak. My feet tingle with every step until they no longer work, sending my knees crashing down into the rocks below.

I hit the ground with a bang before the world becomes black.

The ringing noise seems to be louder now, causing me to wince. When I wake up everyone's around me, looking down at me like I'm some new species they've never heard of.

"She's awake." Glenn says with a smile, kneeling to get a better look at me. I go to speak but my throat clenches and I let out a wheezy cough causing Glenn to look at Hershel with a nod.