Not Today

Chapter Three

ROSEMARY II 

When Daryl asked her if she was fine after her mother's death, Rose hadn't been lying when she said, "I'm fine." 

When her had given her the news that she'd passed away in her sleep, Rose had realised that she didn't feel sad, and she couldn't bring herself to feel even a hint of remorse. When Kathryn's reanimated corpse became her first introduction to the outbreak that had brought the world to its knees, Rose only flinched when Merle had smashed her skull with the bottom of a lamp. When he brought the heel of his foot down between her eyes, she simply rose an eyebrow. After that, she had no reaction whatsoever to the many kicks her uncle aimed at her mother's twice dead corpse.  

When things had calmed down, Rose's first thought had been how inconvenient it was to be left with two complete strangers. Her thoughts had proved to be true when her newfound family had ushered her and Dixie into a pale blue truck, offering her absolutely no knowledge of where they'd be going. 

Neither Daryl or Merle knew a single word of ASL, but Rose had grown to appreciate how Daryl always made sure to consciously angle himself in her view so she could lip read whatever it was he was saying at the time. Through that, she'd learnt that at least half of his vocabulary was composed entirely of insults, and what little phrases and sentences she'd caught from Merle had proved to be so entirely stupid that Rose was certain that she'd learn more from him simply by observing what he actually did rather then said. Despite his ever-present need to be in control, Merle was definitely more of an open book than her father. 

Rose supposed that joining the small camp outside of Atlanta had helped things. It was easier to talk to her father when others were around to ease the tension, and the people there helped to break up the monotony of her days. Glenn was there to dramatically tell tales of his runs to the city, and there was Amy, who loved to play around with her hair. She never felt bored when she was talking to Carl and Sophia, who had both taken to trying to learn sign language in order to communicate more easily with her. It was amusing to see them argue with Glenn over who was better or when Hailey Walsh would run over at the sound of their noise. Hailey, with her bright, energetic nature, unable to stay still for the smallest moment with her swinging ponytail that was almost dangerous with how fast she moved. She liked being around the others, as it gave a sense of normalcy that she could exercise her control over. 

Even now, sprawled out on the grass with Hailey Rose could say that she was thoroughly entertained. Hailey had busied herself weaving brightly coloured strands of thread together in order to make bracelets. Rose could tell that the girl found it boring, and from the self-conscious glances she threw at Amy, Rose could tell that it made her feel five years younger than she was. Hailey was kinder than she was, though, as Glenn had looked so pleased with himself when he showed them the different threads that Hailey simply smiled and told him she loved them. Rose had only risen her eyebrow, the act of making bracelets mind numbingly boring to her.  

Sophia was with them, her nimble fingers flying through the work, unlike Hailey, who was cursing under her breath every time she made a mistake. She'd been complaining that Glenn's bracelet had to be perfect because he was the one who got them in the first place. 

A book laid sprawled across Rose's lap, the different number sequences scrawled across the pages far too familiar after the fifth read. Despite this, Rose found amusement in the way Hailey would glance at it and wrinkle her nose in distaste, the other teenager having little interest in the ways of codes and cyphers. Hailey had told Rose that she'd overheard Shane and Lori collectively referring to the younger members of the camp as a group, and Rose had originally thought that Glenn would have been offended to have been grouped with them.