Junebug • TWD

23. Don't Trust Him.

Dad yelled at Carol last night. I heard it from inside the tent after he told me to go to bed. He said some real bad things to her, about Sophia, especially. He's hurtin'. He feels guilty. I can tell. He thinks it's his fault that Sophia came outta that barn.

Last night, Dad didn't let us go eat dinner with everyone else. He took me out hunting we caught a rabbit. I'm not a big fan of rabbit, but it ain't like eating something I can't stand. 

At least, with rabbit, I know exactly what I'm eating and what it will taste like. It's confusing. I don't like blueberry breakfast bars because they've got mushy bits and hard bits and little flakes on top. I hate 'em. But with rabbit, it's just the meat, so it's all the same, as long as Dad cooks it good. And Dad's a professional at cooking rabbit. He knows how I like it. 

Anyway, I ate about half of my bits of rabbit and Dad ate what I couldn't finish. And then he sent me to bed. I thought I'd be able to convince him, but he's avoiding Carol with everything he's got. 

This morning, though, I told Dad I wasn't gonna eat any rabbit leftovers for breakfast, so me and him and Nicki went back down to the farmhouse for breakfast. When we got over there, Shane asked Dad if he'd go with him to find Rick. Dad didn't wanna, but when Carl came running over to us to tell us that his momma was pregnant and he's gonna be a big brother, Dad gave in. Guess he thinks that baby's oughta have its daddy. 

Dad's wearing the angel-wing vest again today. The weather's getting cooler. I think autumn is coming around. I know we won't be celebrating Halloween this year, but the fall weather still makes my stomach bubble up with excitement. 

My Dad stands next to Shane- even though he doesn't like him- and T-Dog at the back of the car. I'm standing with them, even though I'm not going with them. 

"You stick by the RV, alright?" Dad says, giving my shoulder a little squeeze. 

I nod my head. "You better come back. All a' you," I tell them all. It always makes me nervous when people go out, even if they know what they're doing out there. You never know if they're gonna make it back. 

"We will. I'll make sure of it," Shane says, giving me a pat on the back. 

"Good," I say, giving them all a small smile. Dad ruffles my hair, but when he does, he accidentally gets the spot that's still healing from the gunshot. I wince and turn my head away. 

"Shit. Sorry," Dad murmurs, furrowing his eyebrows. He forgot about it, I guess. "Lemme see," he says, taking my chin with one hand and turning my head back to him. He brushes the hair back behind my ear, revealing what's left of the nasty-looking thing. I quickly pull the hair back down, covering it back up. "You need more Tylenol?" he asks me. 

"No, thank you," I say, shaking my head. I hate medicine. Plus, Tylenol tastes bad if you don't swallow it fast enough. 

"We're both gonna have some tough-lookin' scars, now, huh?" T-Dog says, nudging my shoulder. He's still got a bandage over his arm. That's covering up his new scar. 

"Yeah. Guess so," I say with a shrug. Thinking about it as tough-looking rather than nasty-looking makes it seem less bad. Just as I say that, I start to hear a rumbling sound. Likes rocks crunching beneath tires. I turn and see the missing car going up the long driveway. "Look!" I tell everyone, pointing out at them. 

Soon, the car comes to a stop right by us. Rick is the first to get out, and Carl greets him with a hug. Hershel's next. He's got blood on his shirt. Maggie goes running towards him, only to skirt around him and hug Glenn instead. Rude. 

"Patricia, prepare the shed for surgery," Hershel orders. Who the heck needs surgery? And why in the shed?

"Who the hell is that?" T-Dog says. I look over at him to see that he's pointing to the car.