crooked heart → the walking dead ⁵

[ 032 ] no more chances.

CROOKED HEART.

chapter thirty-two, no more chances.
[ season ten, episode eight ]

THEY RETURN TO THE Hilltop with Daryl, Carol, Aaron, and Theo in toll. Cori greets them at the gates, Koda sitting at her side.

Cori tries to smile but it falls weak, her eyes scan the three that have returned to the Hilltop. Her eyes fall on Theo first, how could they not? They still have yet to make amends despite Theo and Odessa making up. "Hello, Theo." Cori greets.

"Cori," Theo nods his head curtly.

"Hey, Cori," Carol says. This time Cori's smile doesn't fall weak. Her eyes meet Carol's blue ones. She doesn't say a word as she walks forward and hugs the woman.

When they pull apart, Cori asks her, "you doin' better?" Carol only shrugs.

Cori and Daryl hug next while Koda rushes up to Odessa. She jumps on her person, putting her front paws on her chest. Odessa smiles, petting her dog behind her sweet ears. "Hey, babygirl." Odessa whispers to the golden retriever. She bends down, kissing the dog on the head.

"Hey, Mama," Brielle says, bringing Odessa's attention away from Koda. She looks to where Cori approaches her daughter and the horse she sits upon.

"Hey, love." Cori replies. She stops at the horse's side, eyes meeting her daughter's. She drops her hand on her leg. "You feelin' okay?"

Brielle shrugs. "Don't know."

"I understand." Cori sighs.

But in truth, she doesn't. She had never lost a limb before. She has never had to remove her own belt and tighten it around her arm. She has never brought a knife down on her arm so that she can hopefully survive.

"No, you don't." Brielle mumbles. Cori's brows furrow as she watches her daughter guide the horse into the walls of the Hilltop.

Odessa comes to stand beside her, her blue eyes also trailing after their daughter. "She doesn't mean anything by it, Cori. She's just angry, she's suffering right now."

"I wish things could go back to the way they were before," Cori sighs. Why did Rosita and Eugene have to go out that day for some stupid tower? Why did Jesus have to go search for Eugene? Why did Cori and Odessa make Flynn and Brielle stay behind at the Kingdom while they meant to return home?

They were supposed to be SAFE!

Now Flynn is dead and Brielle is broken.

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Brielle lays in her bed, Koda curled up beside her with her head resting against Brielle's back. The young teenager stares at the picture resting on her desk.

Flynn stares back at her. The happiest version of herself stares back at her. The siblings are sitting at one of the picnic tables outside with their arms wrapped around each other. They're grinning something crazy. They have paint on their faces. This way the day Odessa did a paint class, revealing to the others that she is a decent artist.