Casually Cruel - TWD

20. Hate.

"C'mon, sweet girl," Abraham pressed a gentle kiss to Eliza's forehead as she lay on the bed in the RV. Her arm wasn't bleeding as much anymore, but there was no way to tell if it was infected. It had been over a day and she still wasn't waking up. "C'mon. I ain't gonna lose you to this, Eliza."

Eliza just lay there, her face stained with all the tears she cried the day before. She was colder than she'd ever been before, even that night that she was shivering in the tunnel didn't compare to how cold her body was now.

Abraham didn't know what he'd do if he lost Eliza. Hearing a little girl squeak out 'dad' to him took him back to when he really was a dad. When he'd carry his little girl up to her bedroom after she fell asleep on the sofa. But this wasn't his daughter, Becca, this was Eliza. He'd lost Becca already, and the thought of losing Eliza terrified him all the same.

Eliza had never looked so small. She was 5'4, but she looked like a sick child, just laying there, waiting for the universe to decide if she lived or died. She couldn't feel a thing, but Abraham could.

He could feel a lump rising in his throat every time he thought about if she didn't wake up. He could feel himself trying not to cry in front of everyone, he'd never done that before, and he didn't plan on it. He could feel his lungs shrinking, like he just wanted to give Eliza all of the life he had, even if it meant that he wouldn't wake up, she would. And that was okay.

"Abraham," Rosita cleared her throat and wiped her eyes from the hallway. "We're here."

Abraham nodded and scooped Eliza up into his arms again. The sight of her bloody and mangled was enough to make a grown man cry. But Abraham was holding it together for her. He pressed a quick kiss to Rosita's cheek on the way past.

They'd led the walkers twenty miles away, just like they had planned to. Daryl had gone off for a little while, but he came back. They were headed back for Alexandria when there was suddenly the sound of shot's firing.

The glass from the back window of the car smashed over the backseat and Eliza let out a pained cry. All at once, Abraham was trying to see what happened to Eliza, see who the hell was shooting at them, and trying not to get shot himself.

Sasha crashed the car through a wooden wall, making some metal barrels fall down and block the view of the car. Abraham and Sasha got out, grabbing their guns and shooting at the car that had been following them. Abraham wanted to help Eliza, but he wasn't gonna let whoever these people were get away with hurting her.

"Leave it," Sasha told Abraham as he pulled his knife from his pocket.

Abraham shrugged, smiling slightly. "Just gonna give it a last little polish."

"What the hell you got to grin about?" Sasha shook her head.

"We won, darlin'."

Sasha grabbed his arm and pulled him back once he started to walk away. "There could be more. You need to get Eliza."

Abraham's body stiffened and he nodded, turning back to the car to go and get Eliza. Once he opened the door, he saw the right side of her face trickling with blood. She had her hand up to her face and covering it.

"Move your hand, baby," he mumbled, grabbing her bloody hand and taking it in his own, seeing the deep scratch across the side of her face.

Eliza shook her head despite her eyes stinging with tears. "I'm fine."

Abraham nodded. "I know you are. Just wanna check on you. C'mon."

He grabbed her shoulders and helped her out of the car, making sure that she wasn't going to get cut by anymore of the shards of glass laying around. Once she was out, he grabbed one of the bottles of water from Sasha's bag, tore a piece of fabric off his flannel sleeve and poured some water on it, pressing it to Eliza's face. He took her right hand and made sure that she was holding down to it before the three of them started to walk away.