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NIGHT SETTLED OVER THEM. Carl had tied a cord around the front door, securing it so nothing and nobody could break in. Rick had made himself home on the broken sofa in what used to be the living room, while Jules sat alone in the kitchen, staring at her folded hands in silence.
The kitchen was completely dark, the only light being emitted throughout the whole house was from the moon. Jules hadn't said a word in hours, the only noise falling past her lips was the occasional sigh or scoff after the two Grimes's insistent arguing.
Carl stomped into the kitchen, still fuming after the argument he must have just had with his dad. Jules had learned by now to tune the two of them out, so she wasn't positive that's what had him in such a mood. "Carl," she voiced warmly as a greeting, gesturing for him to sit across from her at the dining table.
He squinted his eyes at her, obviously not in the mood for sitting down and having a chat, but he ended up sitting down anyways. They sat in a peaceful quiet, looking into each other's eyes, waiting for the other to make the first move in talking.
Jules cleared her throat, adjusting her posture in the chair that creaked like it was going to collapse at any moment. "So, did you find anything cool upstairs? Maybe a nice book I could read?" she questioned, twisting a lock of her brunette hair in a finger.
Rolling his eyes and scoffing at the same time, he looked away. "You don't need to do that," he replied, dismissing her question.
"Do what?" she asked, feigning ignorance as she let go of the hair wrapped around her finger. "I, personally, would like something to keep me out of my head. I wasn't able to snag a book on my way out."
"Stop talking like that," he spat, standing from his spot in the chair. Jules stared at him blankly, urging him to continue. "Like everything is okay when it isn't." Carl pushed his chair in as loudly as possible, going back to where he came from.
Jules sighed, resting her elbows on the table and placing her head into her hands. It wasn't fair of her to act as if nothing had happened, especially to Carl, who had lost so much more than she.
She pushed herself onto her wobbly legs, no doubt going to be sore the next day, and walked up the many stairs. She peeked into the first room, which just so happened to house a twin sized bed. Through the limited light, she could tell this used to be a boy's room. Maybe someone around the same age as Carl. Someone too young to be put into a place like this.
Plopping herself onto the bed, her eyes almost immediately weighed down. She was already fast asleep before she even had the chance to get comfortable underneath the blankets, or even take off her old and dirtied sneakers.
