Ephemeral - Alia Dixon

42

"Ready for school?" I ask as I barge in the front door of my dad's new apartment. We have all oficially moved out now from that hellhole and live in pretty decent apartments now. The bed is fucking awesome and Carver and I finally have gotten some alone time now.
"Daryl got me something!" Judith says happily before she pulls the cover off of something. She reveals a record player and I smile at her as Carver closes the door behind the two of us. Judith hugs my dad before she eagerly puts her new disc inside and the music starts playing.
"I guess we have to get some more tonight, huh?" I ask and she nods.
"RJ! Let's go!" I shout loudly before he comes forward from one of the rooms. "You both look very pretty today"
"Thank you" they both say before I turn towards my dad and Carver. "You two look very official"
My dad chuckles. "That's exactly what Judith said"
I shrug. "I wish you good day. Don't start shit with that snob again, alright?"
My dad groans. "Who told you?" Quickly, he looks over at Carver, who raises his hands in defence. "Wasn't me" he quickly says and I chuckle again.
"Doesn't matter. Just leave him alone and do your job. I mean, if he annoys you then just let him get eaten by walkers" I say enthusiastically. I hug my dad tightly and give Carver a kiss before me and the kids walk out. We walk another way than my dad and Carv, walking directly to school. On the way we pick up Jerry's kids and I walk all of them over there.

....

I walk up to Eugene's door and knock on it twice. Rosita has told me that his girlfriend somehow went missing or some shit? Well, this is me trying to be supportive after a loooong day with my kids.
He opens it, looking at me with a stern look.
"Good evening to you, too, Eugene. What a pleasure. Thank you for letting me in" I say with a smile before just walking past him.
"Oh, hey" I say with a smile, noticing Princess here. She smiles at me. "What's up?"
"This dish is empty" Eugene says, confusing me a little as Princess and I both stare at his wall of crazy or whatever. It's full of pictures and drawings with ropes tied all over it.
"Yeah, people always have to let you in if you're carrying food" she states, making me snort.
"Good idea" I say and she smiles at me proudly.
"When the C.A. gave up the search, I decided to investigate Stephanie's disappearance myself. Truth be told, as the hours ticked by, with a nary breadcrumb to be found, I let my despair get the best of me. That is until a chance encounter put me on the trail...," he says, going on and on about this story. "Needless to say, I greeted his story with a great deal of skepticism. There were no city service carts on the street that night, nor was he wearing any sort of uniform or carrying any sort of tools. I found it very peculiar that the one person I knew was there the night she disappeared happened to have such a flimsy alibi. So, I started following him.
"So like, what's this plumber's deal?" Princess asks him as I take a deep breath and lean back on his couch with my arms crossed over my chest.
"To start with, his name is Roman Calhoun. And he is most definitely not a plumber"
"Alright but what is he if he isn't a plumber?" I ask before Princess and I both get up to inspect the wall from a little less away. He really put his soul into this, wow. Every little detail is on this wall and as good as I know Eugene, he hasn't missed a damn thing.
"He mostly conducts his business at night. His base of operations is a building in the warehouse district which purports to be a purveyor of plumbing services which, on the surface, appears to be legitimate. However, they never receive any mail. There's lights on at odd hours when they are, ostensibly, closed. And while people go in and out with a fair degree of regularity, it's usually just the same four people over and over. They usually arrive alone and depart shortly thereafter. And frequently meeting in groups of two. And on the one occasion when they were all together, they were also met by a fifth. Who I also believe to be the head honcho. The mastermind of some sort of rogue element within the government that Stephanie somehow ran afoul of"
"Rogue element?" I ask.
"Like, you think she was kidnapped by the government or something?" Princess adds.
"Shortly after I began my search, the man who later became known to me as co-conspirator number two, A.K.A Beanie Hat Man, showed up to Stephanie's apartment with a team of movers, collected all her belongings and took them to an unknown location. Then, that same day," Eugene says before holding up some sort of paper. "This was found in Stephanie's file at the Union Station. It's a work transfer request, signed by Stephanie on the day of her disappearance. But the man who filled in for her at the radio room that day told me she gave no notice or whatsoever. Such orders could not be falsified or fabricated without direct influence from within the halls of power. She knew they were coming for her. When she eluded them, they filed that false work transfer to cover up her disappearance. They took all her belongings to recover any evidence she may have gathered. And now silencing her is the last step in repairing that leak. If I'm right... our only hope is for me to expose them before they find her"
A knock at the door distracts us.
Thank God.

"Sorry, Daryl has told me that Alia's here" I hear Carver's voice. Eugene doesn't even say anything before he pulls him inside by his shirt, looking around the hallway frantiqually before closing the door behind him. Carver looks at me with a confused look before walking over to me and pulling me into a quick hug.
"What are you doing here?" I ask him.
"Well, I wanted to spend the evening with you so I come to take you home for a romantic dinner" he says, his voice low and sexy making me blush a little.
"Let's not waste time then" I say before grabbing his hand and pulling him towards the door.
"I'll see you guys tomorrow. Oh, and, update me on your plan or tell me if you need any help" I say with a smile before walking out of the door with my boyfriend.
"What's up with him?" Carv asks me, his short hair sticking to his forehead. Clearly, he has just come out of the shower and he's dressed quiet nicely. Something's up. Carver's not the guy to dress nicely for something at home. Yes, we've been out once or twice by now but nothing special, at home he does wear shorts and a shirt though all the time. Though I do prefer when he doesn't.
"I'll tell you at home. It's top secret" I say and he nods, clearly not understanding but he lets go anyway.
"How was your day?" he asks me, holding my hand tighty as we walk to our apartment. His hands are sweaty and he doesn't seem normal, almost as if something's bothering him or so. I brush it off.
"Well, the kids are a handfull but I'm managing. How was yours?"
"It was alright. Killed a few walkers but nothing special"
"And dad? Did he have a good day?"
"Yeah, pretty normal. No beef, if that's what you're asking" he says and we both chuckle. I put my other and over hour intervened ones, too before leaning into his arm.

"Carv, you want to stay here?" I ask him as we walk up the stairs.
"I don't know" he says, getting his keys out from his pocket before he opens the door. He puts a hand over my eyes though before guiding me inside.
"You are so cheesy" I say, giggling, trying not to stumble.
"Keep them closed" he mumbles before pulling me a bit to the right by my shoulders. He then lets go off me before silence overcomes the apartment.
"Can I open them now?" I ask but no answer.
I groan before opening them. My eyes widen and my jaw falls to the floor. Infront of me is a cute candle-light-dinner and a bouquet of flowers. I chuckle happily before turning around to face him.
My lips part even further now as I spot Carver on the floor, on one knee and a red tiny box in his hands. Nervously, he chuckles as I just stare at him.
"I- uh- sorry, I'm so fucking nervous," he says, laughing nervously before he scratches his neck with his free hand. He takes a deep breath before straightening his stance.
"Alia Dixon, I know it's kind of a surprise and very early but I want to ask you if you want to marry me. I love you more than anything in this world and I'd never forgive myself if anything happened to you while I haven't asked you to be mine. I know, it's very cheesy but I wanted to do this the traditional way. You deserve all of this and more. In this kind of world we never know that's going to happen in the next few hours and I don't want to waste time when I know you're the one for me.
So, Alia Dixon, do you want to marry me and become my wife?" he asks and a smile breaks through on my face.
I chuckle once before I start laughing and nodding frantiqually. "Yes"
He smiles widely before he picks me up and kisses me pationately. He lets me back down and puts the ring onto my finger. It's nothing special, just a golden ring.
"Where did you get that?" I ask him and he chuckles nervously again.
"I found it on one of my patrols one time" he says and I look at him confusedly.
"You've had this ring for months now?" I ask him.
"Yeah, got it right when you first kissed me"
I look at him a little sceptically.
He sighs. "I know"
"You've fallen hard, huh?" I ask jokingly and he chuckles, stepping a bit closer again making our chests touch eachother as he stares down at me with a smirk.
"I definitely have" he says quietly before tilting my head up with his index finger and kissing me softly. His hands slide down my sides to my hips as he pulls me even closer. I quickly deepen the kiss, pulling him closer as I put my arms around his neck. Our kisses start getting more and more heated as he tilts my head to the side with one hand, granting his tounge access to my mouth. We move in sync, things falling over while we make our way to the bedroom but we couldn't care less.
Everything seemed perfect that moment.