𝐛𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐝 ➵ (𝐓𝐖𝐃)

𝐗

Ada

⋆˚✿˖°

I walk into Carl's cell with my bag in hand and see him sitting on his bed, packing his bag. He is looking at a picture in his hands, "What's that?" I ask softly.

He looks up, startled, "Uh, it's a photo of my mom and dad and me." He looks back down at the photo. "I got it so Judith would know what her mom looked like." He smiled.

"Can I see her?" I ask.

He smiles at me and stands up, walking towards me. He shows me the photo and I take it from him. I hadn't had the chance to meet his mom, but now I knew what she looked like at least. "She's beautiful," I say.

"Yeah, she was." He grabs his bag from the ground and takes the photo from my hands, placing it gently in his bag. "We need to get going." He says pushing past me.

I turn around and follow him into the other room, where everyone else is also packing their things.

I find my brother at a table with Beth and I walk over to him. Turning to talk to Carl, I realize he had already walked off.

"You're still staying, Scott?" I asked him, hoping he had changed his mind.

"Yeah," He answers turning to Beth. "You'll all be fine out there." He smiles at her.

Beth smiles back, though her eyes look sorrowful. "We should meet everybody outside now." She says.

She and Scott stand up from their seats, and I begin to walk into the tombs, with the two of them following close behind. It's dark, and the cold from outside makes it freezing. My brother walks next to me with his arm around me, holding me close. I lean into his touch, never wanting him to let go, but in just a few moments he would be ripped from my grasp. As we reached the end of the tombs and walked outside I shivered from the cold wind.

Carl was just ahead of us, and as he walked towards his father, he dodged his hand, utterly ignoring him. I understood his frustration all too well, but at this moment, it wasn't good to push the people you care about away. It's best to hold them as close as possible.

I approached the car and placed my bag in it, as I did, my brother and Beth did too. I turned to speak to Carl, who was just right beside me, but he was already walking off. He's got to stop doing that. I looked over at Beth as she witnessed the lack of interaction, and she gave me a tight smile. I didn't reciprocate.

Instead, I turned around to find my brother, who was helping load the rest of the bags into the cars. Wishing for one final hug, I walk over to him and wrap my arms around him, quickly. His tall stature makes it hard for me, but I hug him as tight as I can. He leans down a bit, holding me tightly, and kisses my head.

I let go of him after a moment, and he kneels, holding my face in his hands. I hold his hands against my face as he wipes tears that I wasn't even aware were falling with his thumb. I laugh. He smiles and kisses my forehead.

He stands up slowly, and I let go of him finally. He ruffles my hair as he backs up, preparing to walk away. I smiled at him as he walked back to the group.

He begins to load bags into the cars and speak to the others.

I watched him as he did this, seeing his breath in smoke form because of the wintery temperature. I studied his face as if it was the last time I'd ever see him. For all I know, it could be. He notices my staring and looks back at me. His head tilts and he quirks an eyebrow in wonder, before mouthing the words, "I love you,"