[EDITING]
you took a polaroid of us,
then discovered,
the rest of the world was black and white,
but we were in screaming color,
and I remember thinking
are we out of the woods yet?
••••••••••••••••...
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tw: death.
TWO WEEKS LATER (15 weeks pregnant — 3 months)
season 5, episode 9
My head rested against the car window as we drove, my swollen eyes watching as the world passed by in a blur. Each tree, each abandoned building, and every stretch of desolate road seemed to mirror the emptiness I felt inside.
The gentle hum of the van's engine was a constant reminder that we had to keep moving forward, grieving wasn't allowed in a world like this. Everything we did had to be quick, it had to be thought out.
After Beth's burying I didn't say a word to anyone, just simply threw myself in the back seat of the van and pressed my head against the glass. Rick sat beside me, his eyes peeking glances from time to time.
Two weeks ago we began our journey to Richmond, Virginia, on Rick's orders. Noah had said that it had a good community and that his family was there, it had walls, and it was safe. Rick said that it would be our last big stop, no more moving after that.
Unless it didn't work out, of course.
I kept my eyes outside the van, my eyes reading the 'South Carolina', 'North Carolina', and 'Virginia' signs along the way. I gulped back my tears, trying not to think about my childhood house, Hershel's farm, the prison, my parent's house, Atlanta, and Alexander City. I tried not to think of any of it.
"How far out?" Rick suddenly asked, his body straightening up as he glanced at Noah in the front seat.
The boy turned his head around, our eyes meeting for a second before I quickly looked away, unable to bear the weight of his gaze. He turned back to Rick, clearing his throat awkwardly.
"Five miles," Noah responded.
Rick then brought up his walkie-talkie, the static crackling as he pressed the button. "Hey, Carol,"
The response came quickly, Carol's upbeat voice on the other side. "I'm here,"
"We're halfway there. Just wanted to check the range," he said into the walkie, his voice growing lower.
I closed my eyes, trying to focus on my breathing, to calm the emotions swirling inside. The van's gentle rocking was almost soothing, but every time I let my guard down, memories of Beth came rushing back, each one a sharp pang of grief.
"Everybody's holding tight. We've made it 500 miles, maybe this can be the easy part," Carol's voice murmured over the static.
"Got to think we're due. Give us 20 minutes to check in," Rick responded quickly, his body shuffling around in the seat.
