Anything - Carl Grimes

xxiv. A warm bed over a friend

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Carmen sat in the car with Josh, leaning her head against the window as her Dad sang along to some song on the radio. Suddenly, his phone rang, and he rolled his eyes, turning down the music and answering. "Hello?" Carmen turned around to look at him and listen to him talk. "Goddamit," He muttered. "Hey, I'm with my kid right now, so I'll call ya later, okay? Bye."

Josh turned off his phone and put it in his pocket. "What's wrong?" Carmen asked. Josh glanced at her before looking back at the road.

"One of my friends from the army passed away," Josh muttered, sighing deeply.

"I'm sorry," Carmen muttered, looking down at her lap. For some reason, she always felt bad for men and women who were sent or joined the army. She knew it was so they'd protect their country, but it must be tough being away from their families. "Was it scary when you were there?" Carmen asked, leaning her head back against the seat.

"Not scary, but I did miss my family," Josh shrugged. Carmen thought for a few moments before asking.

"Wait, so, if draftin' was abolished in 1973, and you were born in 1978, why did you go to the army?" Carmen squinted her eyes slightly, trying to understand.

"Well, I wasn't plannin' on goin' to college, and yer Mom wanted to go but didn't have the money, so I decided to join the army, so I'd pay it out for 'er," Josh shrugged.

"How? Mom gave birth to me when she was eighteen or nineteen. Ain't that when you enlisted?" Carmen kept asking, the whole situation confusing her.

"No, baby," Josh chuckled and shook his head. "I met yer Mom when I was seventeen, and, well, I fell in love. I fell in love hard. So when I heard she gave up from college 'cause she ain't got no money, I enlisted so I could pay it out for 'er. Then, when I came back, she was seventeen, and I was nineteen, she graduated high school, accidentally got pregnant with ya, but went to college while we raised ya."

Carmen wanted to ask how someone could get pregnant, but she knew better than that because he always shut down the conversation about it. "Wait, you get paid if you join the army?"

"Yeah, but the pain range depends on the years you spend there and your rank," Josh explained.

"Well, why didn't you say so? I'm totally enlistin'," Carmen spoke enthusiastically, making Josh laugh.

...

Carmen, Dorothy, and Carol returned to the cell block. Andrea came back, and Dorothy was practically running to see her. Once they got to the cell block Dorothy jumped down the stairs and ran straight into Andrea's arms, holding her tightly. Andrea smiled softly and hugged her back before slowly pulling away from Dorothy, and looking at Carol. She walked over and hugged Carol, and Carmen placed her gun down, leaning against the wall.

"After you saved me, we thought you were dead," Carol whispered.

"Hershel, oh my God," Andrea sighed in disbelief, pulling away from Carol and looking at his leg. She looked around in disbelief. "I can't believe this," She paused momentarily before
asking. "Where's Shane?" Everybody stayed quiet, and Rick slightly shook his head. "And Lori?"

"She had a girl," Hershel said. "Lori didn't survive."

"Neither did T-Dog," Dottie spoke up as she suddenly appeared in the cafeteria room, leaning against the metal bars and crossing her arms.

"I'm so sorry," Andrea sighed. "Carl," She softly spoke when she saw him, but he kept staring at her, the same ice-cold stare Rick had in his eyes. That's exactly what I'm talkin' 'bout, Carmen thought to herself. She sees herself in him a lot. When Josh died, she was the same. But she still felt worried for him, especially because he used to be so happy back at the farm. I ain't worryin' 'cause I care, though, Carmen told herself, or better to say, told herself so she'd try and believe it. "Rick, I-" Andrea wanted to apologize, but nothing left her mouth. "You all live here?"