Goodbye to a World | shane walsh

12 | no safe haven

The next few days passed in a blur of activity as Shane and Nola settled into their roles in Alexandria. Shane took charge of training the new recruits, his no-nonsense approach quickly earning him respect among the community. Nola, meanwhile, found herself working closely with Pete, her suspicions about him growing with each passing day.

Nola was actually getting excited for Friday.

Well, maybe not for the party, but to do anything other than spend all day with Pete.

Pete's behavior was erratic—one moment he was the picture of professionalism, and the next he was snapping at her over the smallest things. His snide comments and overall derogatory nature was starting to get on her nerves, and her kind and naive act was only getting harder to keep up. Nola did her best to keep her distance, but it was becoming increasingly difficult to ignore the tension between them.

One late afternoon, as she was organizing medical supplies in the clinic, getting ready to close up, Pete stormed in after disappearing for a few hours, his face flushed with anger. "Where the hell is the inventory list?" he demanded, his voice sharp.

Nola looked up from her work, pointing to a table, startled by the sudden outburst. She had seen Pete in a bad mood before, but this was different—there was something dangerous in his eyes, a simmering rage just beneath the surface.

"It's right here," she replied calmly, reaching for the clipboard on the counter. "I was just about to—"

Pete snatched the clipboard from her hand before she could finish, his fingers tightening around it until his knuckles turned white. "Do you think this is a joke? We're in the middle of a crisis with Aaron and Eric coming back with no supplies, and you're too busy to keep things in order?"

Nola took a step back, her heart pounding. She noticed his breath reeked of alcohol. "I'm doing the best I can, Pete. We're all under pressure here."

"Your best isn't good enough," he snapped, throwing the clipboard onto the counter with a loud thud. Papers scattered everywhere, and Nola felt a cold knot of fear twist in her stomach. She could see it now—this wasn't just stress. Pete was losing control.

Taking a deep breath, she met his gaze, refusing to back down. "If you have a problem with how I'm doing my job, you can take it up with Deanna."

Pete glared at her, his jaw clenching as he struggled to rein in his temper. For a moment, she thought he might actually hit her, but then he seemed to think better of it. With a muttered curse, he turned on his heel and stormed out of the clinic, leaving Nola standing there, her hands trembling.

She exhaled slowly, trying to steady herself. This wasn't the first time Pete had lashed out, but it was the first time she felt truly threatened. She knew she had to tell Shane, but she also knew how he'd react—protective, angry, and ready to confront Pete immediately. And that would lead to more problems than it would solve. But then again, if she didn't tell Shane, she knew she'd never hear the end of it when he inevitably finds out. She didn't like the idea of keeping things from him, either.

Nola gathered the scattered papers, her mind racing. She couldn't keep this to herself, but she also needed to approach it carefully. Pete was a problem, and if his behavior continued unchecked, it could put everyone in Alexandria at risk.

She let out a deep breath she was holding, muttering curses to herself before putting everything away and deciding to call it a day. If someone really needed something, they knew where to find her.

Or worse, where to find Pete.

Nola left the medical center and began to walk over to the rations garage. She knew Shane was going to be coming back late because of the training and she wanted to pick up some items to make them something to eat. Plus, she had yet to meet the woman who was in charge of it-- Olivia.