The Girl Next Door • Carl Grimes

Chapter 64: New Kid

Grace

I walked into one of the "nicer" houses in Alexandria, this one belonging to Deanna. Who am I kidding, all of these houses were nice. Aaron guided me into a large living area. Deanna was seated on a long couch. Across from her was a love seat and a coffee table in between the two items of furniture.

"Hello Grace. I'm glad I'm getting to start out with you. I was hoping to get to know you first. Have a seat." She said as she smiled.

My eyes scanned around the room as I slowly sat down.

"May I record this?" Deanna asked.

"Umm.. sure? Can I ask why you wanted to start with me out of everyone in my group?" I asked, truly confused by why I was her number one pick.

"Because you've lost more than anyone else in there. But you're still here. Why is that?" Deanna asked.

"How do you know that I've lost more?" I ignored the second part to her question. She didn't know me.

"Because everyone that your group has lost so far has meant a lot more to you than anyone else, for the most part. I know you lost your parents. That's just obvious. What happened to them?" Deanna hammered me with questions.

"I guess you're kinda right. My parents died when it all started. The same night that we got out, they died. Carl's mom got us out of there. She saved us." I explained.

"Yeah? And where is she today?" Deanna continued, holding the camera in her hand.

"Uh... she- she died." I said, choking back my tears slightly.

"Hm. So you lost the last thing that resembled a parent to you, didn't you? Who would you consider to be your family now?" Deanna said as she squinted her eyes at me, trying to figure me out.

"Everyone in that house is my family. But I guess I'm closest to the Grimes, obviously. I've been with them my whole life. And the Greene/Rhee family. They've taken me in as one of their own. You asked me earlier why I'm still here despite all that loss. I guess the answer to that is, with all those people I've got a lot to live and fight for. Aaron said it himself people are the most valuable resource. I agree with that." I said as I straightened up in my seat.

"I knew I liked you. Thanks Grace. You'll fit in here very well. You know, there's some other kids here your age. Maybe you'll get along with them. You can let Aaron know that I'm ready for the next person." Deanna said as she stood up and led me to the door.

I walked out and Aaron followed behind me. We were about halfway back to the house when Aaron started talking.

"I assume it went well?" He asked.

"Yeah. She's cool. It's nice to see a woman in charge." I said, showing him a little smile.

We approached the house and walked up the steps. The front porch kind of reminded me of the back patio I had back home, where Carl and I used to play all the time. Of course it was a little smaller because we weren't millionaires, but it was perfect to me.

I opened the door and walked in with Aaron behind me. Everyone went silent and looked up at me, almost as if they wanted to hear if everything was alright.

"It was fine guys. She just asked me some questions. She recorded it with a camera though. But that's fine." I explained.

I walked up the stairs and looked around the house. This place was huge. There were quite a few bedrooms and there were even multiple bathrooms. I walked into a bathroom that was tucked away inside of a bedroom. Why not take all the privacy I can get, right?