Unbreakable threads

Chapter Ninety Three : Deanna's Interview

Deanna gave Rick and Alyssa a calm but probing look. "Do you mind if I film this?" she asked, her tone polite but firm.

Rick furrowed his brow, shifting slightly as he clutched Judith. "Film what?" he asked warily.

"Our talk," Deanna clarified, gesturing to the small camcorder she was setting up on a tripod. "It's just how we do things here."

Rick hesitated, clearly uneasy, but after a moment, he nodded tightly. "Go ahead," he said, his voice clipped.

Alyssa, sitting rigidly in her chair, narrowed her eyes slightly. "Why film?" she asked, her voice sharp but calm, the calculation in her tone impossible to miss.

Deanna smiled faintly, meeting her gaze. "We're about transparency here," she explained. "It's important to us that everything is out in the open—especially when it comes to new people joining the community. This is part of that."

Alyssa didn't respond, but her posture remained tense, her gaze steady. She didn't trust easily, and the idea of being recorded didn't sit well with her, but she didn't protest further.

Deanna took a seat across from them, folding her hands in her lap as the camera began recording. "Let's start with the basics," she said, her tone professional. "Who were you before all this?"

Rick straightened slightly, his jaw tight. "I was a sheriff," he said bluntly. "Before it all fell apart."

Deanna nodded thoughtfully, turning to Alyssa. "And you?"

Alyssa's gaze didn't waver, but her answer came slower. "I was a kid," she said dryly, a faint edge of sarcasm in her tone. "Didn't exactly have a career lined up."

Deanna raised an eyebrow at her tone but let it slide. "Did you two know each other before the world ended?" she asked, her curiosity clear.

Rick shifted uncomfortably, his gaze flicking toward Alyssa. "No," he said after a moment. "Not until after."

Deanna tilted her head, intrigued. "But you're family?"

"Yeah," Rick said shortly. "She's my daughter."

Deanna's eyebrows lifted, her interest piqued. "That must be quite a story."

Alyssa's jaw tightened, and for a moment, she didn't say anything. Rick sighed heavily, clearly reluctant but knowing he had to answer. "She was estranged," he said, his voice quieter now. "For... seventeen years. We didn't know each other."

Deanna's eyes flicked to Alyssa, who was staring at the floor, her expression unreadable. "And how did you find each other?" she asked, her voice gentler.

Alyssa finally spoke, her tone cold and detached. "My mom told me where he was," she said simply. "Before she died."

Rick's face hardened at her tone, but he didn't say anything, his grip on Judith tightening. Deanna, however, seemed intrigued. Her gaze lingered on Alyssa, who sat stiffly, her walls up and her posture closed off.

"That must've been... a lot to process," Deanna said carefully.

"It was," Alyssa replied bluntly, her sharp tone cutting off any further probing.

Deanna leaned back slightly, studying Alyssa with quiet curiosity. There was something about her—her guarded nature, her sharpness—that made her stand out. She was clearly tough, calculated, and unflinching, but in the presence of Rick, she seemed especially closed off, as though the tension between them was a wall neither was willing to address.

"Well," Deanna said after a pause, her tone lightening. "You've both been through a lot. That much is clear." She glanced between them, a faint smile on her lips. "But you're here now. That says something."