Guts || TWD

26. Death On The Nile

The Survivors' Campsite, night time...

The campfire crackled quietly as the group of survivors sat around it. The air was heavy despite the amount of members they were missing.

Dale had stalked away in a fit of rage after yet another failed attempt at arguing for Randall's life. Shane was out at the barn on watch, Daryl was off on his own somewhere. Lori, Tucker, and Beth were in the house with the Greene's and the rest of the makeshift family sat silently next to one another.

Elle pulled at the binder clip of strings clipped to her jeans with fervor. Tying the bracelet with such speed that it almost shook out the anxiety in her chest. Not quite though, every time she looked up over the blaze the same set of eyes was locked on her. Then would fleet away in embarrassment.

She wanted to— needed to talk to Glenn but her nerves and emotions had been a mess today. She could hardly hold a conversation with her own brother without yelling or crying or some odd mix of the two.

What Eleanor Adams needed was a nice calming walk through the Washington forest with her dad... and maybe a Xanax.

Unfortunately she doubted the Washington forest was all that calm anymore and she didn't need to be caught rifling through her mother's med bag in search of the anti anxiety pills.

"Ellie, come here a sec," Rory beckoned her daughter away from the campfire and over behind the tents.

"What? Why? What's wrong?" The girl asked once her mom finally let go of the vice grip she had on her bicep. Her mind was spinning around itself in complicated shapes causing her hands to shake.

"Nothing, are you okay?" The blonde pressed, her blue eyes focused intently on her child.

"Yes? I'm fine, what's going on?" Elle questioned over top of her blatant lie. Could her mom really read her that well? She thought she was doing an okay job hiding her mess of emotions.

"You hit Glenn, why would you do that?" Rory berated the girl, her tone so condescending that Elle immediately retracted.

"Seriously? You like him more than your own kids don't you?"

"No I— no that's not what this is about." The mother stammered before regaining control. "You like him, you told us so and then he tells you he likes you too and you hit him? What the hell is that about?" Rory looked down at her hand that once held onto her daughter but now hung loosely in the air, violently ripped away from the grip she had on Elle.

"It was an accident but like you'd care. Now that Dad isn't around to be the bad guy all the time you don't know how the fuck to handle your own kids, do you?" Eleanor seethed, her anger was boiling up over the brim and she really didn't know if she could stop it this time. She was so fucking sick of being treated like she was a bad kid. A bad kid with behavioral issues and a spiraling mental state complimented by her raging temper. She wasn't a bad kid and if she knew why she acted the way she did? She'd fucking shape up.