Survive ( twd carlgrimes)

Chapter 20

CARL'S POV.

I watch Madison as she looks up into the sky. Her brown eyes sparkle even in the early dusk light. The trees around us cutting off most of the sunlight. When she moves her head I quickly stare up into the sky so she doesn't catch me, but when she turns away again I steal a glance at her and I catch her looking down at our hands.

I can't believe that I actually did that, just grabbing her hand and holding it but more surprisingly, I can't believe that she didn't pull away. It felt so natural, so easy despite my nerves. I see her smile and close her eyes. I feel like a freak for looking at her like this but I literally can't stop.

I figure if her eyes are closed I might as well make the most of it. One final, freakily obsessive glance at her and then that's it. No more gawking.

I tear my eyes from the barely light sky to her face. The morning light is just starting to slip over the trees and chasing towards us. It reaches her before it reaches me and I instantly feel the warmth from the sun, but I'm more focused on her.

Her eyes are still closed and the light casts shadows of her long lashes across her upper cheeks. Her skin glows radiantly and her hair, laid across the grass, is spread around her head like a halo. The light illuminates the faint blonde streaks in her hair.

It hits me how striking she is, how different she is to everybody else. Maybe that's why I can't stop starting at her. Why is she so beautiful?
When i'm around her I forget the world is dangerous.
But thats not a good thing.

This whole time i've been surviving for my dad and my sister. We're all that we have left, thats more than most people have here.
But now, now I feel like i'm surviving this for her too, but she distracts me.

Why does she look like this?
Why couldn't she have come out of that traincart looking like a troll or something. Ugh! She's a gift and a curse.

"CARL? ...... MADISON?" A voice shouts from the door of the house. I know who it is before I look up. I recognize my dads voice. We've been gone for hours, I should have known that they would come looking for us, but as I said, she distracts me.

As soon as Madison hears my dad shouting for us she sits up quickly and lets go of my hand as if someone had just set fire to it.
"Here... We're over here." She shouts between breaths, while standing to her feet and raising her hand in the air to show my dad where she is.

"Come on." She whispers in my ear and then she runs into the house. I get up off the ground and run towards the door and my dad is waiting there.
"Where were you? I've been looking everywhere for you." He says sternly.
"I went with Madison for a walk."
"Whats that?" Dad points to Madison's bow as she passed him but nobody answers. It's pretty clear what it is so dad just nods his head and then sighs.

"Just tell me if you're going somewhere next time. I didn't know where the hell you were." He tells me.
"Sorry, i'm okay though."
"Alright, come on there's food in the kitchen and you haven't had a shower yet."
He puts his hand on my shoulder and we walk towards the kitchen. In the distance, as we approach all I hear is yelling.

When I walk in I see Glenn and Daryl trying to keep a straight face and not laugh. The yelling is louder now and I look over to Madison getting yelled at by her mother.

Madison just continues on as usual, making herself a sandwich as if she can't even hear her mother.
"...DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW I FELT? I DIDN'T KNOW WHERE THE HELL YOU HAD GONE AND THEN I FIND OUT YOU HAD RUN OFF INTO THOSE WOODS WITH SOME BOY..."

Madison's mother rants on and on but she just takes a seat and then a bite out of her sandwich. Glenn and Daryl are now snickering and Maggie shoots them a warning glare. Madison obviously not caring, looks around and points to a carton on the countertop.
"Hey Daryl, can you toss me the water?"