Down by the water • TWD

He Brought Dinner.

Branches pressed in on all sides, the air thick with that kind of quiet that never really meant safe. Somewhere off in the distance, something snapped, a branch, maybe, but it was enough to keep Avery on edge.

She crouched low behind a wide tree, back pressed against the rough bark, her grip tight on the gun in her hands.

Beside her, Carl knelt in the dirt, eyes scanning through the trees. Ranger stayed close, low to the ground, ears alert but quiet for once.

Rick's voice still echoed in her head. Find somewhere safe.

Avery let out a slow breath, trying to steady herself. After a minute, Carl spoke, his voice low. "You think he's telling the truth?"

She glanced at him. "Aaron?"

He nodded slightly, still watching the woods.

She hesitated. "I don't know," she admitted. "It feels...too easy."

"Yeah," he muttered. "That's what I was thinking."

Silence settled again, broken only by the wind shifting through the trees. "A place with walls," Avery went on quietly. "There's food, and no walkers." She shook her head. "Stuff like that doesn't just exist anymore."

Carl finally looked over at her. "But what if it does?"

She met his eyes for a second, then looked away. "...Then I don't know if I trust it."

Ranger shifted slightly beside her, pressing closer into her leg like he could feel the tension. Another pause stretched between them.

Then he spoke again, but quieter this time. "When's the last time you ate?"

She blinked, caught off guard. "What?"

"You heard me."

Avery looked away, focusing on the trees again. "I ate," she said. "Back at the church. When they came back with the food from the old food drive."

Carl didn't respond right away. That was enough to make something in her chest tighten.

"What?" she asked, a little sharper.

His voice stayed calm. "I watched you the whole time." She froze. "You didn't eat anything."

"Yeah, I did." She scoffed lightly, too quickly.

"No," he said. "You didn't."

Her grip tightened on the gun. "Daryl gave me a granola bar."

Carl shook his head. "You took it," he said. "But you didn't eat it."

Avery stayed quiet, and his eyes didn't leave her. "I saw you spit it out when he gave it to you."

The words hit harder than she expected. Her jaw tightened, her gaze dropping to the ground. Ranger nudged her hand gently with his nose. She swallowed, pushing back whatever was rising in her chest. "I just wasn't hungry," she muttered.

Carl didn't look convinced. "You haven't been eating."

"I'm fine."

"You're not."

She shot him a look. "I said I'm fine."

Carl held his ground. "Stop saying that."

Avery shook her head, frustrated. "Saying what?"

"Saying you're fine," he said. "Like nothing's wrong."

Her shoulders tensed. "There isn't."

Carl's voice softened but didn't back down. "Yeah. There is."