We Can Sleep Now

Chapter 24

Knocking on the white door of the large Victorian house, I stood on Max's small porch.

The door peeled open, Max steps out of the house, his hair floppin messily onto his head.

"What's up?" He asks, closin the door behind him almost quickly.

"I just wanted to talk, about what happened." I say, in a flash he raises his hands.

"I know, sorry it was my fault, I got caught up in moment and your eyes," babblin on, he stares down at my face and I turn away to avid eye contact.

My face is red.

"No its fine, I was just hoping we could still be friends." I pinch my thumb and index finger together, starin down at my hands rather than Max's face.

"Yes," he states clearly, "I would really like that."

I smile at him and he embraces me in a hug, one that is friendly and involves shoulder pattin.

"Did you want to come over for supper and meet my group?" I figure if we were friends he would eventually need to meet them.

His face pinches up, "Rick Grimes right? The one that's takin this town from Deanna, he's one intimidating guy." I roll my eyes.

"He's not that bad." I guess to me, and the rest of the group he wasn't, but to others eyes he must be crazy.

"And the side one, with the bike." Daryl, I inhale sharply. "He looks like he would rip your spinal cord from your body if you hurt someone he loved," he scoffs, "they both look like that."

"Well your not goin to hurt me, and they don't love me, so they won't hate you." I point out quickly.

He places his hands in his sweat pants pocket, and looks around the street.

"Beth, look at me, I'm a skinny boy that all together had killed maybe twenty roamers."

"We have Glenn,-"

"Which ones that? The Asian one? The one that knocked out Aiden in one punch?" He raises his eye brows.

I give a long sigh, he was right, mostly.

"Just think about it, suppers at 6." I say, grinnin and head off towards home.

"Isn't there a meeting about the walkers in the crater or something?" He asked, "at your place?"

I shrugged, "they'll still be supper."

I hadn't heard of this meetin, and I made a mental note to ask Rick about it later.

The streets are mainly empty, and because I have nothing to do with my time I head towards the gun check out building.

The little bell above the door rings as I step into the buildin, headin up the stairs, wavin to the young attendant at the desk.
I want a gun that is large and powerful.

Lately I've just been wanting to learn more about how to defend myself.

"Beth, what an odd coincidence I run into you hear in this dark makeshift corner no one except burly strange men who feel they are-" I drowned out the rest of Eugene's statement and watched him stock his bag with food.

"I'm just saying, this is crazy, he's taking the town from Deanna, if we kill the leader."

My and Eugene froze, listenin through the thin wall as he tried to peek around the corner.

"What your asking us to do," a hesitant women asked.

Eugene fell face forward, the contents of his bag spillin out in front of him.

His eyes dilated and his chest rose and fell in panick as the man speaking before approached him.

I cover my mouth, stayin fairly still.

The door of the buildin slid open and the sound of the brass bell echoed throughout the room.

A voice of another male spoke, and I quickly recognized it was Rick, and quickly shuffled, peeking around the corner.

In time to see Rick place a gun to a mans head, spitting about him, "trying to take the community from him."

Daryl stood at the foot of the door, and stared down at Rick.

The man gripped the floor, and I could see tears plucking onto the hardwood floor.

The intensity filled the room, as we all awaited Rick to pull the trigger.

"Rick." Daryl uttered, the single word, which was enough to break Rick from his mental state.

It was then I realized the brother hood between them.

Rick put the gun back into his pocket, walkin over to me, which catches me by surprise because I didn't think he had noticed me.

He grabs hold of my elbow and walks me over towards Daryl, his gaze set forward.

"You okay?" Rick asks in my ear.

I nod.

"Okay." He says nodding, "okay." Louder, this time, so that the rest of the people could hear it, a declaration to the end of the ordeal.

We all leave the building.