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"You're leaving?"
She halted before reaching the towering gates. She squeezed her eyes and let out a rough groan which she hoped he couldn't hear, the disembodied voice of her father. She didn't have to turn to see the discouraged look, knitted brows and slight frown of the lips. But she did, anyway, as if to face up to what she did to him.
"I have to."
Once he saw her expression, reddened eyes and dark bags, his features shifted from crestfallen to confused. He shuffled his feet and glanced back at the community. She bet he would do anything to have her back there, safe and sound, in bed where nothing could hurt her. Where the cruel world couldn't taint her.
"Why?" He set jaw indicated defeat. She was an adult, and he couldn't do anything to stop her. "Why do you keep leaving?"
You'll know soon enough. "Just... for now, dad. I need to go."
With that, she stepped forward and pulled open the rusting gates. The sound echoed through the vacant streets of Alexandria.
"Please don't go."
That stopped her. The weakened voice of the only unbreakable person she'd had in her life, begging for her to stay. He'd reached his limit, and she'd pushed him there. It was time to face the facts.
She turned and hung her head, fiddling with her fingers, and tried her hardest not to meet his gaze. She knew if she did, she wouldn't be able to make it out the gates.
"I need to tell you something, dad. And i'll do it when I get back, but I need you to let me go right now."
The nod he gave was tentative and feeble, as if he were suppressing every urge to grab her and drag her back where she would be safe. Where he could protect her, like a father does a daughter.
"Take someone."
"What?"
"I won't be able to concentrate today if you don't have somebody with you. Please, just take someone."
She looked at the ground. How could she turn that down? Such a simple request. There's no way she'd be able to pull it off. Then she remembered.
"Okay. I'll take someone."
The smile was small, but she noticed it, and it meant everything to her.
"I wish you could help us take down Negan."
She swallowed hard and looked toward the canopy of trees, that peeked above the walls. Her stomach filled with nerves each time he said his name, filled with pure venom and animosity. She'd do anything to change that.
