Don't Leave Me -DISCONTINUED/READ NEWEST CHAPTER-

Her Blond Brother

Judith Grimes was almost four and she knew a lot about the boy they called Andrew.

 He used to call her 'Little Fighter'.

He hadn't been home recently. Carl slept in his bedroom now and he was sad a lot. 

Carl would sit inside and watch her and play with her but whenever her daddy left, Carl would carry her into his bedroom and sit her down on the blue bed. 

There was a picture on his nightstand that Carl would always pick up. He's pull her into his lap and show her the picture every time. 

"This is Andrew," He would remind her. "He's your other brother. He is the one that left you Tank." 

Tank, the massive fluffy bodyguard that guards Judith's room at night. He used to sleep with Andrew, Judith remembers that. 

She also remembers Andrew. He's been there for as long as she can remember. He used to carry her extra paci in his pocket and pull it out whenever she needed comfort. He would carry her from place to place, usually on his back. 

Judith's favorite part about him was his mouth. She liked to squash his cheeks between her fingers and whenever she touched his funny cheek, he's wait and she'd smile up at him. He'd grin at her and that made her feel good. 

So as often as she could, she's lift her arms, waiting to be picked up and once he did, she'd squish his cheeks between her hands and grin at him. 

Then he didn't come home. 

She was left with Olivia while her family left. They returned and took her home. 

She'd waited for her big brother to come into her room with a picture book and hop into the large crib, curling up and reading with her. 

He wasn't the best reader. He stuttered and stammered but he always pointed out the pictures and did funny voices. But he always came and read to her. Sometimes, he even told stories of when he was her age and his family. 

So she waits. And waits. She waits until she falls asleep and is woken up by her other brother. 

"Dew?" Judith's nickname for him fell from her mouth as she looks around for her other brother. The blond haired one. 

"Andy-" Carl chokes. "Andy doesn't sleep here anymore. He's not coming home right now." 

Judith didn't like this answer. She cries. 

She cries and she cries, wailing for her blond brother. She's passed from person to person as they try to comfort her but Judith pushes them away. 

She wants the extra paci in her brothers pocket. 

Carl eventually moves the picture from Andrew's bedroom to hers. If she stands in her crib, she can see the picture on her nightstand. 

Carl reads to her now. She doesn't like it. He doesn't do the funny voices and gets frustrated when Judith won't stop screaming for her other brother. 

He came to visit once. He smelled funny and looked different but it was her brother. She wants him to hold her but he doesn't do it. 

He tells Carl that Tank is hers. 

Tank was his dog. Judith knew that. Tank wasn't hers. 

He's gotta come back for him. 

Carl tries to please Judith. He takes her outside one night when she fussed, knowing exactly what the issue was. He sits in a rocking chair on the porch and gently rocks them. 

"Look Judy," He captures her attention as he points to the sky. "You see the stars? Right now, Andy is probably looking up at the very same stars." 

And like that, Judith has another think to remember her blond brother by.

It became a ritual for Judith to mention her brother whenever she would do something and she would be reminded of him being there. 

"Dew?" Judith points to the empty chair at the dinner table that had a few books propped on it so that he could properly reach the table. 

"Daddy, Dew?" Judith pats her brothers closed door. 

"Dew read?" Judith holds up the weathered storybook to her father. He just shakes his head. 

She was almost four. Her birthday was soon. 

"What would you like for your birthday, Judy?" Carl questioned. "A new stuffed animal? A story book?" 

Judith looks up at him, clutching the stuffed animal from Andrew tighter. "Dew." 

Judith doesn't care what anyone else says. She just wants her brother. 

She waits at night for him to come home, even though she knows somewhere deep inside that he isn't coming into her room. 

It's when Tara babysits her that she realizes why her brother isn't coming home. 

Judith was in Tara's kitchen when she sees it. There's a Polaroid picture on the fridge. It's Tara, Glenn and Andrew. 

Judith walks over to it, patting it as she looks up at Tara, calling out to her. "Dew?"

Tara turns from where she was preparing a sippy cup for Judith. "Yeah. That's Andrew." 

Judith finally asks the question that no one would answer. "Where?" 

Tara sets the cup aside with a sigh, rubbing her face with her hands before she scoops Judith into her arms. "C'mon kiddo. I reckon it's time that you know where your brother is." 

Tara carries Judith outside and down the sidewalk. She carries her to the large metal wall. The same wall that her father and brother kept telling her to stay away from. 

"Over these walls, on the outside, Andrew is with another group," Tara tells her. "He's with some bad people because he doesn't share the same mom and dad that you do." 

Judith doesn't understand. She doesn't know why having the same parents makes you brother and sister. 

"You have a daddy that loves you very much. Andrew has a different daddy than you but he wasn't a nice daddy. He took Andrew away," Tara carries Judith up the ladder and into the watch tower. 

Judith had never seen over the top of the fence before and watches the outside, hoping to catch sight of her brother. 

"When Dew coming?" She looks up at Tara. 

Tara takes a deep breath. "Hopefully soon." 

Soon. Her blond brother would be home soon. 

Hey, sorry for not updating for a while. I've got a serious case of writers block and welcome any suggestions. 

~C.