Together ~ A Carl Grimes Fanfiction

Chapter Seven

I wake up screaming. Carl is already sitting up. "What's wrong?" he asks.

"I have this recurring dream... doesn't matter. I had to be gagged, out in the woods, every night, before we came here." I say.

"What's it about?" he asks. I hesitate, unsure whether to tell him. Maybe he'll think it's nothing. Maybe he'll laugh. I tell him anyway.

"I dream of home," I say, "Everything is okay. I'm with my mum and dad, before they separated, and Sammy, Alice, Lana and Seb. My aunties and uncles and grandparents. Even cousins and pets. Everyone I loved. Then, in a heartbeat, it all changes." I'm lost in the dream now. "The walkers come. They bite everyone but mum, Sammy and I. My family rises. They turn on us..." I'm crying now but I have to finish. "We try to kill them but we can't. They all... attack and bite and... and that's when I wake up." Carl puts his arms around me.

"I'm sorry," he whispers, wiping my tears away. "I want to be able to say "it's okay" and "it's just a dream" but I can't. Nothing will ever be okay again but we gotta pick ourselves and each other up. We've all lost people. People that we loved. We have to just put on a brave face and work through it. In a way, you're lucky. You've never had to put someone that you loved down. I shot my mom. That's what haunts me every single night. I did what I had to do but every time I close my eyes, she's there." He bursts into tears. He shot his mother? I don't know how, but he did. I have to put my arms around him, and for the first time, I see how truly broken he is.

"Don't cry. We have to go to breakfast. Come on." I tell him. I pull on a pair of my trousers and tuck a knife into my belt. I tuck another into my combat boot. Carl puts his sheriff's hat on. He tucks his gun under his belt and a knife into his boot. Just in case, I think to myself.

This time we walk together. We're coming from the same cell, so it's okay. As we approach the dining hall, Sammy tackles me from behind. I catch her, pick her up and spin her around. "You two are cute together." She says.

"What?" I ask.

"Kaitlyn, I'm 7, not blind." she states matter-of-factly. "You're wearing his T-shirt." She then rushes into the cafeteria.

"So your sister knows now. Might as well let other people know too." He holds out his hand to me. I take it willingly. I take a deep breath and we enter. We sit down next to each other at a table with Rick, Hershel, Michonne, Sammy, Mum, Beth, Judith, Maggie and Glen. Mum raises her eyebrows at me. "What did I say about no funny business?" she asks, rhetorically.

"I..." I start.

"I'll talk to you after breakfast." she cuts me off.

******

"What is going on with you two?" my mum asks sternly.

"Nothing... I..." I stutter.

"Oh really? Nothing? Well what was the hand holding about?" she persists. "And why are you wearing his shirt?" she says plucking at Carl's T-shirt.

"I wore it to bed last night," I say, "and the hand holding was that I had a nightmare. He was supporting me."

"She likes him." Sammy pipes up.

"Shut up! No I don't. Leave me alone!" I yell, and I storm back to my cell. Do I like Carl? I don't know how I feel. I've only known him for two days.

Carl is sitting on his bunk. "You don't like me?" he asks, looking hurt. "I heard you, talking to your mom."

"I... we've only known each other two days." I say. "It's not that I don't like you, I don't know how I feel. Ugh!" I run outside.

"Kaitlyn!" Carl yells, coming after me.

"Leave me alone." I shout. I run up to the guard's tower. I slam the trapdoor. I punch the wall over and over. I don't know why I'm so angry and if I'm angry with someone else or myself.

Carl opens the trapdoor and I face the corner. The tears come and I don't know why. He puts his arms around me. "I'm sorry," I whisper.

"No, I am. You're right, we only just met, and it's not fair of me to expect anything yet. Let's just see where this takes us." He says soothingly. He leans in to me, his hands grip my waist and he kisses me.

"Ahem. Am I intrudin'?" Says Daryl, opening the trapdoor. "Sorry guys, but this tower is for looking out, not making out." He says, laughing.

We laugh and head out again. This time, I don't care who sees.