Together ~ A Carl Grimes Fanfiction

Chapter Twenty-Five

That night, Carl and I share a bed. My mum doesn't approve, I can tell, but she dohiesn't stop us. She pulls me aside and talks to me quietly. "I'm not going to antagonize you. I do trust you and I know that you are responsible; I just want you to think before you do anything. Ever. No matter what it is. You just think about what you are doing. If it feels as if it's not right, don't do it. This world can ruin anybody, but you're not anybody. You're my little Kaity. No matter how big you get, you'll always be my baby, and you'll stay mines forever. I love you." she says, hugging and kissing me, the way only mothers can.

"Thank you. I love you." I tell her. I kiss her on the cheek. Wow, two approvals in one day. The world's more messed up than I thought. I walk into the room and close the door. Carl is taking off his shirt, like he always does at night. "Turn around, I have to get changed." I tell him. He does. I switch my skinny jeans for a pair of shorts, and remove my shirt, revealing a tank top that I wear underneath. I walk to the bed and crawl under the covers. It's a nice thick duvet. Carl climbs in after me. He wraps his arms around me and pulls me close, something I hated before the apocalypse, but now it makes me feel safe.

He kisses my lips, then making his way to my jaw, and throat, and neck. I have to push him away. I'm not ready to be as close as that yet. He understands and instead he wraps his arms around my waist and nuzzles my hair. I begin to fall asleep, our breathing matching pace. Carl must think I'm already asleep because he leans in to my ear and whispers, "I love you. You'll be safe with me. I promise."

******

Tyreese's POV

"Look what I found!" says Mika, grinning. She holds a rag doll up.

"What are you going to call her?" Sammy asks her.

"I'm gonna name her... Grisselda Gunderson!" She laughs and they both run off.

I turn to Carol, who's cracking pecan nuts. I look around and Lizzie has gotten up and followed Sammy and Mika. "Lizzie's strong," I say, quietly.

"With people, yeah."

"What d'you mean?" I ask. I don't know what she means.

"You haven't seen it, with the walkers?" I shake my head no. "She doesn't see what they are. She thinks they're just different."
"What about Mika, she the same?" I ask.
"She's worse; she doesn't have a mean bone in her body."

******

Sammy's POV

"Come on Mika. Sammy, you too. We're going hunting," Carol says.
"I'll come too," Lizzie says.
"No, Tyreese needs you here; you know how he is with little Judith," says Carol firmly.

We walk outside, past the fences. The woods isn't far from Pecan Grove, and Carol leads the way. My feet go to auto pilot and my mind wanders.

When I begin to listen to what Carol is l saying, I have to pay attention. It could apply to me
"...you're little and you're sweet and those are things that can get you killed. Now you can't change your size, but you have to stop being so sweet."
"We might be small but we can run, so we can stay alive." Mika argues. And she's right. They both are.
"No. My daughter ran and it wasn't enough. That's why I was teaching the kids at the prison to do more." Carol says, the hurt showing in her eyes.
"I'm not like my sister. I'm not messed up." Mika yells. I know that Lizzie isn't exactly right in the head. I saw her slaughter a nest of baby rabbits one night. I didn't say anything because she's four years older than me. "...I know what those things are, but I can't kill people. Killing people is wrong. Someone killed Karen and David. Just killed them. Back at the prison, some bad people were shooting at Tyreese. A man and a woman. I held up my gun but I couldn't pull the trigger." Mika continues. I shot the man. He was going to kill Tyreese. Lizzie must've got the woman, if Mika never pulled the trigger.
"You'll have to kill, at some point. What about the people that got the people we knew?" Carol asks us.
"I feel sorry for them." Mika simply says. I don't answer because I know what it's like to kill someone and I know that I don't like it.

We walk in heavy silence until Mika breaks it. "Look," she says, gesturing at a deer. "My mom used to say: Everything works out the way it's supposed to."