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The light that radiated off of the sun was blocked by the nylon fabric of her tent, knees tucked to her chest in an overwhelming silence. Nearly everyone was out searching for Sophia - but there Adeline was, put on bed rest by Hershel Greene himself. Occasionally, Glenn or Dale popped in to check on her but was usually greeted with a thumbs up or sleeping figure. The Grimes girl knew that resting was the right thing to do, but she felt useless napping when she could be out searching for Sophia. Sighing deeply, Adeline flopped back into the cots frame and craned her chin to the ceiling. Wallowing in her guilt and regrets wasn't how she planned to spend her day, but it was something she was forced to deal with.
The Greene family had found her a set of crutches, the teasing objects lingering in the corner of her tent. The only reason why she had refused to use them was the nagging reminder in her head that she had killed Otis, or had at least helped . What mattered was that she was involved and she could have stopped it but she didn't. One thing that always came above others was the need to keep her family alive. That's her reasoning, those were the words she repeated to herself over and over in hopes of tricking her mind into believing it.
Pressing her hands on either side of her head, she turned over and let out a muffled groan into the soft pillow underneath her. The constant reminder in her mind failed to cease, and all of her attempts proved to be futile. The sound of her tent door opening caused a thumbs up to be sent in the air - "I'm fine, Dale." Adeline guessed the name of her visitor, her words muffled by the fabric of her pillow as she talked.
"If I were Dale, I probably still wouldn't believe that." The voice of her brother caused her body to turn and sit up, eyeing his approach figure with a curious face. Rick smiled softly before motioning towards the empty part of her cot, "I need to talk to you."
Adeline scooted over and avoided her ankle as she patted the spot next to her. "Something happen?" She questioned, feeling the cot shift as Rick sat down and placed his head in his hands. "Are you okay?" The quest of getting an answer continued, eyebrows furrowing in concern for her brother as he lifted his head to meet her worried eyes.
"I just had a long talk with Shane." He informed, which immediately gave her the impression that he knew Lori had cheated on him. This sent nervousness barreling down Adelines spine, sighing deeply while running a hand through her tangled hair, "Rick, I-"
"He wants to call off the search." Rick interjected with a steady voice, crystal eyes settling upon his sister. "He says that my good intentions are making us weaker, that I can't make the hard decisions for the good of the group." His words continued, his sister taking in the information with a conflicted face as she tucked her knees to her chest.
Adeline cast her eyes to the fabricated floor, "I think he's used to being in charge. You know him, he's always been power hungry. Whatever decision you have to make is always gonna be a hard one, that's how this world works." she stated with a careful choice of words. Every time her brother and husband argued, it came down to her. What she said led to what they would do and how they would act, and there was nothing more she hated than that. But no matter what, she wanted and needed to be there for the two men even if sometimes they failed to return that need.
