Scarlett (Rick Grimes/OC)

Chapter 23

Chapter 23 

In the middle of the night, I find myself bein’ woken up by the door ta’ our room quietly creakin’ open. Without sayin’ a word, I watch the silhouette of a thin boy glide through the room, backlit by the slats a’ moonlights peekin’ through the window blinds. I kinda figured Carl would pay me and Rick a visit tonight after I saw how distraught he was earlier. It took us ten minutes ta’ get him ta’ calm down, but even after that I could tell he was hurtin’. He didn’t come ta’ dinner, and when went ta’ put Judith ta’ bed, I saw that his eyes were rimmed red when I told him goodnight. 

I don’t make a move as Carl shimmies into bed between Rick and I, crawlin’ under the covers at the foot a’ the bed and wigglin’ his way up. It’s a well-practiced maneuver, somethin’ he probably did when he was little. His head pops up beside me after a couple a’ wiggles, and Rick still ain’t awake. I decide ta’ let him be and handle this myself. 

“Carl,” I whisper quietly, turnin’ on my other side ta’ look at him directly. He blinks at me with those blue eyes. 

“Sorry I woke ya’ up,” he whispers back. I shake my head. 

“S’fine, darlin’. You OK?” 

“I had a nightmare.” Carl breaks eye contact with me and looks a little embarrassed. I don’t think his plan ta’ come in here and sleep by his daddy involved someone catchin’ him. He’s probably afraid I’m gonna get pissed and kick him out fer actin’ like a baby or somethin’, not that I would.

“Was it about Carol?” I ask him quietly. Carl nods and burrows into the covers a little. He looks like a little child like this. “Was it bad?” Carl nods again and I reach out and pet his hair gently, kind of startled when Carl easily melts into my touch. 

“It’s OK ta’ be upset about stuff like this, ya’ know,” I say, but my words fall on deaf ears ‘cause Carl’s already asleep again. 

{~~~} 

When I wake up in the mornin’, Carl is still in bed and Rick’s gettin’ dressed. 

“Mornin’,” I say quietly, sittin’ up and stretchin’. Carl makes a snufflin’ noise in his sleep and shifts a little, remindin’ me a’ Rick so much that I almost laugh. Rick comes over and gives me a kiss quietly, sinkin’ down ta’ sit by me on the bed. He moves some hair outta my face and I press my cheek against his hand. 

“I’m sorry if he disturbed ya’ last night,” Rick says, noddin’ his head towards Carl. “He hasn’t done that in months.” 

“It’s fine,” I say, ‘cause it is. “He ain’t botherin’ nobody.” I duck my head and give Rick a kiss on the neck. “I woke up last night when he came in here. He said he’d had a nightmare about Carol. He looked like a little child when he told me that.” Gently, I run a hand through Rick’s hair fer a second before I pat him on the cheek and climb outta bed ta’ change. 

{~~~} 

Rick, Daryl, and Michonne leave with Carol before everyone is awake fer breakfast. Only a select few know that Carol’s the one who committed the murder and the attacks, and they’ve kept quiet about it. Rick and Hershel and a few a’ the other main council members decided that it would be best if Carol was dealt with before they let the public know. They worried about riots and uprisin’s, and rightfully so. This is a big deal. People would be divided, and in close quarters like this, that’s bomb waitin’ ta’ detonate. 

People have wondered where Carol’s been, but we’ve explained it away as her bein’ in a kind a’ quarantine ‘cause she’s sick. Nobody really questioned it, especially when I said that I’d seen her and that she was gettin’ better and better everyday. I never knew I was such a good actress before this, honestly. My performance- along with those a’ several other people- is Oscar-worthy, I feel. I don’t know how we kept that little girl quiet about what happened to her, but we have, which is a damn miracle if ya’ ask me. Somebody oughta’ give her a prize or somethin’ fer her work.