Jessamine Dixon lives in the apocalypse

Honor

I was rocking with Judith when I heard the door open. She was passed out and I heard somebody hurrying up the stairs.

At first I thought it was because we were leaving right this second. But then Carl ran past the room covered in blood.

"Carl?" I asked. It was the part where he didn't answer that made me worry even more. I stood up and walked Judith over to the crib.

I laid her down and put the blanket over her. I made sure she wasn't going to wake up and then I walked out of the room. Making sure I shut the door carefully.

The bathroom door was shut and I walked over to it.

"Carl?" I asked and there was no response. I sat down and leaned against the banister.

"It would go a lot better if you would  just answer me." I said and the door slowly opened. I jumped up and Carl stood in the doorway.

"No." I whispered and looked at the bite mark on his side.

"How-It-What--" Carl pulled me into a hug and my heart shattered. It felt like I was going to lose everything to this one thing.

"Can you keep it a secret?" Carl asked.

"I can, until you start showing symptoms." I told him and let go of the hug. I wipe my nose and looked at the blood that was now on my shirt.

"Get that covered up, I'll grab you a new shirt." I told him and walked away.

I walked into his room and grabbed him a new shirt. I walked back and the door was closed. I knocked.

"It's me." I whispered and the door opened enough for me to hand him the shirt. I walked back to my room and traded shirts out.

Except with this one I undid one of the pieces of wall and threw the shirt with his blood on it on the bags. I put the wall back and walked away.

Rick and Michonne were looking at Carl not knowing what to do. But there faces wanted to know how it happened and why.

I looked around the corner. Daryl and Tara were just the people that caught my attention when it came to looking at us.

I sat back and brought my knees up.

"I-I don't..." Rick started.

"Dad." Carl said and they got quiet again.

"How..." Rick started asking.

"Dad...it's all right. It's gotta be.
I wasn't sure if you'd make it back before...But just in case, you know..." Carl said while pulling out the pile of letters.

"...I wanted to make sure I was able to say goodbye." Carl said and handed the pile to Michonne. She looked down at it and then back at him.

"No. It's them. It's them. They--They don't--It wasn't..." Rick was trying to say something but he just couldn't. Michonne was crying and looking at the letters in his hand.

"Carl." She said while looking up at him.

"No. No." Rick protested.

"I got bit. I was bringing someone back. His name's Siddiq.
We saw him at the gas station, before...It wasn't the Saviors. It just happened." Carl said and I started crying about it. It was like the first time I was able to actually process it.

Michonne was vigorously shaking her head. I looked up and then back at them.

"I got bit." Carl repeated and I looked at the letters in Michonne's hand.

They laid Carl down on the cot he had brought for Siddiq. Rick was putting Carl's legs up and Michonne was holding his head.