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THEO had started to become accustomed to the overwhelming feeling of fear. You're a crybaby. At least, that's what she told herself every time she felt the warmth of tears welling up in her eyes at the sight of something grim. Her father called her the term at the beginning of the end, forever drilling it into her mind that the only thing she was ever good for was crying. And she believed him. For the longest time, she agreed to the words he said to her. And it wasn't until he died and she became alone when she began to question what he said and if it was true. Was she really weak?
There was only one person in the decaying world that believed in Theo; Adeline Grimes. And right now - the little girl that was once left in her care had no clue if she made it out of the prison alive. Theo survived, she couldn't even remember how, because for some reason everything that happened within the span of the fifteen minutes was all a blur to her. All she could gather was that she was alive. She survived. It was the one thing that every non rotting person had in common. They survived. They were alive.
Not many had a choice. She knew that, too. And Theo also knew how to survive - how to make it out alive. She had been doing it since the start, she saw no reason to give up now. She couldn't. For the sake of the two she was left to survive with. Rick and Carl Grimes. Father and son. One was beaten down to a pulp, which from the stories Adeline had told her, seemed to be an occurring thing in the man's life. And the other, he was angry. Carl Grimes was mad at everything and everyone around him, everything that had happened to him finally piling up and suffocating his mind.
There were days at the prison when Theo would spend time with Carl, they got along quite well - but a minor inconvenience would always disrupt the peace. It didn't matter how serious it was, or if it was serious at all; Carl was like a ticking time bomb. And Theo never understood why, not even Adeline would tell her the reasons of his short temper. The widow would always say the same thing when she started poking around for answers,
"You have to understand that Carl is a lot like you in some ways, Theo. He's witnessed stuff and experienced some of the worst pains... Things that no child should ever have to go through. When he wants you to know, you'll know. He's a good kid. A great one."
And that was all Theo could get out of the woman. And she knew that if Adeline wouldn't tell her, no one would. But now, without having to ask, Theo gained access to one of Carl's reasons. He lost his little sister. The one thing he had sworn to protect and keep safe, he lost. So when he snapped at Theo for attempting to comfort, she backed off and let him be - not because Rick told her to, but because she knew that nothing would heal his pain.
The more she walked between the two Grimes, the more she realized how much she truly loved and cherished the prison. When she felt tense or awkward in a situation, there were people she could run too - places she could hide. But now, she had no other choice but than to face the feelings head on. The tension between Rick and Carl was thick, and Theo was sure she could cut it with a knife if she tried. The son blamed his father for all that happened.
