After we left the barn, Jenner and I headed back towards the camp.
It was quiet when we got there. No one in sight, except Amy, who was already walking up to et us.
"Are you done?" she asked.
I gave a short nod.
"Yeah. We finished up. Unfortunately… didn't get to figure much out."
Jenner nodded beside .
"I'll revisit the notes later. Might catch sothing we missed."
Amy smiled gently at him.
"Good luck."
"Thank you," he said with a tired smile, then turned and walked off towards the TV.
Once he was far enough away, Amy looked back at . Her voice was quieter now and shaky.
"Is it true? That a walker just… played dead?"
Her eyes searched mine, looking for sothing to hold on to. I didn't want to lie, but I wasn't about to feed her fear either.
"We don't know if it was intentional or so kind of accident."
She nodded slowly. The thought clearly scaring her.
I tried to shift the mood.
"Anything happen while we were gone?"
"Yeah, actually... a lot."
I sighed.
"Let guess, it has sothing to do with Lori."
Amy laughed softly.
"Bingo."
I looked at her and smirked.
"Is there a prize?"
She tilted her head, putting a finger to her lips like she was thinking.
"Nope. Try a harder question next ti."
We made our way to a nearby log and sat down. I finally asked,
"So what happened?"
Amy leaned forward a bit, voice lowering.
"Beth passed out. Everyone thinks it was from shock."
She searched my face for any surprise and, seeing nothing, finally asked.
"You knew?"
I shook my head.
"No. But she's weak, I'm not surprised."
Amy imdiately nudged my foot with hers.
"Hey. That's not nice. You know, not everyone's like you four. She's sixteen. She believed her mom was just sick. That everything would go back to normal, and everything turned upside down for her."
She let out a sigh.
"And now, when she needs her dad the most, he's gone… and Rick and Glenn left to find him."
I blinked.
"You said Lori was part of it?"
Amy nodded like she'd just rembered sothing.
"Yeah. She and Rick got into it, sothing about Carl and you..."
My brows furrowed.
"I didn't even talk to Carl."
"From what I got, she's worried. Says Carl's getting colder. That he said he wants to be like you. He told her how you saved Beth and, well, how you cut that walker's jaw off, and he wants to learn how to do it and join the next ti we kill walkers."
Amy looked uncomfortable as she went on.
"Now, Lori doesn't want Carl anywhere near you."
I just let out a breath. Of course she does.
Amy continued.
"And now she's at odds with Rick and Shane. As both of them defended you."
That actually surprised .
"Shane?"
She nodded.
"Yeah. He agreed with her about Rick leaving… but he didn't think you were a bad influence."
Before I could respond, footsteps crunched behind us. We turned around, seeing Lori walking toward us.
Amy muttered under her breath.
"Speak of the devil."
Lori walked up without even glancing at . Heading straight towards Amy.
"We need your help in the house," she said flatly. "Dinner prep and laundry."
Amy sighed and nodded, standing up. She gave a small wave before walking off.
I was about to get up too, when Lori suddenly stepped in front of .
Her tone changed.
"I want you to stay away from my son."
I tilted my head slightly, raising an eyebrow.
"Does Rick feel the sa way?"
She stiffened, voice rising a notch.
"I'm his mother. And I'm telling you, I don't want you around him. I don't want you influencing him anymore."
I just nodded slowly, more to end the conversation than anything else.
"Sure."
I stepped past her, but couldn't stop myself from adding one last thing as I walked away.
"Oh… and tell Shane congratulations. On becoming a father."
I didn't look back, but I could feel it, that sudden silence, the sound of her just stopping.
I glanced back and saw her staring at my back, frozen, wide-eyed, like she'd just been hit with a brick.
I smiled a bit in satisfaction and continued walking away.
I didn't have anything better to do, so I laid back under the tree in the shade, slowly sharpening one of my kunai. The steady rhythm of tal on stone helped pass the ti.
But I could feel eyes on .
When I glanced towards the tree line, I spotted Sophia standing there. Half-hidden, staring right at .
I t her gaze, and she froze like a deer caught in headlights.
"You need sothing?" I asked, keeping my voice low and as gentle as I could manage.
She hesitated, then slowly walked over, her hands tucked behind her back. For a second, I thought the walker scene earlier had scared her off. Maybe she was afraid of now.
Then she pulled sothing from behind her and held it out.
A flower crown.
"I, uh… I made this for you," she said. "Carl said you wouldn't wear it, but… I thought maybe you would."
Her eyes dropped a little.
"If you don't like it, it's okay. You can just throw it out."
I stayed quiet for a second, then slowly stood and walked over to her. I crouched down so my head was at her height.
She lit up instantly, a bright smile stretching across her face. With a little giggle, she reached up and placed the flower crown on my head.
I stood back up and gently patted her head.
"Thank you," I said softly.
We walked back to the shade and sat under the tree together. She talked while I kept sharpening my gear, mostly just listening. Stories about school, her cat, the world before all this. Her voice filled the space like warm sumr sunlight on a cold night.
An hour passed before we finally stood up, stretching and brushing off the dirt.
We started heading towards the house, walking side by side.
Then we heard soone yelling in the distance.
"I'm gonna fucking skin you alive!"
We both turned at once.
Daryl was storming toward us, his hunting knife already in hand, eyes locked on like a wild dog with a target.
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🧪 Author's Note:
Thank you all so much for the support — we've officially passed 300 power stones!
Hope you enjoyed this one! Let know what you thought of the story and the character interactions in the comnts — I always love reading your reactions.
Thanks again for reading 🖤
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