Dead Man Walking | Rick Grimes

|67|

Rick stood next to me, cutting and shaving his glorious beard. I was sad to see it go, but if he felt better without one, who am I to say he can't get rid of it? I ran the brush I had found in the bathroom cabinets through my hair and started to French braid it, wincing at the pulling at my scalp as I did so. Once finished, I adjusted my tank top and tightened my belt a notch more before peeking at myself in the mirror. The woman looking back at me shocked me. My hair looked clean for once. My face and body were tanned from the time we spent outside. My lips looked pink and fuller than usual, still swollen from our enjoyable shower. My jaw looked more defined due to malnutrition, and my neck was slightly red and raw from Rick's hand.

"You look beautiful," I looked up at Rick, only to catch him staring at me, and smiled at him, my arms wrapping around his waist as he finished shaving.

"You don't look too bad yourself, Grimes," I teased, stroking his clean chin. A knock at the door tore me from my trance, forcing me to look at the hallway behind us. Rick walked forward, shirtless and tempting, his footsteps echoing through the house. I rushed behind and joined him as he opened the door, studying the petite blonde woman on the porch with a basketful of items.

"Hi," She breathed, eyes darting between us, "I work in the pantry. Deanna asked me to bring these over for you and your friends," Her eyes landed on me as she said the word friends, a shy smile spreading across her lips. Friend? Who? Me? He was just 7 inches deep inside me and telling me he loves me – Yeah, I'm not just a friend.

"Thank you," Rick muttered as he took the basket from her, "We're just cleaning up," The woman smiled at him and tucked her hands in her pockets.

"I can see that," She cocked her head at Rick, completely disregarding me. Am I invisible or something? "You still have shaving cream on your chin," Rick quickly wiped away the shaving cream on his shoulder, oblivious to how she looked at him. I'm sure she's a nice woman, but can she not? I don't like the way she's staring at him. Do I need to fuck him in front of her so she can get the hint? God damn, what's wrong with me?

"I'm Jessie," She introduced herself, finally acknowledging me again. This is making me uncomfortable. Maybe I'm just not used to people being nice anymore.

"Rick,"

"And I'm gone," I muttered, looking up at Rick. I tiptoed and pecked him on the lips, looking at the woman again, "June, by the way. Nice to meet you," I brushed past her, flashing an uneasy smile as I crossed the yard towards the neighboring house. Glenn, Abraham, and Daryl stood on the porch, quietly talking while Daryl got to work on gutting the possum he had caught earlier. I turned back and watched as Jessie entered the house. I climbed the stairs and leaned against the porch beams, watching Daryl continue working on the possum.

"Didn't recognize you, Little Red!" Abraham boomed, catching Daryl's attention. Our eyes connected briefly, and I could see the hesitation and persistent lack of trust in them. I turned to Abraham and smiled, ready for him to roast me or something. "You clean up well,"

"I think she looks better with all the dirt and muck on her," Daryl muttered as he started to skin the animal. Geez, what's with him? Glenn crossed his arms in front of his chest and smiled, a look I couldn't decipher on his face.

"This kind of reminds me of the time we spent at the CDC," Glenn mused, his eyes distant as he started remembering.

"Yeah," I smiled, "All we need is some wine and MREs," Glenn cringed at the mention of wine, his nose scrunching at the thought. "Poor Glenn was so hungover the next morning," I smirked to Abraham.

"Not a good feeling," Glenn muttered, earning a chuckle from me. Daryl pushed his possum to the side and angrily stormed away, a scoff leaving his lips as he passed me. What's wrong? What did I do? I turned and watched as Rick walked out of the house, his hair now shorter, with Jessie tailing him. She smiled at something he said and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear before walking away from him and the house.