» Time To Pretend « | » Carl Grimes «

» A NEW BEGINNING PT.1 «

It's Going Great

Familiar wails woke me up from my light sleep, the piercing noise making me wince as the sun danced in my eyes. My hand blindly reached out to the other side of the bed, feeling around until I hit something solid.

"It's your turn." I groaned, my words muffled by the pillow I buried my face in.

Carl rolled over with a sleepy smile, his arms stretched above his head as he yawned. "It's been my turn all week." He commented, pulling the sheets back and shuffling from the bed.

My eyelids turned orange from the light of the sun, a content sigh escaping my lips as he pressed a delicate kiss against my hair. "Morning." He mumbled, the click of the door following as he left the room. "She's hungry!" He finally called as the cries diminished into desperate whimpers.

My eyes cracked open as I heaved out a sigh, catching a glimpse of the nightstand clock.

'6:17 on the dot.'

I flipped onto my back as Carl walked back in, his arms gently cradling a blonde haired baby. Her blue eyes gleamed with unshed tears as she reached out toward me, her hands clasping until they found the fabric of my T-shirt. My finger brushed against her damp cheek, encouraging a smile that showed her toothless gums.

"Listen, kid. There's this thing called sleep, it's something grown ups need to do so they can take care of little people like you, okay?" I settled her against my hip, the words falling on oblivious ears as she chewed my finger absentmindedly.

Carl sat on the bed with a huff, his hand floating around her hair as he skimmed the wispy white curls. I could see so much care and adoration in his expression just by looking at her, it made me love him even more if it was possible.

A sharp knock on the door started a new cycle of screams, the loud noise startling the baby. Maggie peaked her head through the crack, an apologetic smile on her face. "We're leaving in ten."

»« »« »« »«

I thought learning all of modern medicine was hard until I finally got on a horse. Don't get me wrong, it was a lot of fun, riding at speeds a car couldn't match in this world. But I had been thrown off enough to know you don't mess with this kind of animal unless you have some kind of death wish.

I assumed Rick's past experiences as a small town police officer were useful now as he dashed ahead of the group, his club swinging out as a walker crossed his path. He circled around the body, rejoining us as we trotted at a slower pace.

He met my eyes before his gaze drifted towards the back of the group, a smile on his face. He may have looked different, with his gray hair and prickly beard, but his smile would always stay the same.

"Late night?" Rick asked, causing me to glance back at whatever made him so amused.

Carl's horse trotted a few feet away from the pack, the animal walking in an almost zig zag pattern as he struggled to steer it. His head hung low and I didn't need to see it to know his eyes were shut, the hat on head slipping occasionally. I was concerned his entire body would fall off the saddle when he suddenly snapped awake, speeding up to join the rest of us like nothing happened.

"More like early mornings." I groaned, rubbing the exhaustion from my eyes. "Every day at 6:17 all I hear is Heather screaming. It's been easier since we got to Hilltop, I kinda don't wanna go back. Enid's a great babysitter."

The Sanctuary was a place that I never wanted to set foot in, but after a lot of convincing from both Rick and Carl, I agreed to relocate to the leaderless community. There were still people there, and they needed someone to guide them towards a life better than the one Negan showed them.