"Good. Now I want ya to go back with Carl to his house, alright? Go watch Judith," Daryl said.
Cassie nodded, before freezing. "What about Spencer?"
Daryl clenched his jaw. "Just go with Carl."
Cassie sent a worried glance to Spencer. Before she could say anything, Carl lightly pulled on her wrist. "C'mon."
~~~
The walk back to his house was silent. Carl's hand never left her wrist, and to his shock, she didn't shake it off.
He opened the door, letting her walk in first. Cassie immediately went to Judith who was giggling at her toys.
"Hey, Judith," Cassie said softly, kneeling so she was eye level with the toddler.
Carl shut the door, before walking over to the couch and sitting down.
Tears continued to occasionally run down Cassie's cheeks, as she forced a smile for the small girl.
Judith grinned at Cassie, raising her arms.
Cassie chuckled, sniffling a bit. She stood up, before reaching down and picking Judith up.
Judith squealed happily. When she saw Carl, she began pointing and leaning out of Cassie's arms.
"Okay, okay, hold on a sec," Cassie said, making her way to the couch. Sitting next to Carl, she handed over the kid.
"Hi Judith," Carl said in a baby voice. "Were you having fun playing with your toys?"
The girl nodded still smiling. She reached out for Cassie, causing Carl to groan.
He handed her off to Cassie, who grinned.
"Guess I'm not cool enough for her anymore," Carl joked.
Cassie smiled. "You never were. She just tolerated you 'till she found someone cooler." She faced Judith's grinning face. "Isn't that right, Judith?" She said, also in a baby voice.
The toddler giggled, causing both Carl and Cassie to give small laughs in return.
Cassie turned Judith around and sat her in her lap. "Why don't we read a story?" She asked. Judith nodded enthusiastically. Turning to Carl she started to ask if he had a book nearby, when he already started to hand her a few to choose from.
"Which one does she like best?" Cassie asked.
Carl stared at her. "Whatever gets her to sleep the fastest."
"Terrible answer."
Carl shrugged, watching as Cassie thumbed through the covers of the books, before finally landing on a princess picture book. He crinkled his nose in disgust.
"We are not reading her that," He said, going to take the book from Cassie's hands.
"Why not? It's a classic," Cassie replied, moving the book out of Carl's reach towards Judith. "Who doesn't love a good Mulan picture book?"
"Me."
"Yeah, well, too bad."
Carl groaned. "Why that one anyway?"
Cassie shrugged. "Dunno. My dad used to read it to me all the time when I was little. Maybe Judith'll like it too."
"What'd you like about it?"
"She was the only princess who fought. She could take care of herself. She protected her family. I guess I liked the idea of how she didn't need a big, strong prince to save her." Carl stared at Cassie, something she noticed. "What?"
Carol shook his head. "Nothing."
"Whatever." Turning her attention back to Judith she said, "You ready Jude? Wanna read Mulan?"
The girl squealed excitedly, which Cassie took as a yes.
"Jude?" Carl repeated to Cassie.
"Yeah. She needs a good nickname. Like the Beatles' song."
Carl made a face. Cassie groaned. "Oh come on, don't tell me you don't like the Beatles."
He stayed silent causing her to groan again. "What a sad, sad, childhood you must've had, Grimes. Missin' out on great stuff."
"Whatever. Gimme that," He reached over her and grabbed the book from her hands.
"Hey!"
Judith stared at the two confused. Cassie was about to rip the book from his hands, when Carl opened it to the first page.
"Once upon a time..." He began.
Cassie smiled, holding Judith as they listened to him read the story.
Carl didn't even make it halfway through the book when Judith fell asleep on Cassie, the girl's head resting on the older girl's shoulder.
Carl stopped reading when he saw them. Cassie yawned. "Am I really that boring? We didn't even get to the good part yet!" He said.
Cassie smiled. "Thought you didn't like the book?"
Carl's face heated up a bit. "Forget it."
He put the book down, as the two sat in silence watching Judith sleep.
"You know," Cassie said quietly, causing him to look at her. "She's never going to have a normal life. Like- this world, it's all she's ever gonna know."
"I know."
"This world sucks," She stated, looking down at Judith. Carl kept his eyes on Cassie. "She deserves to grow up somewhere safe, where she can have a normal life, friends..."
"Boyfriend," Carl finished quietly.
Cassie sighed. "Yeah, or girlfriend too."
"Yeah."
Cassie suddenly felt like crying- which she hated, seeing as she's already cried a lot, and in front of people.
She used her free arm to wipe her eyes, stopping the forming tears from falling.
"She'll be okay," Carl said. "She's got everyone here to look out for her... even when she's older and thinks she won't need it."
Cassie looked up into Carl's eye. She knew they weren't just talking about Judith anymore.
YOU ARE READING
Whispers of the Past || TWD
Fanfiction**Seasons 4-6** "You're not. I took care of it; and besides, you don't even know what he did." "Don't need to. All I know is that he hurt you, and that's enough to hurt him." This is a slow burn between Carl x MC (Cassie) ~~~ Rankings: #1 twdfanfic...
