𝐁𝐄𝐀𝐔𝐓𝐈𝐅𝐔𝐋 𝐂𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐓𝐔𝐑𝐄 | 𝐝. 𝐝𝐢𝐱𝐨𝐧

𝟬𝟭. 𝗺𝗶𝗿𝗮𝗰𝗹𝗲𝘀 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗻

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐎𝐍𝐄
sandy gives excellent haircuts !

Cassandra Grime's world ended way before the apocalypse. Way before the dead started walking and the living started dying. Her world ended the second the bullet that would inevitably end her brother's life was fired, leaving her nephew fatherless and her best friend a widow. 

But time had passed since then. And she, along with the world, had moved on.

"Carl, the more you fidget, the longer it takes." She spoke teasingly as she ran a comb through her nephew's hair, the manicure kit she always had in her bag coming in handy. Snipping the bits of hair that had managed to escape the comb, she ruffled his hair playfully. 

"I'm trying!" The boy whined, flinching as his aunt continued her work on his hair. 

"If you think this is bad, wait till you start shaving." Shane muttered from his seat on the log in front of them. "That stings. That day comes, you'll be wishing for one of Sandy's haircuts." He smirked, looking the girl up and down as he leant closer to the pair. 

"Awe Shanie, you know I hate that nickname," the girl smirked back playfully.

"I'll believe it when I see it," the young boy snapped back, earning a chuckle from the two. 

Finishing up around Carl's ears, Cassie stood up and gave the boy a wink as she perched herself next to Shane, stealing his hat off his head and putting it on her own, the sun burning down making her feel like a pig roasting on a spit.

"I'll tell you what... since you got through that with such manly dignity, tomorrow I'll teach you something special. I will teach you to catch frogs." Shane told the boy, his face lighting up with a bright smile. Looking to his aunt and then back to Shane, he called over his mom, who was busy helping hang out clothes. 

"What's up baby? Look at your hair! It looks do much nicer now." Lori fussed, taking a seat next to Cassie and wrapping an arm round her shoulders, pulling her into an embrace.

"Can I go catch frogs with Shane?" Carl asked his mother shyly.

"Well, I'm a girl, you're gonna have to talk to him!" 

"It's a one-time offer, bud... not to be repeated." The former officer whispered, holding his finger to his lips. 

"You know," Cassie wondered out loud, "why do we even need frogs?" 

Shane leaned in as close as he could get and whispered to the three. "You ever eat frog legs?"

"And that is my cue to leave." Giving Carl one final hug, Cassandra made her way over to the mud splattered RV, smiling at sight of the old man that stood on top of it, a large pair of binoculars glued to his eyes. Making a failed attempt at wiping the mud from the bottom of her shoes, she climbed up the ladder that was attached to the side slowly, a broken bone would be an inconvenience. 

"Whatcha lookin' at Dale?" The blonde girl spoke, stabilizing herself before she made her way over to the man, him handing her the binoculars as she took a good look, letting out a laugh at who she spotted in the front seat of a bright red sports car, speeding its way up the mountain with its car alarming wailing like a banshee. "Well, I'll be damned."

"Hey Sandy, can you see what that is?" Shane yelled; the others having formed a crowd around the RV.

"Is it them? Are they back? Tell me she's back, Cassie!" Amy's worried voice shouted, the rest beginning to shout too.

"I don't know, but just shut up before you attract a whole herd of walkers god damn it!" Cassie snapped, the whole camp going silent. It was unusual for Cassie to shout, or even simply raise her voice, at anyone. 

The car pulled in behind the RV, it's alarm still blaring as Glenn stepped out from it, his hands covering his ears like a child, and Cassie felt a breath of relief leave her chest. Her best friend was alive. 

"Pop the hood!" Shane stormed over. "Pop the hood damn it!"

"Hey, where's Andrea?" Cassie whispered to Glenn, "Is she okay? Amy's gonna freak!"

"Everyone is fine, ok! And I'm sorry about the alarm, it's just it was a cool car!" He shrugged his shoulders innocently; everyone's attention being drawn to the truck that had stop behind the red car. Seeing Andrea climb out of the passenger side, Cassie ran up to her and wrapped her in a tight hug, Amy following. Andrea, Cassandra would go as far as to say, was her best friend. When the two had first met, Cassie had been a mess, and Andrea had been the one to help her back to her normal self, and she could never thank her enough for that. 

"You sacred the shit out of us," she spoke, pulling herself out of the sister's arms and shaking her head. 

"How'd you guys get out of there anyways?" Shane asked.

"New guy, he got us out." Glenn responded, his face still mourning the loss of his car, that Dale and Shane had begun to tear apart.

"New guy" Shane asked again, clearly bursting with question. 

"Yeah, crazy Va to just got into town. Hey, helicopter boy! Come say hello." Morales shouted behind him, the door to the van opening, and in that moment, Cassandra Grimes knew that a God had answered her prayers. From behind her, Carl yelled, running over to the man and hugging him with all his might, Lori following. Yet Cassie felt as if her feet were glued, glued to the ground that she stood on. She flinched as a hand touched her shoulder, Andrea giving her a push forward. She tried to open her mouth, but words refused to come out.

Words she had wanted to say for years.

The man turned towards her, his eyes finally locking with hers, and that's when the damn broke. He yelled her name, his voice cracking as he ran over to her, his wife and son following in tow. 

"Cassie, oh my Cassie," he cried as he wrapped her in his arms, his tears wetting the shoulder of her t-shirt. Wrapping her own arms around her brother's neck, the blonde girl felt her legs give way as the twins collapsed to the ground. Feeling a small arm tap her shoulder, Cassie pulled her nephew into her arms as well, Lori having already perched besides them.

Cassandra Grimes was whole again.