❁ Everyone had escaped certain death when they found her crying on the side of the road, ballads of lost love escaping her cracked lips.
Unbeknownst to her, a boy with a sheriff's hat and a fistful of daisies would inadvertently mend the cracks of...
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𖡼.𖤣𖥧𖡼.𖤣𖥧
The group walked further onwards, wiping their foreheads and panting heavily from the heat that sunk into all their skin. Tilly kept her distance, although she knew her new group wouldn't hurt her she still needed the time to adjust. For so long it had just been her and Teddy on the road trying to find someplace safe and all of the sudden she had a large group, more people to look out for but more people to look out for her.
Suddenly the empty space next to her was filled with the sound of leaves crunching under boots. Looking up she found Carl with a soft expression and a fussy baby in his arms.
"I'm sorry about your friend" he stated simply as both their heads retired to the path in front of them.
"Thank you," she said softly, still feeling that painful tug at her heart at the mention of him. "I mean I had sorta been expecting it for a while" she blurted out, nervous around so many new people she didn't have as much control over her speech.
"What do you mean?" he asked, shifting the child in his arms to his other side so he could face her without obstruction.
"He had a heart condition, his parents never explained it to me properly. Sorta thought that would kill him rather than one of those things" she let out in a desperate ramble, somehow feeling completely comfortable with telling them; I mean what harm could come from it. He was already dead. Carl's head dipped and his face fell with pity. "I'm sorry I don't usually spit out stuff like that to strangers" she frantically apologised.
"Don't be" he smiled softly at the girl "Just because you were expecting it doesn't mean you don't get to hurt" he assured her. Tilly had never really thought that before, Teddy had said so many times that she needed to go on and not think about it and that's why he reminded her every day that he was going to die; so she would have a chance of survival on her own. The echoes of words she had once whispered burned her. 'I promise' escaped her so long ago she thought it was a distant dream. Judith's cooing pulled her out of her thoughts, Tilly's eyes focusing on her chubby baby fingers.
"I suspect she isn't yours" Tilly stated, pointing out how obviously too young Carl was to have a child of his own. He chuckled a bit and looked at the babbling kid.
"No, she's my sister" Carl stated as Tilly reached out her hand to the baby, wrapping her chubby fingers around her pinky. Tilly looked over to Rick who was the obvious father of the two but could not spot a woman who had a clear maternal connection to the baby. Deciding not to comment on it, Tilly just assumed the worst, that seemed to be the most likely truth these days.
As if they had all telepathically communicated it the whole group stopped in synchronicity, everyone silently taking up their own jobs of gathering water, setting traps or finding food. Tilly felt a certain amount of shock at how swiftly and cohesively they had all gotten on with their tasks with minimal communication. Not really knowing what to do she pulled out the can of corn and packet of chips and lay them next to a kneeling Rick. Rick looked up to the girl with a small chuckle escaping him.
