Forever ~~ Carl Grimes Love Story (Sequel)

Chapter 63

I sighed, my eyes scanning over Matt's signed name, eyebrows raised. I sighed, rubbing the creases from my forehead. 

"What is it?" Rick asked.

"Read it," I told him, handing over the letter. I watched him read it, his expression turning hard. Rick huffed, pulling out the walkie-talkie.

"Get me Negan," Rick ordered into the device.

"Who the hell is asking?" One of Negan's people asked.

"It's Rick Grimes," Rick said, eyes moving to meet mine.

"Ricky. Look at you, callin' me up. You wanna tell me where you are so we can do this face-to-face?" Negan asked with a chuckle.

"Matt's dead," Rick said instead. Negan seemed to have gone silent, so Rick continued. "He wrote letters. He wrote one to you. He asked you to stop. He asked me to stop. He asked us for peace. But it's too late for that. Even if we wanted a deal now, it doesn't matter. I'm gonna kill you."

"How did it happen?" Negan questioned.

"What?" Rick asked, confused.

"How did he die? Was it us? Was it the grenades? The fire?"

"It wasn't you. Carl went out to help someone, and he got bit," Rick snapped.

"God damn it. Shit. I am sorry. I can't even imagine how Rori is taking it. Man, I had plans for that kid in the future," Negan explained.

"The only future is one where you're dead," Rick said.

"What the hell are you doing, Rick? Why are you fighting? Why are you making this so hard? Matt is dead because of you. Because you couldn't leave shit well enough alone. I mean, hell, maybe he would've died some other way. Any one of us can get our ticket punched at any second, but in this case, he is dead because of you. Because you weren't there to stop him from doing something stupid. You set this course, Rick. Who's next? Aurora? Carl?" Negan asked, speaking each word slowly. Spitting his venom slowly.

"You are," Rick snapped.

"No. But someone is. You see, I stop people from dying. I am the answer. Now, it may have taken a hard lesson for you to hear it, but you should hear it now. It's time. Do not let any more of your shit decisions cost you to lose anyone else. That garbage, that sticks with you forever. Just like Matt will. Hell, I'm feeling it and I'm gonna be feeling it for a while. You could have just let me save all of you. I mean, that's why I killed your friends int he first place. So, you can sit there and you can say that you're gonna kill me, but you won't. You failed. You failed as a leader, and most of all, Rick, you failed as a father. Just give up. Give up because you have already lost," Negan replied, his voice almost taunting.

"Give me the walkie," I ordered, holding my hand out. Rick made eye contact with me before passing it to me. "Negan?"

"Aurora," Negan said in reply.

"Rick may not kill you, or maybe he will, but either way, I'll make sure you're dead. I'm going to kill you, then rip you apart piece by piece until you're unrecognizable. And then, I'm going to feed you to the walkers bit by bit," I spat.

"No, you won't," Negan argued.

"Watch me," I said, letting my finger release the button. Negan stayed silent on the other hand, and I handed the walkie back to Rick, heading towards the van. I pulled the back doors open, letting Carl come over and help me in. Theo was curled up in the corner, knees pulled up to his chest. 

"You okay?" Carl asked me quietly, pulling the doors shut behind me. I felt the low rumble of the van as Rick started it, beginning to drive away.

"Stop asking me that," I said in reply, sitting down. It was dark back here, the only source of light being the small lantern.

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We arrived at Hill top a couple of hours later, quickly pilling out. Carl held Theo in his arms while I walked along side the two. Rick was on my otherside as we watched the doors slowly open. Mom's eyes snapped to me,  and I rushed into her arms. Mom's arms held me tightly as she pulled me closer. "I thought I lost you," she whispered in my ear, her voice cracking.

"I'm strong then I look," I whispered back, pulling away from her. I moved onto Enid, quickly pulling her into a hug. 

"Hey, little sis," Enid said.

"Hey," I replied, breaking away from her.

"Enid, why don't you take her inside and clean her up," Mom suggested, earning a nod from Enid. She wrapped an arm around my shoulders, gently leading me inside. She led me into a small bathroom, only consisting of two sinks and a toilet. I gently hopped up onto the counter, watching Enid grab a towel and run it under warm water, ringing out any excess. My face was covered in dirt and tears, and I'm guessing I looked horrendous. I allowed my eyes to flutter shut as she carefully rubbed at my face. 

"Negan didn't hurt you, right? 'Cause if he did, I'll hurt him," Enid said quietly.

"No. He surprisingly treated me very well," I said.

"Oh."

"Yeah." I opened my eyes for a moment as Enid rung out the towel again, the water quickly turning black. She returned to work on my face in silence. 

"What happened out there?" Enid asked.

"A lot. Uh, Alexandria is burnt to a crisp because of Negan," I told her, sucking in a deep breath. "And, uhm, Matt's dead."

Enid paused before exclaiming, "What?" 

"Yeah, he got bit," I said, my voice shaking as I tried my hardest to contain my tears.

"I'm sorry. God, does Theo..?"

"Yeah, he knows. He was there when Matt died. Or right before he died anyway. Matt shot himself in the head," I explained, feeling my eyes burn.

"Poor kid," Enid cringed, setting the cloth down and opening the cabinet doors. She pulled out a first aid kit. "You have a split lip."

"I know," I said, wincing as she cleaned the wound.

"Sorry."

"Don't apologize. I'm sick of hearing people apologize today," I said. Enid's eyes met mine momentarrily before she nodded. 

"Okay." She threw the bloody wipe away, helping me off the counter.