the claimed child-the walking dead

chapter nine//one of them

rick and michonne were officially employed-as employed as one could be in the middle of an apocalypse. they were to be the law enforcement. it would be easy for rick, as it was something he was familiar with. michonne had no police experience, but she would do well-she was smart, and kind. daryl was out in the woods with rick and some others, speaking of grown up things-plans, how this new way of life was going, how alexandria was being run by ignorant people who didn't know of the outside world and survival. tilly found herself in the garage classroom, with an open book in front of her. the teacher was trying to test her knowledge-see how far along in her studies she was. but it wasn't very doable, as tilly wouldn't communicate. she refused to engage in the classroom, and she sat at the table all day, leaving once class was dismissed and making the walk back to the large home she shared with daryl. once there, she would read the books that were upstairs, or relish the clean hot bath water. she also liked to draw pictures, but only in the safety of the people she had come to know as family. strange children, grown ups she didn't know and teachers who got in her personal space were not so. she didn't have much desire to fit in and be like the others. sure, she wished speaking came easier to her-it would make her life a whole lot easier. and she envied those who were able to brush a stranger on the arm and not flinch away in fear and want to scrub away the memory of a dead man. but she did not want to be like the girls who wore ribbons in their hair and gossiped about boys, or the boys who pushed and shoved and teased the girls. they didn't know how hard life could be, how stupid the things they cared about were. 

//

finger painting. that's what the teacher was proposing the class do now. tilly stared up at the woman who clutched a stack of paper to her chest, open bottles of paint in the other. the children snickered and stared at tilly as the teacher gingerly set down the supplies in front of the girl, who remained stock still. "have you ever finger painted before?" the woman cooed, as if tilly were a baby. she knew, of course, that the child wasn't going to answer. tilly thought it was stupid-to run your fingers through paint and streak the paper with ugly blotches of color. she did, however, want to taste the paint, and the second the teacher turned her back, she reached a delicate hand forward to swipe a blot of blood red paint, bringing it to her nose first-the scent was detestable! and then she licked it-straight off her finger. the classroom giggled, and she felt fingers pointing at her. the teacher whirled around, a look of sadness on her face as she judged tilly's odd behavior. "oh, sweetheart. paint isn't for eating. if you're hungry i can make you something from the kitchen?" her brows quirked as tilly froze with her finger in her mouth, blushing red from the attention of all eyes on her. she was angry, suddenly, with everyone staring at her and making her feel stupid and small. she clapped a hand down suddenly in the middle of the paint, a dripping red handprint left behind as she stood, and ran out of the room, all the way back to the house where she resided with daryl.  strangers tossed her odd looks as the barefooted girl with a dripping red hand trotted down the street with a look of panic on her face. 

//

there was a party. it was odd, seeing everyone dressed in nice clothing, hair styled and faces civilized. daryl was still nowhere to be found-tilly had found the home empty, and she had washed off her hand and lied down for a nap, waking only when rosita knocked on her door with the party invitation. she had shaken her head, but rosita had explained on bent knees, crouched to the girls level, that deanna wanted her there. tilly had sighed, and followed rosita reluctantly. tilly rebelled in the fact that she was the only shoeless person there-nobody dared try and shove a pair of shoes on her feet-she'd scratch to the death. she stuck close to rick, standing far behind him, angled so not many people could see her. rick himself felt for the child, and he didn't acknowledge her small presence behind him, as he didn't want to snuff out the spark of her inkling of trust in him. "rick, this is my husband." a blonde haired woman motioned to rick, and lo and behold it was the doctor from the other day. tilly blinked as the man waved to her. "why, hello there. i was wondering how you were doing. how's the hand?" he glanced at her wrist, which was still wrapped, and she tucked in behind her and scooted back behind rick, the feeling of wanting to hide only growing with this sudden attention. it was then that rick, too, looked at the child's wrist with concern. "what happened?" he asked the doctor, keeping his gaze on tilly, as she blinked up at him in silence. "she had a nasty fall-your man daryl brought her in the other day. she's quite a skittish one ya got there. wouldn't let me touch her." he shrugged, laughing politely to shake off the awkward situation. "well, thank you for taking care of her." rick smiled, though it didn't quite reach his eyes. he was still adjusting to this new situation, too. he was possibly the most wary of them all. "i had daryl put the wrap on for her, she seemed to do okay with that." pete continued, speaking about her like she wasn't there. tilly rolled onto the balls of her feet, tipping her head up to yawn. all this grownup talk about her was beginning to bore her. "oh, someone's sleepy. is it you're bedtime, little one?" the blonde haired wife of pete asked, cooing at her. tilly stared blankly at the woman, not caring for her condescending tone. papa had always spoken to her in a way that made her felt heard, and as if she were just as smart as he was. these new people liked to talk down to her, like because she didn't speak it meant she was stupid, or something. pete then decided it was time for a drink refill, leaving just rick, the woman, and tilly, who hung back and twisted her fists in the collared black dress daryl had made her put on this morning. it wasn't like he gave a shit what she wore, but the community had sent up some clean clothes in her size, and carol had told him to dress her presentably for school. in daryl's mind, a worn t shirt and some jeans would do just fine for school, but carol had helped him pick out some nicer outfits for the week. 'so she'll fit in more', carol had said. daryl had grunted in response, throwing the outfits over his arm and bringing them to the girls room, laying them on the desk near her bed. he hadn't seen her face when she saw the clothes, but he imagined she wasn't thrilled. she seemed more of the wild type, not one for fancy high collared dresses and such. but she hadn't fought him when it was time for school, she simply reluctantly dressed herself, ate cereal silently at the table, and walked down to the schoolhouse garage when the clock hit seven. 

//

it was late. tilly sat, pressed into the corner of a wall, ignoring the stares of people as they left the winding down party. jessie-the woman pete was married to, cradled baby judith as she spoke to rick sotfly. tilly's eyes began to close, and she fought sleep as it came to her, shaking herself awake, wary of every footstep, every new voice. but soon it overtook her, and she dreamed of joe. loud voice in her ear, rough hands on her bony hip, sharp pain inside her as joe shoved himself into her. naked and bare, as joe pressed his lips into hers, tugging on her pale hair. she gasped, lurching forward, awake again. rick turned, jessie too, and they stared at her, brows knit in concern. she heaved, breathing fast, cheeks flaming with shame. "is she alright?" jessie asked, bringing a hand to her own heart. rick clenched his jaw slightly, blue eyes focusing on the girl. "i don't know. she came from some real bad people." he said in a low tone. he stepped forward, leaning towards tilly, not surprised when she flinched backwards. "hey, we can go now, honey. i'll drop you off with daryl, okay?" his voice was gentle, the one he used back when he was a cop. tilly paused, weighing her options, before nodding, coming to a stand, and following rick.