rag doll | TWD

[4] chupacabra

bless the broken road---rascal flatts

[JJ]

"JJ, hey, what's your plan today?" Maggie asked as we walked out of the house and down the porch steps. 

"I figured I'd help with the search." I told her.

"Just don't get lost like you did Memorial Day."

"Okay, that's on you for not clarifying there's three different lakes within two miles of here." 

Maggie laughed, "I'll see ya later, J."

"Hey, Rick," I turned my attention to my brother who had walked past me in the direction of the group. "How's Carl feeling?"

"Better. Slowly getting his strength back." He told me, "I'm sure he'd love a visit from his cool Aunt JJ."

I smiled, raising my head from looking at the ground, "You sure you and Lori are okay with that? Wouldn't want him to turn into a trashy Avril Lavigne wannabe." Rick looked over to me with an apologetic look. It wasn't the first time he'd heard that. "Don't worry. I've been called worse. Mostly by your wife." 

The number of conversations about me I had heard between them was what ultimately drove me away. I couldn't stand the thought of weakening their marriage just because I couldn't follow some simple rules. 

"She never meant those things."

I bit my lip, scoffing, "Kinda think she did." Rick sighed. "Hey, I get it. I was not the best influence, and you didn't want Carl to pick up bad habits as he got older. "

Rick stopped, "I just never understood what happened. One day you were the JJ who thought crap was a bad word and was in bed reading by 10:00 on a Friday night. And then..."

"Then I was the teenage delinquent JJ breaking into neighbor's houses?" I sighed, "yeah."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be. Wasn't your fault." I held my fist out for a fist bump. "We're good."

Rick fist bumped me, laughed and kept walking. We made the rest of our way over to the group. "Morning, guys. Let's get going. We've got a lot of ground to cover." 

Rick set up the map on the hood of the truck again. "All right, everyone's getting new search grids today. If she made it as far as the farmhouse Daryl found, she might have gone further east than we've been so far."

"I'd like to help." Jimmy walked up to us. "I know the area pretty well and stuff."

"Hershel's okay with this?" Rick questioned. 

"Yeah, yeah, uh. He said I should ask you."

"All right then. Thanks."

"Nothing about what Daryl found screams Sophia to me." Shane announced, "Anyone could have been holed up in that farmhouse."

"Anybody includes her, right?" Andrea asked. Look, I'm a fan of cowboy hats and all, even got a few myself, you know, for frat parties, but hers is just stupid looking. 

"Whoever slept in that cupboard was no bigger than yay-high." Daryl held his hand out to show. 

"It's a good lead." I shrugged. 

"Maybe we'll pick up her trail again."

"No maybe about it. I'm gonna borrow a horse, head up this ridge right here, take a birds-eye view of the whole grid. If she's up there, I'll spot her."

"Good idea." T-Dog complimented, "maybe you'll see your chupacabra up there too."

"Chupacabra?" Rick asked, seriously.