We stare at each other for a few moments, we both know that this conversation will not go the way that either of us want it to.
"So that's really it? You see me again but you won't come with me? You're staying here?" It breaks my heart to say it but I nod, "I'm staying, after this is all over maybe we can visit each other and maybe we can move to Woodbury or you can move here."
She doesn't say anything but she nods, tears silently streaming down her cheeks. "I promise you Lia, I'm not gonna lose you again." She wraps her arms around me tightly as though she's afraid that it's the last time we'll see each other.
"Are you close with Andrea?" I ask her confused as to why she even came with her. "I don't know her that well, but I would say we've been getting close since she arrived. No matter what Merle says, I never slept with the Governor or anything like that. You think he's some monster but after dad never came back... he really took me under his wing. He took care of us."
I feel at a loss, she's so emotionally attached to the governor that no matter what we do she was gonna end up hurt. "And Andrea makes him happy, so I came out with her to look out for her." I nod and send her a tight smile before we walk back inside again.
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Almost everybody was still inside sat around the common area, Merle, Andrea and Michonne were missing. "You're leaving aren't you?" Sophia questions running over tears in her eyes as she hugs me. Everyone was watching me in the same questioning way, they all wanted to know if I was leaving.
The way Daryl doesn't look me in the eye let's me know that he's expecting me to say that I'm going, only Carl is watching me hopefully, everyone else has a grimace as they await my answer. I catch Glenn's eye as I crouch down so Sophia can hug me properly. He gives me a reassuring nod as she sniffles into my shoulder. "I'm gonna miss you so much."
"I'm not going anywhere Sophia." I assure her, "you're not?" I shake my head as she lets me go and smiles up at me. "I'm staying here." I assure her as everyone shares surprised looks with each other. "You're staying?" Glenn asks a smile making its way to his face, "I'm staying." I repeat laughing once he sweeps me off my feet in a hug.
Everyone is beaming now and taking it in turns to hug me, well Daryl was still sat on the table, he nods at me, half smiling before he walks off into the cell block. "I get it." I turn to my sister at her soft words, "I get it now, they love you and you love them. They are family to you." She continues her face softer now, she doesn't look so mistrusting of them, having seen a different side to everyone.
"They could be your family too."
⋅•⋅⊰∙∘☽༓☾∘∙⊱⋅•⋅
Whilst we wait for Andrea to return I introduce Aelia to everyone who was still here. "So what can you tell us about young Selene?" Glenn asks making me roll my eyes, "nothing, I was a very well behaved child." Lia snorts making me turn to her. "Don't lie, Cece was the worst behaved child you could ever imagine."
"You're the one lying now, mom always called me an angel." I defend myself from her exaggeration. "Oh yeah? Mom wasn't calling you an angel when you stole her car and crashed it was she?"
"She is exaggerating." I tell the others who begin laughing, "you did nearly kill us last time you drove Selene." Carl chimes in making me gape at him in betrayal. "Carl?" He shrugs, "you did." Lia laughs with everyone else, "I was a very good driver."
"She always used to say this," Lia says shaking her head, "our dad was teaching Selene how to drive right and so one night she decides she good enough to drive us out to get milkshakes-"
"She kept pestering me to take us for said milkshakes." She was not retelling the story accurately, "don't interrupt. Anyways it's midnight and we've waited for our parents to fall asleep, Selene steals our moms keys and then convinces me to get in the car with her." Shes such a little liar, she wanted to come with me.
"Selene is still the worst driver that I have ever encountered, in my entire life. I remember gripping onto those seats for dear life thinking that these milkshakes were not worth dying over because this girl almost crashed a dozen times and that was just on the way there. Somehow we both survive and get the shakes, everything is going fine and we're almost home until Selene swerves for no reason and we end up going through two of our neighbours fences."
"I did not swerve for no reason, there was a raccoon on the road." I say as everyone turns to me laughing at my embarrassment, "I didn't see a raccoon." Lia shrugs, "because you were too short to see above the dash." She shakes her head.
"So what happened after that?" They ask her invested with the story for some reason. "It's almost two in the morning and so it'd been silent on our street before Selene scared everyone, literally everyone came running out to see what was going on and they find the two of us, I was crying and Selene was just frozen in shock. Mom and dad were so mad but they were more concerned about whether we were okay that we didn't get in trouble that night. The next day however Selene got in so much trouble, she had to go and knock on every single door on the street and apologise for the disturbance she caused. She also got a years grounding and had to work to fix both fences that she destroyed and our moms car."
"Yeah there's no way we're ever letting you drive again." Carol says making me roll my eyes again, "but how will I ever get better without practice?"
"We can't afford to lose anymore of the fencing." She jokes making everyone laugh again. I see movement out of the corner of my eye and when I look I see Daryl is back, he's leaning against the doorway that leads to the cell block. A pink begins to creep up his neck when we make eye contact making me smile at him.
I'm about to walk over when Rick appears beside him, he says something to him and then the both of them leave. Andrea then returns with Michonne, both ladies seeming on edge. My good mood sours knowing that they would be leaving soon and after seeing Lia warm up everyone I desperately wanted her to stay.
