Future Ghosts • TWD

34. Nowhere to Be.

Daryl, Glenn, and Rosie walked into the house where everyone was gathered. Rosie hid herself slightly behind Daryl, trying to block her eyes from all the light that was hurting her head. It was no use, though, because once everyone saw her, all the shocked and relieved noises they were making hurt her head anyway.

"Oh, thank God," Lori breathed out. She stepped forward towards Rosie, seemingly trying to give her a hug, but Rosie just stepped backwards, not really wanting the hug. The only thing she wanted was ibuprofen and a bed to sleep in. Lori crossed her arms, taking a step backwards and smiling at Rosie instead of hugging her.

"Rick and Shane ain't back?" Daryl asked as they stepped further into the living room.

"No."

"We heard a shot," Daryl said.

"Maybe they found Randall," Lori suggested.

"We found him. Shane snapped his neck," Daryl told them. Rosie stayed by the doorway, even though Glenn and Daryl were moving further into the room. She felt overwhelmed and did not want to be the center of attention at the moment.

"What? He said-" Lori began.

"Nah, asshole lied. Shane brought Randall out there to kill him, and Rosie saw. He knocked her out and left her there as walker food," Daryl explained to the group. Their eyes widened. Some seemed to be shocked and others didn't seem like they believed him.

"You can't be sure of that," Lori said, pinching her eyebrows together with both worry and disbelief.

"What, ya think she's lyin'? Kid's even got a concussion. Look at 'er eyes," Daryl said as he  grabbed Rosie's upper arm and pulled her closer to himself. When they were walking back to the house, Rosie had told him that she felt dizzy, so he shined the flashlight in her eyes to see if her pupils would constrict, but they didn't, meaning Rosie had a concussion, and a bad one, at that.

"Shane wouldn't- he wouldn't..." Lori murmured.

"He did," Rosie said quietly, her voice scratchy.

No one said anything for a good thirty seconds, just wallowing in the silence.

Surprisingly, Lori was the first to speak up. "Would you please get back out there, find Rick and Shane and find out what on Earth is going on?" she asked Daryl.

Daryl nodded. "You got it," he said. He started walking back towards the door and Rosie followed close behind him. When he opened the door, he glanced back, noticing her there. "You're stayin' here," he told her.

"I don't want to," Rosie said.

"Ya gotta. And you're gonna," Daryl said sternly. He turned to go, but Rosie grabbed onto his sleeve. He turned back to her, feeling annoyed, but he held back from showing that he was annoyed because he didn't want to make her any more anxious than she already was. "What?" he asked.

"I don't want you ta go."

"I'll be right back," Daryl insisted. He didn't know how else to reassure the girl. He'd never had anyone worry about him like this before, especially not some little kid. He had no idea what to tell her to get her to calm down and stay put. He wasn't good at this. Rosie still stared up at him, her eyes wide with worry. Daryl sighed, looking away for a moment, and then back at Rosie. "Look, kid, I gotta go do this. I put your bag in the dinin' room. It's got all your shit in there. Go color a dinosaur or somethin' and I'll be back before you're done," he said.

"But Shane-"

"Shane ain't gonna do nothin', alright?" Daryl said. Rosie didn't say anything, just frowning at him. "Now go," he said, nodding his head towards the dining room.