Future Ghosts • TWD

114. Fraser's Green Hoodie.

For once in his goddamn life, Daryl was eternally grateful that Rosie wasn't where he expected her to be. He expected her to be in the bedroom they'd been staying in, maybe drawing or reading something, no doubt avoiding talking to anyone. But she wasn't there. She was somewhere else. Maybe with Ian, maybe with Henry, maybe playing with Judith. But thank God she wasn't there. Because on the floor in front of Daryl were pieces of green fabric, all piled together.

The fabric just so happened to be the fabric that made up Fraser's green hoodie. Mrs. Johnson had been trying to fix it, sewing up the tear in the side, just before she passed. The job was never finished, and a nice old woman offered to do the rest. Daryl wasn't sure if the hoodie ever got to the old lady or not. Last he'd seen it, it was left in Mrs. Johnson's room, which was now just Liam's. Rosie had been waiting so patiently for that hoodie to be fixed. She'd been doing so well. And now the hoodie was on the floor, cut up into small bits and pieces. Who the fuck had done this?

"Fuck, fuck, fuck," Daryl kept muttering under his breath, trying to figure out what to do. What was there to do? It wasn't like he or anyone else could fix it. On top of that, he couldn't just hide it and pretend it never happened. Rosie would eventually get impatient and ask where the hoodie was and how long until it would be fixed. So what the fuck was he supposed to do? This was a nightmare scenario. This was going to tear Rosie's heart right out of her chest. She was going to freak out. She was going to have some sort of horrible, painful meltdown that Daryl wouldn't know how to stop. Who the fuck would do something like that? Who had done this?

"Hey," Maggie's voice said, startling Daryl just a little bit. Maggie was approaching from down the hall. "We found Rosie. She was just outside, talking to Liam. I told her you're back," Maggie said.

"She can't come in here," Daryl said, turning away from the pile of torn-up fabric to look at Maggie.

Maggie's eyebrows pinched together. "What's wrong?" she asked. Her question was answered when she reached the doorway and saw what used to be Fraser's hoodie lying on the ground.

Before either of them could say anything, two voices echoed from down the hall. "Why're you followin' me?" That was Rosie's voice. "I'm just goin' to say hi to Daryl."

"I'm not following. I'm just going this way, too," Liam murmured in response.

Panicked and unsure of what to do, Maggie stepped back out into the hall. "Hey, Rosie," she said, trying to keep her cool. She wasn't even sure why they were trying to hide it in the first place. Rosie would find out sooner or later. Might as well get it over with, right? "Um, why don't we go get something to eat, and Daryl will meet us down there? Huh?" Maggie offered, conjuring up a fake smile.

Rosie seemed to buy into this distraction until Liam spoke up. "Why?" he asked, raising his eyebrows a little bit. "Are you hiding something?"

After a moment, Rosie's eyebrows furrowed. Yes, Liam was right. Why couldn't she just say hi to Daryl now? He was just in the room. It would only take a moment. And why did Maggie's voice seem so shaky?

"What? What's wrong?" Rosie asked, looking up at Maggie's face skeptically. Maggie didn't know what to do. "Why're you-? What's wrong? What's goin' on?" Rosie asked, becoming more panicked. She stepped forward, going towards the room, and Maggie didn't even try to stop her. When she reached the doorway, she saw Daryl standing next to the bed. He was fine. Why was everyone acting so weird? Rosie looked at Daryl's eyes, just in case there were any eye words she was missing out on. But he was just looking down at the floor. Once he noticed that Rosie was looking at him, Daryl's eyes flicked up to meet hers. She could see the panic inside of them. Her eyes went down to the floor now, too. They landed on a pile of shredded green fabric. It looked like someone had taken a knife or scissors to the green fabric and torn it up.