BLOODLINES [twd]

{21}

Lucas had lost count of just how many walkers he'd killed.

He cursed aloud when his dull knife was hardly going through the heads anymore. That's when he turned back and trudged on to Hilltop.

Upon entering, things were quiet. He got cleaned up a bit. He went looking for Sasha to use the knife sharpener when Maggie walked out of the trailer- followed by Enid and Daryl.

"Oh, shit," Lucas commented, heading their way.

"Lu," Maggie greeted. "Daryl's here."

"I see that," Lucas said.

Daryl, for once, looked nervous. He already couldn't look Maggie in the eyes because of what happened. Let alone Lucas. Daryl stared at his boots and tapped his foot.

"How?" Lucas asked.

"A friend," Daryl answered- short and vague. "She got me out."

Lucas poked his tongue to his cheek. "You got a girlfriend we missed out on?"

"She's just a friend. Someone.. I think we can trust."

"You 'think'?" Enid asked. "Either we can or we can't.. Which is it?"

Daryl weighed the options carefully.

Bailey helped him escape. She probably kept Carl safe as well- maybe she was the reason Negan brought him home instead of locking him up in the Sanctuary. 

But.. Bailey was also blood to Negan. She was Negan's daughter.

"I don't know yet," Daryl confessed.

"Well, my money's on not trusting, then," Enid muttered.

"We'll cross that bridge when it's time. Right now, we just need to wait."

"Wait?" Lucas repeated.

"Rick still has to come around."

"To fight?" Enid clarified.

"He'll figure it out soon. He always does. He just needs some time."

"If anyone should need time to cope with what happened, it's you," Lucas argued. "Not shit happened to Rick."

Maggie shook her head in denial. "Rick is our leader. Everything we feel, he feels tenfold because he thinks he's responsible for it all happening."

Lucas sighed and stretched his neck.

"You disagree?" Maggie wondered.

"I mean.. maybe if Rick was taking precautions like you were instead of laying in bed most of the day, we wouldn't be here right now."

"That's not fair," Maggie denied.

"What's not fair is the fact that I had to bury my brother," Lucas stated. "So, I'm sorry if I'm not too sympathetic over Rick losing a couple of hours of sleep."

Enid surveyed the situation carefully before stepping up and grabbing Lucas' wrist. "Do you want to help me with dinner? The crate is kinda heavy."

Lucas wasn't stupid. He was blind with rage and grief. He knew that Enid was just trying to stop the situation from getting out of hand and leading to a bigger fight. The last thing anyone, especially Maggie (pregnant and exhausted), Daryl (fresh out of torture and paranoid), and Lucas (angry and wreckless) needed. They were all three in vulnerable states.

--

Upon the arrival of Rick, Michonne, Tara, Rosita, and Carl, Lucas just felt sad.

While everyone traded hugs and reunited, Lucas stood at the back. Michonne kissed Daryl's cheek and Lucas crossed his arms. Rick cradled Maggie in his arms and asked about the baby and Lucas stared into nothing.

"Lucas?" Rosita asked, the first person to acknowledge his existence.

Lucas blinked, feeling empty like an outsider. "Yeah?"

Rosita watched him for a few seconds. Then, she rested her hand on his forearm.

There wasn't anything else said from there. But, they understood everything.

Rosita had just gotten Olivia killed. Negan killed Spencer in front of everyone and Rosita used her single bullet to try and kill Negan. But, she missed because his damned bat got in the way- the bullet lodged into the wood. As a result, Olivia was killed and Eugene was taken by Saviors.

Lucas felt like he didn't belong. Glenn was the one who kept him going. Now that he was gone, Lucas felt like he wasn't seen. Sure, he was a grown-ass man and could take care of himself, but he didn't have anyone to confide in or talk to. 

The others still looked at him like a ticking time bomb. They saw Rosita in the same light. Lucas lost Glenn. Rosita lost Abraham, now Spencer.

Eccentric. Lucas put bruises on Maggie and Rosita got Olivia killed.

Wreckless. Lucas spent his days killing walkers and practicing his fighting skills. Rosita forced Eugene to make her a bullet.

Lucas gives Rosita a short nod. Rosita mimics the action. And just like that, a deeper allyship was made.

𝒶𝓊𝓉𝒽𝑜𝓇 𝓇𝒶𝓂𝒷𝓁𝑒𝓈--

*crawls out of the depths of writer's block and burnout*

this is all i have to offer pls accept my love

*returns to the dungeon of burnout*