Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Truth
Two Hours Later
They waited anxiously in the dining room-- no one knowing what to do or say.
No one had come back yet-- not Rick, not Glenn, not Herschel, not Shane, not Lori.
All the group could do was wait.
"Aunt Nat, do you think they're okay?" Carl asked quietly, leaning his head against Natalie's shoulder.
"I know they are. You're daddy will do anything to get back to you. I know he will. And your mom-- Shane's going after her. And you know how good Uncle Shane is at finding people. That's what he and your dad do-- they save people. Your dad's saving Herschel and Shane's saving your mom-- but I doubt she needs saving," Natalie reassured the boy.
"Are you okay, Aunt Nat?" Carl asked gently.
"Of course, sweetie. Why wouldn't I be?" Natalie lied.
She wasn't okay. She still wasn't over Nicky's death. She wasn't over the affair-- or affairs. She didn't know if she'd ever be okay again.
"Because Nick's not here and you and Uncle Shane aren't together anymore," Carl said simply.
"How did you know about Shane and I?" Natalie asked quickly.
"It's pretty obvious, Aunt Nat. You don't kiss anymore, you always fight-- I haven't heard you guys say 'I love you' in a long time-- and I used to hear you guys say it all the time, especially when he leaves to do something," Carl said as-a-matter-of-factly.
Natalie dropped her head in sadness and frustration.
"Why did you break up?" Carl asked.
Natalie couldn't tell him the truth. He shouldn't have to know something like that.
"Carl, sometimes things happen that we have no control over," Natalie sighed.
"What do you mean?" Carl asked innocently.
"People change. One day they're the kind, funny, gentle man you marry and then the next, you can't even recognize them anymore," Natalie sighed.
"I could still recognize him with the haircut," Carl said, obviously confused.
"Not the haircut. I'm talking about the way he's been acting lately-- and I know that you love him and I don't want to paint a horrible picture of him in your head," Natalie rambled.
"I'm really sorry, Aunt Nat," Carl sighed.
"Yeah, me too," Natalie sighed.
All of a sudden, the sound of an engine rolled into the silence of farmland.
