𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐈𝐑 𝐎𝐏𝐏𝐑𝐄𝐒𝐒𝐈𝐎𝐍 ➳ 𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐥 𝐆𝐫𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐬

Chapter 16 ~ No Book Club for Daryl

The next few days went by faster than I had anticipated. I even got to know some of the Kingdom's civilians - a little boy named Henry and his older brother, Benjamin. Henry had taken an instant liking to me and I admit, I'd become attached to the cute little kid. What I didn't know though was that his brother had taken a liking to me as well. It was amusing to see Benjamin stutter over his words when I was around. I hated to break his heart but I knew I had to - I couldn't just let him think he had a shot with me when I was with Carl.

And so, I had broken it to him gently. Poor thing, he didn't take it that well though and now, I was down one friend in this strange community. So, needless to say, I'd been staying in me and dad's guest room quite a lot. Someone had even laid out some books for us when we'd come back in one day. I grinned as I spotted them on the nightstand and instantly grabbed one before belly-flopping down onto my twin bed in the corner.

Daryl just rolled his eyes in response to the books, "I ain't gonna do no book club with these people,"

I chuckled at his words, shaking my head before he spoke up again.

"I'm going out to talk to Morgan. You alright in here?" he asked, stepping into the doorway.

I nodded once to him, meeting his gaze briefly before my eyes flitted back to the pages of the book in my hands. With that, dad exited the room and I smiled, my fingers brushing across the paper lovingly. It had been forever since I'd last read Alice in Wonderland. Sadly, when mom had passed...everything had been so sudden, I hadn't had the chance but to take a few of my belongings with me. And unfortunately, Wonderland had been left behind in the house we'd squatted in that day. I read for a while and time seemed to slip away from me.

Before I knew it, the clock had changed from 12 PM to 2 PM. I sighed, knowing I'd have to get something to eat soon. I was just about to delve back into my book then...until I heard loud thumping coming from outside. I frowned and glanced up from the worn pages. Waiting a few seconds, the sound came again and I let out a frustrated sigh, knowing I'd have to check it out. I heaved myself up from the bed and quickly exited the room.

It took me a few minutes to navigate the hallways before I finally found me way outside. The thumping had apparently been crossbow practice. And from the looks of things, dad hadn't lost the hang of it. I clapped approvingly when he hit his target and he smiled, proud of himself.

"Looks like you still know how to use that thing," I said, nodding to the crossbow in his hands.

He shifted the weight of it around in his hands and nodded as his fingers ran the length of it.

"Just like ridin' a bike," he shrugged, his thick Southern accent sticking to the words like glue.

I smiled as I came to stand in front of him, hands in my pockets. He was silent a moment and I could tell he'd been thinking.

"What's up?" I asked, cocking my head to the side slightly so that my dark hair fell in a curtain across the side of my face.

"You up for a little adventure?" he questioned me and I shot him a smirk.

"Always." I replied simply.