𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐈𝐑 𝐎𝐏𝐏𝐑𝐄𝐒𝐒𝐈𝐎𝐍 ➳ 𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐥 𝐆𝐫𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐬

Chapter 18 ~ I Didn't Even Have to Look at the Flowers

It didn't take us long to find what we assumed to be Carol's house. It was small and painted baby blue with a pristine white picket fence encircling it. Honestly, it looked pretty good considering we were in the middle of an apocalypse. Daryl walked down the driveway and made his way up the porch steps while I hung back beside one of the wooden beams supporting the roof. I knew she was a close friend of dad's and I knew he trusted her without a doubt. But...but for me, it was a different story.

She had killed Owen and by doing so, also murdered the father of my child. Not to mention, the last interaction we had with each other...well, wasn't the most ideal, to put it nicely. Besides, she still thought of me as a Wolf and that I couldn't be trusted. Even if I was Daryl's daughter. What if she kicked me out? What if she didn't want to see Daryl because I was here? What if-

But all of my questions were put on hold when the white wooden door swung open, revealing a very shocked Carol. Her light eyes met my dad's and her mouth fell open in surprise. Complete silence reigned between the three of us and thank goodness, Carol had yet to notice me hiding in the shadows. Time seemed to still - for just a moment - then suddenly, tears had filled Carol's blue eyes and she strode out of her house. Her hand reached out, sweeping him into a tight hug that made me feel more than a little uncomfortable as the apparent third wheel. The tears finally began to cascade down her cheeks and I could hear Daryl sniffle slightly as they embraced.

I bit my lip, a brief smile sliding onto my face. After a few more seconds, he pulled away and she did, too. Carol sniffed, wiping her face with the back of her sleeve.

"Jesus took us to the Kingdom," Daryl finally said and she nodded before a look of confusion crossed her face, "Morgan said you just left,"

"Us?" she asked, tilting her head to the side briefly.

Daryl bit his lip, saying nothing but instead, moved to the side. Slowly, I inched forward out of the shadows and stepped into the rays of sunlight peeking through the tiny holes in the roof. Carol's eyes widened considerably in surprise. I thought she'd order me to leave then and there. I thought maybe she'd even order Daryl to leave, too, being that he was the one that brought me here. But instead, she surprised me.

A gradual small smile graced her face and even though I could tell it was forced, I could also tell she was genuinely trying. In that moment, it didn't even matter to me if it was just for Daryl's sake and not my own - at least I wasn't being treated like a traitor or some kind of criminal this time.

"I was out here. I saw you... Why'd you go?" Daryl asked her and on the last words, I heard his voice crack with emotion.

Ever so slowly, she shook her head - tears still trekking down her cheeks like raindrops down a glass window pane, "I had to,"

Daryl looked down at his shoes and after a moment, she cleared her throat.

"Why don't you come in?" she asked Daryl, gesturing towards her house.

Giving her a curt nod, he made his way inside. But I hung back on the porch, still unsure of how Carol felt about me. After all, I was an outsider. I...I was part of the group now. But even though Rick, Michonne, Daryl, and the others accepted me...it didn't me she did. She turned to go in the house then but suddenly, her blue eyes glanced back at me. Silence passed between us and I felt my heart lodge in my throat from the unsaid tension.

I knew she was thinking about Owen and what she had done. But gradually, her hand reached out to me and with a mother's gentle touch, her fingers rested on my arm.

"Come on, sweetie." she said, her voice soft.

It took me by surprise for a moment before finally, I nodded. Gingerly, I brushed past her and stepped into the small home, anxiety still swirling in my stomach.

Note: Now the last encounter she had with Carol I was speaking of was actually a scene that either got deleted from a glitch somehow or I cut it myself without remembering. It was between Chapter 25 and 26 of Her Freedom where Carol comes in and meets Jesus. Anyhow, Carol sees Angel and - still thinking she's one of the Wolves - tries to pull a gun on her, calling her a bad name (seriously can't remember what it was by now lol). And she almost does but Daryl steps in front of Angel and reveals to Carol that she's his daughter which of course, shocks Carol. She leaves after that and that's the last time Angel sees Carol till now. So yeah, now that that's explained, on to more chapters soon! ;)