I Promise (Carl Grimes)

Starting Fresh

Three weeks later...

The fences were finally back up- thank god. We took back this place about a week and a half ago. It wasn't that bad when we got here. There were a few walkers but nothing we couldn't handle. In case you don't remember- there are five bedrooms and three bathrooms. Daryl and Beth, Maggie and Glenn, Michonne, Zoey and I, and Carl. Speaking of Carl, so far he's been an excellent leader. He was a little unstable at first, but I think he's got the hang of it now. We talk at times, but he's been so busy lately that I hardly see him...

"Hey Brooke. Can you help me kill walkers along the fence?" Maggie asked sweetly. "Sure." I smiled. There were at least twenty walkers down by the fence so it would take a while to kill them. Michonne and Glenn are on a run right now getting supplies. "You talk to Carl today?" She asked. "Nope." I replied, popping the 'p'. "Oh... Don't worry. He'll come around." She reassured. "It's been three weeks Maggie... We hardly ever speak." I sighed. "You want me to talk to him?" She asked. "No. He's busy. Ya know, making the big decisions and whatnot." She simply nodded and went back to killing the walkers.

Once we were done with that, I went to go help Beth with lunch. We were making vegetable soup. "Get the pot, and can you chop these up?" Beth asked politely. "Sure." I said, getting the pot out of the cupboard. "What do you think we should have for dinner?" She asked. "Hmm... Maybe we-"

My vision blurred, and my mind swirled round and round. I dropped the pot, and it went crashing to the floor in slow motion. My eyes screwed shut, and my body shook as I fell to the floor. "Hi sissy." That beautiful voice called. "Carter? What are you doing here?" I asked, confused. "I need to warn you." He said sternly, but still in a little kids voice. "About what?" I asked. "Look out for Zoey. Watch where she wanders off too..." His voice faded. "No! What do you mean? Stay! Please..."

I woke up in my bed to someone hovering over me. Once my vision cleared I realized who it was. Daryl. I was hoping it would've been Carl... "What happened?" He asked worriedly. "Carter... He came to me... Again." I sighed. "What'd he say?" Daryl urged. "N-nothing. It's not important." I lied. I didn't want him to think I was going insane, even though I probably was. "Okay? Well, we're having a barbecue later. I went hunting today. Got a deer." I nodded my head, sitting up in the process. Me and Daryl walked out of me and Zoey's room and into the kitchen. Michonne and Glenn were back and looked like they had hit the jackpot. There were tons of supplies on the table including canned foods, drinks, medical supplies, gas, clothes, blankets, etc. It was like walking into heaven.

"Where's Carl?" I asked Michonne once Glenn and Daryl went outside. "I think he's walking the perimeter. Keeping watch." She said, putting away the canned foods. "Oh..." She sensed the sadness in my voice and stopped what she was doing. "He hasn't forgotten about you." She said, placing a hand on my shoulder. "He hardly talks to me anymore. The last time we kissed was...? About four weeks ago." I said, crossing my arms over my chest. "Give it time. He'll come around." She replied, continuing with putting away the food.

"Zoey!" I called out to her from across the field. She was sitting up on me and Carl's hill. "Zoey..." I huffed once I got up to the hill. She turned around and smiled. "Hey. I was looking for you earlier. Carl said you were resting." My smiled fell into a frown when she said Carl's name. I plopped down next to her on the stringy green grass. "Remember when mom used to make those awful pancakes?" She asked and we both broke out into laughter. "Oh my gosh. And the worst part was she thought we loved them." We both laughed harder. "N-no. I think what the worst part was was when we'd throw them in the trash when she wasn't looking." We laughed so hard, we fell over holding our stomachs. "Hey! Brooke, Zoey! Dinners done!" Beth called from down the hill. We both smiled at each other and went down to dinner.

Beth and Maggie had set up a table and chairs. It actually looked like a family gathering when everyone had sat down. There were two chairs on the end of the table- me and Carl were sitting in those. Michonne, Zoey, and Daryl were sitting in the three chairs to my left, and Maggie, Glenn, and Beth were sitting in the three chairs to my right. "This is delicious!" Zoey chimed, licking her lips in delight. "Glenn and Daryl made it." Maggie smiled at the two of them. "I know I'm not the best leader and all, but I just wanted to thank you all for helping me with everything. We couldn't have done any of this without all of us. I'm not the reason we're here, alive. We are the reason were here... Here's to us." Carl said, raising his glass of wine that Michonne got on the run. "To us." We all chimed. Carl looked towards me and nodded before taking a sip of the wine. I nodded back and smiled.

Dinner was amazing and so were the laughs we shared. It felt like things could finally get back to how they were at the prison. We finally have a stable home and don't have to worry about other survivors. "Brooke?" Daryl asked, knocking on my door. "Come in." I called. He stepped in and smiled. "Carl wants to see you out on the hill." He didn't have to tell me twice. I jumped out of bed and ran out the bedroom door. I could hear Daryl chuckling from behind me, but that didn't stop me from bursting through the back door, past the pool, and up the hill. There he was... Carl Grimes. Waiting for me just like Daryl had said.

"Hey stranger." I giggled, sitting next to him in the grass. "Hi." He smiled and slid his arm around my shoulders. I grinned to myself, placing my head on his warm chest. "I miss you..." He whispered in my ear. "I miss you. So, so much." I said, meeting his gaze. "I'm sorry I haven't been able to spend time with you..." He looked back out at the stars. "I understand... We'll figure out a way to make this work. We will work." I caressed his angelic face, moving it closer to mine. "Kiss me..." He whispered, closing his eyes and leaning in. Our lips danced around in the moonlight, and the stars were like our audience. I felt him grin into the kiss, and his hands cupped my face while mine clung onto the collar of his shirt. He pulled back, both of us breathing heavily. "You're mine... Forever." He said, tracing his thumb along my cheek bone.

"And always."