𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐈𝐑 𝐎𝐏𝐏𝐑𝐄𝐒𝐒𝐈𝐎𝐍 ➳ 𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐥 𝐆𝐫𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐬

Chapter 26 ~ Shamelessly Stealing Your Weapons

We left early the next morning to get the guns and I had to admit, I was barely able to contain my excitement. In just a few days, I'd get to see my daughter again. I bit my lip at the thought, my eyes trained to the small boat filled with people on the river. Michonne, Eric, Aaron, Tobin, Gabriel, and Rick all had volunteered to go by boat to Oceanside while Daryl and the others opted to lay out the explosives. And soon, our plan would be put into action. Rick had briefed Daryl and I on the specifics before we left and I had decided to stick by Carl's side throughout this.

I knew he'd need help keeping watch to make sure no walkers slipped by us. Besides, Carl had been pretty insistent I stay with him so he could make sure I was safe. I smiled to myself then. Always looking out for me. My eyes flicked to Carl as he held onto his gun, keeping an eye on our surroundings as we stood on the bank of the river. He almost looked...nervous for some reason. I frowned, stepping a bit closer to him.

"Hey," I said, grabbing his attention, "You okay?"

He smiled when he met my gaze, nodding slightly.

"Fine," he said shortly and I sighed, shaking my head.

"Carl...if...if this us thing is going to work...then we have to be open with each other. If something's bothering you, I wanna help," I said, trying not to become frustrated with him.

He was silent at that and for a moment, I thought he wouldn't speak to me. But then he opened his mouth and what he said next confused me.

"Do you ever think about the future?" he asked me quietly.

I chewed the inside of my cheek, contemplating his question. Did I think about the future? Sure, I did. Several times actually. Like how my daughter would grow up, how I'd raise her as a single parent, what I'd end up doing with my life when all of this was said and done... Not to mention, what that meant for having Daryl apart of things now.

I knew he'd want to be apart of his granddaughter's life and besides, moving was really out of the question anyhow - I loved it here. It wasn't where I'd grown up back in Georgia but these people had become my family. I couldn't leave them - not now, not ever. But even as these thoughts flitted through my mind, I bit my tongue. I couldn't tell Carl any of these things though. I knew just what he'd think - he'd think it meant I wanted to leave, that I didn't want to be with him anymore.

And it couldn't be further from the truth. I'd never leave him, I never could.

I shrugged my shoulders, feeling strands of hair fall across my t-shirt, "Yeah."

And with that, the conversation ended. Carl said nothing in response, choosing not to push me on the subject. It didn't take long to acquire the guns after that from the Oceanside community - Rick took them without question but instead of being heartless about the situation, he offered an alliance with them. Of course, they had refused but at least we had the guns now. I huffed as I helped the others load up the crates full of our newly-acquired weapons. I began to drag one of them behind me when suddenly, my weight felt lighter and glancing back, I noticed Carl holding up the other end.

I sent him a small, grateful smile and he returned it but I couldn't help but feel the awkward tension that had arisen between us. We walked on in silence, Carl saying nothing. The quiet was overwhelming and admittedly, made me feel guilty for ever shutting him down like I did.

"It's not you, you know. The reason I didn't say much..." I finally spoke, breaking the silence for the first time, "I think about the future all the time - how this thing with Negan will go, what future there will be for my daughter, what life I'll have after everything's said and done..."

I fell silent again then and we set down the crate by one of the trucks just as Gabriel and Jesus took it to load up. Carl's hand found mine then - his fingertips gently drawing patterns across the back of my hand. I smiled, gazing up into that ocean blue orb. He bit his lip, looking back at me intently.

"One day you won't have to worry about any of those things, Angel. Because one day-" Carl started to say to me, his voice quiet.

But before he could finish his sentence, Rick had clamped a hand on both of our shoulders.

"Come on, you two," he said, smiling at the both of us briefly before calling over his shoulder to the group, "Let's move out!"

Carl's face fell and I frowned, wondering what was bothering him. I sent him a questioning look but he waved me off and shrugging, I walked over to one of the trucks before clambering inside. Carl followed shortly after and soon, we were all headed back to Alexandria to regroup. We had our guns, the ammo, and more people we'd allied ourselves with than we'd thought to even be possible. I sighed, leaning my head on my boyfriend's shoulder. My eyes fluttered closed as the vehicle rumbled along down the dirt road.

I'm coming, baby, I thought to myself, I'm coming.