I Promise (Carl Grimes)

Remembering

Brooke's POV:

I stared in shock at the blue eyed boy before me. He wore a sheriffs hat that shadowed most of his face, and his clothes were ripped and bloody. "Who are you? Where am I?" I looked around the room frantically, crying out in fear of not knowing. Anything... "It's me, Carl? Your husband? Don't you remember me?" He asked, reaching out to touch my face. I winced at his cold hands and pushed him away. "I'm only fourteen! And this is the apocalypse! There's no time for love. Wait! Where's my brother? Where is he? What did you do with him?" The boy gasped and ran out of the room. He came back with a man with long, brown hair, a girl with blonde hair, and women with short, brown hair, and a girl who looked like... "Zoey?!" I jumped out of the bed, running up to her and engulfing her in a hug. "I thought you were dead! Dad was eating you!" Zoey looked up at Carl and began to cry. The brown haired girl covered her hand over her mouth and walked out. The blonde haired girl left to comfort her, while the man with long, brown hair and the blue eyed boy stayed behind. "What's the last thing you remember?" The man asked sadly. "I was luring walkers away from my brother, and that's all I remember. W-what's the date?" I cried out.

"September 5th, 2017."

I stared blankly into space, soaking in all of the information they had told me. Turns out my brother was dead, along with a bunch of other people who's names I didn't recognize. Well, except for one, Mika. From the sounds of it we've been through absolute hell. Though the most amusing thing is this Carl kid, the leader, is apparently my husband. They told me we had gotten in a car accident after he asked me to marry him. That's insane. Love at a time like this? And I'm terrified at this new problem arising with some survivors who apparently saved my life. "Are you hungry?" Beth asked, reaching in the cabinet to grab something. "Um, yes. Thank you." I said quietly, and she placed a bowl of soup in front of me. As I took sips of my soup, I couldn't help but notice Carl eyeing me down from across the table. "Can I help you?" I asked rudely to him. This kid was seriously getting on my nerves with his stares. Without a word, he got up from the table and left. "He's just upset. We all are..." Beth said, looking around at everyone. I guess I was important to these people...

I just wish I could remember...

"You wanna come help me with the walkers on the fence?" Daryl asked, more like a statement than a question. "I-I guess." I said reluctantly. There were about thirty walkers surrounding the fence, all of them gripping the metal gate with their rotting hands. "Here." Daryl muttered, handing me a metal rod. "So you really don't remember anything?" Daryl asked after a while. "Nope." I grunted, stabbing a walker. "I wish I did..." I mumbled, and Daryl stopped and turned to me. "We had a father-daughter relationship." He was looking me dead in the eyes, trying his hardest not to brake down like I knew he wanted to. "I'm sorry. If I could remember I would..." I whispered, shedding a single tear. I just wanted to remember everything...

Dinner was filled with awkward silence, no one daring to speak. I felt like a freak show- everyone looking at me like the odd man out. I glared at each and everyone of them and stood up. "When y'all decide to stop giving me looks, then maybe we can talk." I spat, leaving them in awe. On my way to the bathroom, I stopped by Carl and Matt's bedroom. I heard two voices from the other side of the door- Zoey and Matt's. I pressed my ear up to the door and listened closely. "Nothing's going to happen to you." Matt whispered, kissing Zoey softly on her pink lips. "It's not me I'm worried about. What if they take you again?" She asked, their forehead resting on one another's. "They're not. Nothing's going to happen. Tom was bluffing." Matt reassured, kissing her once again. "I better get going. We don't wanna get caught by Carl or Brooke." Zoey chuckled. "They know what it's like to be young and in love though. Well, until the accident..." Matt trailed off, fumbling with Zoey's fingers. "Night Matt." Zoey replied, kissing him one last time and heading for the door. I backed away from the door quickly, walking casually down the hall and to the bathroom.

I stripped out of my unfamiliar pajamas, tossing them to the side and looking at my reflection in the mirror. I had bruises all over my body, stitches on my left eyebrow, greasy hair, and the right side of my head was throbbing. I sighed, stepping into shower and turning the knob. I winced as the cold droplets of water pelted against my tender skin. It felt like a thousand bee stings, tearing away at my body. I just want to remember. Please Jesus, let me remember. I don't know what I've done to deserve this, but if there's anything I could do to make up for it, I will. I closed my eyes tightly, shaking, trying to recall my memory.

Nothing.

That's when I lost it.

I yelled out in frustration, ripping down the shower curtain and plopping down on the cold tiles. There I sat, sobbing into my hands and occasionally screaming on the shower floor. "Brooke?" I heard someone knock.

Carl.

"What? What do you want?" I asked, turning off the shower so I could hear him. "I wanna talk to you. Please come out." I could hear his breath against the bathroom door. It was raspy, almost as if he had been crying. I sighed, picking up a random towel and wrapping myself in it. I opened the bathroom door, revealing Carl's beautiful eyes. Even though I couldn't remember him, I do see why I had accepted his hand in marriage. He was most defiantly attractive. "Let me get dressed first." I muttered, pushing past him and into my room. I shut the door behind me, slowly sinking down the door. I wrapped my arms around my knees, quietly sobbing. You're stronger than this Brooke. Come on, get up. I took deep breaths, standing up and sitting carefully on the bed. I looked to my left and there lay a neatly folded stack of clothes. I put on the undergarments, then slipped on a pair of light washed blue jeans. Next was a long sleeve, black shirt with a green colored army jacket and fuzzy socks with brown cowboy boots. I wiped away the remainder of my tears, and opened up the bedroom door. "I'm ready." I sniffled. He held out his hands, and I kindly accepted his gesture.

He brought me out to a small hill in the backyard. The grass was high and comforting, along with the stars in the night sky. "Why are we out here?" I asked as he took a seat in the grass. He patted the spot next to him, motioning for me to sit down. I plopped down next to him, waiting for him to answer my question. "I want to make you remember." He said after a long silence. "How?" I asked, searching his eyes through the darkness. "I want to try something. Close your eyes... Don't move." He demanded. I did as I was told, preparing myself for what came next. I felt his lips brush against mine, sending off an explosion in the pit of my stomach. He tugged on my bottom lip, begging for an entrance into my mouth which I gladly accepted. Our lips moved perfectly in sync as his hands roamed my body, mine tugging on his brown locks. I tried remembering something, anything, but no. There was nothing. I grew frustrated and pushed him off of me. "It's not working! Nothing is! I don't remember anything or anyone! Especially you! Here... You can have this back. This was meant for your old wife, but she's gone. I'm not her. I'm sorry." I tossed the wedding ring to him, holding back my tears. His face was twisted with hurt and sadness, and all I did was walk away.

I just walked away...