Take My Hand: Walking Dead Fanfic

Chapter 28-Fabric

Chapter 28

•Joslyn•

I ran through, dodging every branch and tree that was in my way. I stopped, turning to make sure no walkers had caught up to me, and I panted, standing to rest and I looked around. All I could hear was wind. Then I heard leaves crushing. It sounded as if they were being crushed under a force. I panicked, looking foreword and seeing nothing.

I slowly backed up, my knife sliding out of its holder on my belt as I grabbed it. I jumped as my back pressed to something, a hand coming upon my forearm as I did. I whipped around in terror, bringing myself to see something devastating.

"Carl..."

Carl stood there, his blue eyes scolded me as he held something in his hand. As I focused in on what it was, I saw it was my doll that I must have felt drop.

"Save it."

He quickly dropped the doll to my hands as he passed me, walking back and not turning around. I looked down at the doll that I held. It looked helpless...destroyed. There was only cotton in the shape of a doll, nothing special about it.

"HOW COULD YOU?!"

The doll quickly fell to the leaf-covered mud as I jumped, Carl bursting at me from the distance he stood as he turned to me. He looked at me with disappointment and anger, mostly sad that I would leave him.

"Carl I-"
"You what?!"

There was a long pause. Nothing was spoken, yet the eye contact we made said everything. The moment was shallow, depressing with not much filling the pause. Carl's gaze weakened as he took a step back, a laugh of disbelief escaped his mouth.

"You were still planning to leave...weren't you...."

"Yes..."

He bit his bottom lip, looking to the ground as his arms hung at his side, dragging weight and memories he now had to carry.

Because of you...

"Carl, I didn't want to hurt you. I have to leave."
"Bullshit! Hurt me?! What the hell kind of excuse is that?!
"I'm the one who helped you! I took you in, I wanted to protect you! I loved you!"

My mouth hung open and my jaw started to tremble. Carl looked down as a tear fell to the ground and he looked up at me. His eyes were glossy, a layer of tears added to make them shine against the sun. He looked so helpless, like he was so broken that he didn't know what to do.

You were like him. You two were so alike. You said it yourself.

Carl turned, shoving his hands in his pockets as he headed through the woods.

"Don't drop the doll on the way out."
He added.

I stood there as he disappeared. He was gone. I bent down, grabbing the doll as I headed in the opposite direction as Carl. It was a long trail through the woods, with nothing but a dim sun shining through openings the leaves left to comfort me.

There was the highway as I exited the woods. It was probably the same one that I came from. The same one I left from...

I was probably ahead of them.

Just keep going. They never cared.

Carl did.

Tears started to cover my eyes. I didn't stop to clear them, hough, I just kept going, jumping the rail as my feet landed hard onto the concrete.

As I kept walking, I held the doll by the hand. It was a fake hand, yet it was a hand. Carl's hand was warm. It was helping. It was of an actual person.

He said he loved you.
Loved.

I knew he really cared by the way he held my hand. That's exactly what I needed. He helped me, showed me what to do. He showed me he truly did care.

Maybe I did care. Well, I know I did, but maybe I cared enough to go back.

No. You can't.

I sighed, rubbing my thumb against the doll's hand. It felt nothing like Carl's. All it was was fabric with nothing but memories I did not want to keep. I could not help but want to feel Carl's hand there, yet love felt nothing like old cheap fabric.

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