Calamity || Glenn Rhee [2]

14

CHAPTER FOURTEEN » BLOODSTAINED
"We do what we have to do."

♔

A loud knock at the door woke my from my light sleep the next morning. I groaned, my eyelids feeling too heavy to open.

"Yeah," I mumbled into my pillow, not bothering to glance up as I heard the door open.

"I brought breakfast."

It was Carol.

I remained still, hoping that if I didn't make any sort of interaction she would leave me be. Things were still slightly odd between Carol and I. We never really resolved what happened at the prison, we just got on with things without really interacting much. I guess we were both doing our best to forget.

"Blaire," she started with a sigh. I felt the end of the bed dip down, and I exhaled heavily, realising I was going to have to actually talk to her. "I know this is difficult for you right now, but take all the time you need to get yourself in the right place again."

I eventually lifted my head from the pillow, turning to face her. "Is he mad at me?" I asked.

Carol met my eyes, shaking her head. "No, he's not mad." I nodded slowly, my eyes flickering down to the plate of breakfast food she'd made for me. My stomach felt empty, but I wasn't sure I could bring myself to eat anything. "Listen Blaire, we never got to talk about what happened at the prison."

"Carol–"

"I was in a bad place then," she told me. "A bad state of mind. I wanted to protect our people before anything worse happened."

I swallowed thickly, the memories of what happened beginning to surface. I tried to push them away again. "It was a long time ago."

"I know, but in that moment, I was so blinded by my emotions that I did something horrible," she said. "Something I regretted. But all I cared about was protecting the people I loved. I saw a threat, and I tried to eliminate it. And that doesn't make it right, but that was the place my head was in," she finished.

I looked at her for a long moment, slowly nodding my head, understanding what she was getting at. I was also trying to protect my people last night, seeing a threat and wanting nothing more than to eliminate it.

"I just want you to know, Blaire, that I am sorry, I always will be, and I truly am glad you're here," she smiled softly. "We all are. And what happened last night isn't going to change that for anyone."

The truth was, I think there was something unspoken between Carol and I where we both knew I had forgiven her a long time ago. Even though I still found it difficult to fully trust being around her, I knew she did what she thought was best for the group. I could never say I would have done the same in that situation, but it was a long time ago now, a different time.