Sneaky

Chapter 132

The truck rumbled as I drove semi-slowly, pushing mounds of snow to the sides and clearing a path for the others behind us.

My teeth played with my thumbnail — a bad habit I've started picking up, thank you very much Dixon — as I followed the road, or at least what I believe is the road.

Thankfully all this snow means it's harder for walkers to move and makes it easy for us beginner and even non-trackers to tell if anyone else has been through here recently.

There's like 4-6 inches of snow on the ground, it'd be hard not to notice if something — especially a humanoid — had been through.

I can tell you what though, if we didn't have cars, this would be Hell to try and get through. You'd be soaked from mid-shin down in a few minutes and then probably get sick or frostbite on your wet feet.

I shivered and pulled my thumb from my mouth to reach for the heater. It's up almost all the way so Daryl doesn't die in the seat next to me but I'm freezing. I don't know how he can sleep in this cold, and at mid-day too.

It's bright and freezing, the two conditions under which I can't sleep.

That's one thing we don't have in common. We're polar opposites in 'conditions we can't sleep under'. He can't sleep when it's too quiet or too dark.

We meet in the middle though. Where it's dark but there are stars and vague silhouettes of what's around. A cool night with a temperate soft breeze. Dark and a quiet ambiance, but nothing too loud or too soft.

I sank into my leather seat, just thinking about it. My mental imagery going back to the farm. To the field where I just laid in the damp grass, eyes cast up to the stars and nothing but the tops of trees rustling and swaying at the very tips.

Damn what I wouldn't give for the precious moments of calm we got there.

The group's gotten a lot closer since winter began but to be honest it gets suffocating. All this time and I'm still not used to being so close with people. Physically at least. I've sort of gotten used to having my mind read by this one next to me, but that was bound to happen sooner or later. Less talking I'll have to do anyway.

Lori and Rick seem to have made copies of my playbook and aren't speaking very much. Being around those two is awwwwkwaaaard right now.

I don't do well with that sort of thing.

I kind of tried to act as a buffer of sorts for a little while but I just— I'm the last person you wanna go to for a silence filler. So I've kind of abandoned Carol and the others to take on that role. And to be honest, I thought I'd feel more guilty about it, but I actually feel more guilty about not feeling guilty.

Instead, I escape with Daryl into the woods and try to get over my distaste for certain fuzzy creatures with tails that make no sense. It's not going great.

The silence is just about all that's keeping me sane with how close we stick now though. We've got no choice but to live right on top of each other like this.

You never get more than a few minutes to yourself — and usually that's just for bathroom breaks.

Speaking of the bathroom, that's another thing we've gotten creative about. Daryl's never heard of a bath before, but pseudo-sponge baths have became one of my favorite things ever.

Something about just wiping my skin down with a cloth and some water is divine.

I was so tired the other night Beth had to do my neck and arms and things for me because I just couldn't get my arms to lift high enough. It was nice of her to help me. She's a sweet kid. She has a good heart. I hope she doesn't lose it.