𝙀verything was back to normal. At least, as normal as they could have been. Rick and Adalyn were avoiding any topics that could have sparked an argument. They really just wanted to keep things calm and civil.
Adalyn was working regularly in inventory again, now that there was more food to deal with. They had more guns, too, after raiding the outpost.
Morgan built a cell. A second option.
Carol was sort of dating Tobin, which was, frankly, a little bit weird.
The days passed without much change. Adalyn would open the pantry with Olivia in the morning and they would spend the day working together, talking about everything and nothing all at once. It was enough that Adalyn would call Olivia her best friend in Alexandria. At the end of every day, Adalyn would put Judith to bed before she joined Rick in their bed.
Abraham and Eugene went on a run one morning. Adalyn said goodbye to them before they went, shaking hands with each of them. She was pretty sure neither of them would really appreciate a hug, though that was typically her goodbye for whenever someone went out beyond the wall.
She did, however, hug Rosita the morning she was to go out on a run with Daryl and Denise. She looked at Daryl with a chuckle as she let go of Rosita. "Are we there yet, buddy?" she asked.
Daryl rolled his eyes. "Don't call me buddy."
She snorted. "Obviously not. Handshake, at least?"
That, he conceded to. She hugged Denise, too. Even if she didn't know her too well, Denise had fixed her arm up, and she was Tara's girlfriend now.
"Y'all be safe," she said.
Rosita nodded. "We will."
Olivia let Adalyn have the day off. And while she was thankful for that, Adalyn had no idea what to do. She was so used to doing something, that doing nothing felt strange. She found herself wandering the streets, looking up at the dark clouds. One of the running groups had to be getting hit with rain, based on where the clouds were. Even both of them could have been. Over Alexandria, the sun was still shining, it's light pale and almost white.
She heard footsteps approaching and looked to see Carol. "Hey," she greeted, and the older woman flashed a glimpse of a smile. There was a cigarette in her hand.
Adalyn hesitated before she asked, "You got any more of those?"
Carol sighed, drawing a box from her pocket. She handed one to Adalyn, who offered a quick smile in response. "Thanks. Haven't had a cigarette in years. Not sure I even have a lighter anymore," Adalyn said, patting her pockets in search of one. "Nada."
Carol drew a lighter from her pocket, and Adalyn offered another smile as she lit it. "Thanks, again."
"You smoked before?" Carol asked.
Adalyn nodded. "Yeah. When you're being bounced from foster home to foster home, you find vices."
"I'd imagine," Carol said.
Adalyn nodded, taking a long drag off the cigarette, blowing out the smoke, making rings the way she used to when she was a teenager. Carol raised an eyebrow at the sight. Adalyn chuckled softly as she explained, "My friend, Anson, taught me how to do that. We were..." she shook her head. "God, we couldn't've been more than thirteen. I was only with his family for three weeks. He was the actual kid, wanted a sibling so bad but his parents couldn't have any more kids. They were going to foster me long-term, hoping to adopt. And all I brought them was a shit ton of misery." She bit at her lip before she elaborated. "Anson was the only kid my age that I knew. We spent all of our time together. Anson smoked because that was cool kids did back then. He gave me my first cigarette. Taught me how to smoke it without coughing. Taught me how to blow smoke rings."
She took another drag, tapping the ash onto the ground. "We kept on like that for the entire time I was with his family. Then, one day, his mother finds us sitting in his bedroom window, and we're pretty much chainsmoking." She chuckled weakly, bringing the cigarette to her lips once more. "She loses her mind. Starts screaming that I've... corrupted her kid or something, like it's all my fault. Because I'm the foster kid who's all damaged a ruined. And Anson was the perfect kid who just wanted a sibling."
Carol watched her take a deep breath. "I was out the next day. That was probably the start of the downward spiral."
Carol spoke after a moment as Adalyn kept her eyes on the cigarette. "I'm sorry to hear that."
Adalyn just shook her head.
Daryl, Rosita, Eugene, and Abraham returned.
With them was news that Denise was dead.
Adalyn actually started crying when she heard what happened from Daryl. The asshole from the woods, the man who took Daryl's crossbow and bike, had killed her with Daryl's crossbow. She was shaking as she clasped Daryl's arm. "We should have killed them when we had the goddamn chance," she stated.
All that he could do was nod. Adalyn noted that he had his crossbow back.
She didn't press him on it. Eugene was hurt, grazed by a bullet. Rosita got him patched up the best she could without Denise to help. Adalyn sat with him when all the others had left. She promised that she would tell Rosita if anything went wrong, but she knew nothing would. Eugene would be all right once the wound healed.
He was in and out of sleep. He woke up, however, when he realized she had sat down. "Hello, Addy," he said.
"Hey, Eugene," she said, offering a faint smile. "You still in the land of the living?"
He looked down at his bandages, then back at her. "I believe so. Unless this is some kind of afterlife."
"You believe in that sort of thing?" she asked.
"Negatory," he replied.
"Me either," she said. Then, she managed a chuckle. "Abraham said you bit a man in the dick. Good going. The asshole deserved it."
Eugene chuckled as well, wincing slightly. His hand moved to his bandages. "I've made it to step two," he said.
"Step two?"
He shook his head. "I'm a survivor," he said. "A real one."
She patted his arm with a smile. "Hell yeah, you are."
