VITRIOL | Shane Walsh

𝐕𝐈𝐈𝐈

The headache I woke up with the following morning warned me I was no longer an adolescent who could drink gallons without feeling the consequences. However, waking up in Shane's arms reminded me of the bliss I felt being next to him in my early twenties. I thought I'd never be in this situation ever again but here I was soaking in every detail. From his broad shoulders to the light stubble on his face, everything was the same as before.

Deciding I should probably get up and check on the child we brought into the world, I gently dragged Shanes very heavy arm from around me and quietly left the tent. For the first time since the group had arrived at the farm, Caleb and Carl were playing together. 

"Wait, So if your dad and my dad are like brothers then that means we're brothers too." I heard Caleb state with a level of uncertainty yet excitement.

"Don't be such a baby," the older one of the two teased,"...but I guess we can pretend to be brothers."

If it wasn't for me leaving with Caleb, the kids with only a two year age gap probably would've grown up like siblings. Me and Lori used to find every excuse possible to sit in her garden and fawn over them playing together.

"Hey boys, don't wander too far, okay? And Caleb, you make sure you're ready for training later." I reminded.

I noticed that Caleb had stolen his dad's 'Police' cap and smiled to myself. He'd been complaining for days that Carl had Rick's so it looked like he got tired of being jealous and decided that the hat was now his. I tightened the strap on the back, placed a kiss on his cheek and headed towards the house to find a hangover cure.

- - -

With a bottle of water in hand, I walked back to camp where Rick and Lori were in the midst of a heated argument. Carl had a grumpy look on his face while he sat in a fold-out chair, unlike Caleb who seemed to be finding the fight rather amusing as he sat upon his dad's shoulders. As I tucked myself into Shane's side, he freed one of his hands to rest on my hip.

"You can't tell me you're okay with them taking the boys to gun training are you?" Lori aimed and me and I shrugged my shoulders.

"Why shouldn't I be okay with it?"

"Carl just got shot!"

"This whole thing is going to be carefully controlled. There's not going to be wild bullets flying around."

"Don't make me out to be the unreasonable one too." Lori scoffed.

"But you are being unreasonable. What if one day we're not around to protect them? Guns are the difference between life and death in this world. All I'm saying is if I trust Shane with my baby you should too." I explained.

The other woman stayed silent for a few seconds before crouching down in front of her son.

"You will take this seriously and you will behave responsibly." 

- - -

"Why is Pricilla even here? She ain't qualified." Andrea whined just a few people down from me. She was getting a bit too big for her boots after hitting a few good shots, making it harder for me to resist the urge to slap her. 

"She grew up on a farm- she knew how to shoot a gun before she could count to three," Shane defended, handing over a pistol with more weight to the blonde. Of course, that was a bit of an exaggeration but Dad had taught me how to shoot from a young age.

As soon as I'd finished helping Patricia aim at targets, I moved down towards Jimmy and therefore closer to Andrea. To begin with, I thought she was just stupid. However, it was becoming apparent she wasn't only stupid but arrogant, over-confident and a scheming bitch. Maybe I was paranoid but every look, smirk and comment was made with the intent of trying to tempt Shane into giving her what she wanted.