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CHAPTER ONE,
eight months later.
━━━━
Time never seemed to stop the wounds from bleeding. There was a saying stating the opposite, but Nicole never healed from the gaping hole in her heart. That was the hole that her daughter, Cheyanne Elizabeth Allegro, filled for nine years.
For the past eight months, she never stopped running. The group never stayed in the same place for more than three nights - even then that was a rare occasion. Lori’s stomach was ridiculously distended from the growing baby inside of her. Nicole was pretty sure that that baby was going to be huge.
Nicole worried about her because of all of her previous health issues from the world before. Hershel began teaching both Nicole and Carol the steps of how to perform a C-Section on the off chance that something happened to him. Nicole wouldn’t let that happen though. As much as Nicole hated admitting it, she seemed to grow distant from her best friend. She didn’t know if it was because part of her still blamed Lori had lost Cheyanne or if it was because she’d been so focused on surviving the winter or both; she hated the distance though.
She never expected herself to be alive this long. She’d lost her hope - her reason for living. Yet, she still found something else to fight for - her group. Eight long months on the road taught her that she could survive the heartbreak of losing a child. She didn’t want to survive that, but she did.
Eight long months had passed since Nicole’s heart broke in a completely different way. Eight long months on the road dodging danger. Eight long months of pointless surviving. Eight long months of Nicole’s life that she could never get back.
Nicole loosened her grip on Daryl’s waist as they pulled up to another house. The starved and exhausted group wanted a place to sleep for just one night. For once, they didn’t want to be afraid of getting their face torn off by the monsters.
Daryl’s bike sputtered off and so did the engines behind them. After the long winter, they still had their Hyundai and the red van. Glenn hotwired a silver truck, so they could either take turns sleeping in or hold more supplies.
Nicole departed herself from Daryl’s back, placing her feet on the green grass. She glanced back at the vehicles that were behind them. Everyone flooded out of the doors; Beth and Maggie made sure to help Lori pull herself from seats. Nadia watched as the men in the group came close to Nicole and Daryl.
At first glance, people would be dumbfounded by the differences throughout the small group. Everyone paralleled someone else; it was scary. Nicole and Daryl grew close over the taxing winter. Both of them knew that they’d die for one another without a second thought. The two of them were opposites brought together by fear, destruction, and heartache. Hell, the entire group was too. They wouldn’t have survived this long without one another.
