𝙨𝙤𝙛𝙩 𝙝𝙚𝙡𝙡𝙤𝙨 ♔ 𝙙.𝙙𝙞𝙭𝙤𝙣

107

SWEAT POURS down the cheeks and forehead of Carl Grimes, his skin the color of paper. Recognizing the symptoms, Aria kneels down beside him, eyes searching his blue ones. Not wanting to accept the fact, she gently places a hand on his forehead before sliding it down to his cheek, the female almost jerking away from boiling skin. "It's just a fever, right?" She whimpers out, hoping that was all it was but deep down, she knew it wasn't.

"I wish it was," The teenager mumbles back, shakily drawing in a breath. The pain was evident on his features, it was shining in his blue eyes that he was hurting badly. Aria wanted nothing more than just to be able to take his pain away. If she could place all the pain on herself, she would in a heartbeat. He peels away the bandage, showcasing a bloody bite, the teeth marks from a walker visible.

"Carl. . You told me it was animal blood," Aria pauses, hand falling back to her side as she struggles to blink back the tears building in her eyes. "If you would've told me, we could've done something!"

He shakes his head, eyes squinting slightly as he looks over at her. "Like what? You know there isn't any cure. We couldn't have done anything, this was inevitable," Carl quietly says, weakly motioning down towards the wound.

"It wasn't inevitable, if we wouldn't have gone out of the walls, you wouldn't have gotten bit." Realization dawns on her as she blurts that out and a lone tear falls down her cheek, dripping down onto the dirty ground and soaking into the grime. Not wanting him to see her cry, she moves away from him and towards the shadows of the underground, plotting herself down onto the ground.

Unable to hold the burning tears back anymore, they slide down her cheeks, leaving wet trails behind. Because of her, her best friends are losing a child. If she wouldn't have let him go, he would be okay, he wouldn't have a bite mark on his stomach, he would be fine. But no, she made the mistake of letting him go and going with him. If she was faster, she could've killed the walker before it sunk its teeth down into Carl's skin, she could've saved him. All the what if's and maybe's run through her mind but they're not going to change a single thing. Carl was dying and it was her fault.

Her hand's press to her cheeks and the tears smother across her face. Thankfully, it was dark enough, nobody could see the girl breaking down. Well, all except Daryl. His blue eyes settle on her figure, his arms wrapped around Judith. He heard the conversation between Carl and Aria, he heard the way Aria's voice trembled as she struggled to hold back the tears, the way emotion laced every word she spoke, it broke his heart.

Daryl wasn't one to show emotion or be open about his love but Aria was, maybe that's why they struggled in their relationship. Though he didn't show it, he truly did love the girl and sometimes, he struggled with that. Who was he to love someone? He was just a nobody, how was he supposed to love someone when he barely knew how to love himself? He wants to show her that he loves her but how was he supposed to do that, he wasn't the best when it came to relationships.

The sight of two people walking towards him snaps him out of his thoughts and he glances over at them, eyes instantly lowering down to the ground. Rick and Michonne, the two people who are going to take this the hardest. His jaw clenched tightly as he hears Michonne's shaky breathing and he closes his eyes, clutching Judith just a bit tighter. This is why he never wanted a child, he never wanted to go through the pain of losing them.

Still hidden away in the darkness, Aria sadly watches the interaction, her hands trembling. Why was life so difficult? Why is it that the best people suffered? She notices the distraught expressions on Michonne's and Rick's faces and she has to look away, the guilt burning her up.

♚ ♛

Ten year old Carl watches Aria with curious eyes, his brows furrowed in concentration. The water glimmers beneath them and through the ripples, he can make out just a few fish. "Then, you release the button," Aria mumbles, the fishing line dropping into the water. With his own pole, Carl does the same exact thing, a smile forming on his face as his line sinks into the water.