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PLANTED DOWN BESIDE TARA AND DWIGHT, Aria doesn't even try to hide the anger evident on her face. Her glare was harsh and a scowl was formed on her face. She could feel her chest rise and fall quickly with each deep breath she took but she done it quietly, trying not to alert the people lurking in the woods.
Her light blue eyes flicker over towards the trio, biting down harshly on her lip as she listens to Dwight speak to them. It was a true act of bravery and all Aria wanted to do was tell Tara, "See? I told you so." But she was still too kind to say that. Besides, Aria knew Tara had her reasons, she understood that. She just hated it whenever people held things against another person, they were all human, they all made mistakes. The only person she truly is having a hard time forgiving though is Negan. However, each time she thought bad about him, a flash of guilt shot through her.
Each time she thought about killing him, Carl appeared in her mind. It was no secret that the two shared the same morals, they wanted there to be peace. They didn't like killing but will kill if necessary. She couldn't help but think that maybe the young Grimes was right, maybe they could do something that didn't involve killing. She only needed to figure out how.
Watching as Dwight leads the people off, Aria mumbles a few incoherent words before standing up, catching sight of Rosita. "Daryl is going to have our heads on a platter," She grumbles, glancing at Tara and Rosita before brushing past the woman, heading back towards the swamp.
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"I told you to wait!" Daryl shouts at Tara, shaking his head as anger fills his voice. A deep glare was set upon his features and his fists clench at his sides. "For all we know, he could be telling 'em everything. Negan could be on his way here right now!"
Something stirred in Aria's stomach at the sight of him and she quickly looks away from the scene, cheeks flushing. The sight of him mad made her feel things and all she could do was blame it on her raging hormones. After calming herself down mentally, she looks back over towards them, fiddling around with her fingers. "He isn't, he won't. He led them away. They were coming right for us and he saved us."
"She's right, Daryl. I was there, he led them away," Aria finally speaks up, nodding. As he turns his eyes towards her, he narrows them for a split moment before rolling them, turning back towards Tara.
"I don't give a damn what he did. He can stick with them, he can come back — hell, he can run! When I find that son of a bitch, I'm gonna. ." Daryl trails off, stopping in his movements as his gaze settles upon Judith. "C'mon."
Sighing softly, Aria walks over towards him, silently following him through the swamp as she nibbles on her bottom lip in thought. "Didn't I tell you to stay put?" Daryl quietly asks, glancing back at her with his sharp eyes. She loved his eyes, they were her favorite color and she loved how she could easily read him through them.
"No, you actually didn't. You just told me I couldn't go in the swamp, I didn't go in the swamp so technically, I didn't break any rules," Aria states in a matter-of-factly tone of voice, a small smile working it's way on her lips. Hearing him scoff, she laughs softly.
"You're a piece of work, woman." She knows that if it was anybody else that would've told him what she just said, he would've snapped at them but he loved her too much to do so. Stumbling slightly, Aria reaches out and grabs ahold of the back of his vest, fingers tangling in the leather material. He instantly looks back at her to make sure she's okay and he raises his eyebrows. "You okay? Be more careful," He mumbles, concern flashing through his eyes.
It was in that moment that Aria knew that even though he rarely ever showed his true emotions in public, he did care about her.
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As the group of Alexandrians walk up to the gates of Hilltop, Aria can already feel her stomach beginning to churn. Just the thought of having to tell people that one of their group members died, especially someone as loved as Carl, pained her. When the gates creek open, she places a hand on her stomach, gripping onto the black fabric. If she was nervous now, she can only imagine how nervous she's going to feel seeing Rick and Michonne again.
Focusing her attention back on the group, her eyes flutter close as she listens to Daryl inform them all with just a simple mumble of Carl's name. It was enough. As the sound of Enid's crying fills her ears, Aria can feel her own tears begin to burn and she opens her eyes, throat aching with the need to sob. But she wasn't going to, she couldn't. She had to be strong.
Wiping away the tears that slipped down her red cheeks, her gaze flickers down to the ground and she tries to block out the sounds around her, not wanting to feel anymore sadness but that was inevitable. No matter what she did, she was going to feel sadness and she was always going to ask herself, "What if?"
Even though she can't change the past, she can change the future. Carl wanted there to be peace, he didn't want anybody else dying and if that's what he wanted, that's what he's going to get. That's the least Aria could do after not being able to save him. She was going to continue on with what he wanted because that's all that matters.
A U T H O R I'm just throwing it out there: I've been thinking of ways to spice up this book and y'all either may end up hating me or loving me. We shall just wait and see :)
