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CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE,
in her honor.
━━━━
There was an eerie chill that settled on Nicole’s dirty skin as she stepped outside of the building here her friend had just taken her life. She felt numb, but she’d somehow gotten used to losing people. It became the everyday reality of living in a dead world, but it didn’t make it any easier for her to cope. Nicole regretted every single harsh, sarcastic thing she’d ever said or done to Andrea. Maybe they could’ve been good friends if Nicole wasn’t such a hardass.
The two’s relationship was complicated. From the get-go, they had an unstated dislike for one another - then Amy died. For a brief moment, the stabbing tension between them was calm, and they got along for the first time. After everything that happened at the farm, their relationship shattered worse than before. Nicole felt little remorse when Andrea went missing, but everything changed when the older woman brought Nicole’s little girl back to her. They tried to put effort into building a friendship for Cheyanne’s sake - but they barely scraped the surface of what could’ve been. Eight months ago, Nicole felt nothing for Andrea, but now, she’d lost a friend. Nicole would never forgive herself for that.
Nicole’s blonde hair swayed slightly as the wind blew against her frame. Thankfully, Daryl’s thick flannel kept her warm enough as she stared out at the torches that littered the streets. The breeze stung her eyes as she watched the flames flicker softly. She couldn't help but remove her gaze from them and solemnly stare at the ground.
She didn’t move when she heard the door creak open behind her and quite a few feet shuffle out of the building. Standing still and keeping her arms crossed ever so tightly, Nicole kept her gaze down to the concrete only cringing when she spotted someone carrying Andrea’s dead weight out of the corner of her eye. Nicole inhaled the cold air deeply, allowing it to prick at her lungs like a thousand needles, as she looked up to the dark, star littered sky. She kept forcing herself to blink away the tears that brewed.
A pair of cowboy boots clattered to a stop beside her, but she didn’t need to see the face to know who it was. Rick’s gentle hand placed itself on her shoulder as he himself fought back the tears. “We’re going to bury her here and make a grave back at home for her,” Rick rasped out. Nicole could hear how exhausted and sorrowful his voice sounded. “The kids don’t need to see her like that.”
Nicole nodded slightly, turning her vision to him. “Good idea,” she whispered, brushing a stray clump of hair back behind her ear. “What are we going to do about the people here?”
Rick sighed, rubbing his hand down his face. “I’m not sure, Nicole,” he muttered as he met her dim eyes.
The blonde nodded, removing her gaze from her blue-eyed friend again. “We should bring them back to the prison,” Nicole said with some slight uncertainty in her voice. “It’s what she would’ve wanted.”
