𝐍𝐄𝐅𝐀𝐑𝐈𝐎𝐔𝐒 | daryl dixon

- 𝟐𝟕

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     ROSALINE'S EYES locked onto lori. so it wasn't just her that noticed. the girl didn't fail to notice that ever since shane came back alone from the run for medicine without otis, he was a changed man. he became more aggressive, and it seemed like he was obsessed with lori and their family. the hostility was clear towards rick, too.

     shane looked the other way.

     found guilty, rosaline thought.

     lori also realized that, "what happened that night?" she whispered, "you haven't been the same since."

     the former cop rubbed his hands together uncomfortably, his sight flickering between the two females sat in front of him, "you wanna know what happened with otis? what happened with otis is because i love you. both of you, and carl. that's right."

     rosaline observed the other woman.

     "i told rick." she admitted, meeting his eyes as he looked shocked to process her words.

     "what?" he managed to breathe out, "you told him- you told him what?"

     she dropped her gaze.

     "if you're gonna blame someone, blame me. i told her to do it ever since rick first appeared at camp. i knew all along too." rosaline raised her hand slightly.

     shane looked at rosaline, "i'm not gonna blame you. i'm not even gonna say it wasn't your business," he switched back to lori, "did you tell him that you thought you were a widow? that you were grieving that the world was coming to an end? that you needed comforting? did you tell him it was a mistake?"

      "wasn't it?" rosaline asked.

     lori nodded, "mhmm."

     he rubbed his head with the palm of his hands before clasping them together over his nose, almost as if he was praying, "you know, lori, that ain't true."

     "what we had, it was real."

     "it was not," lori said.

      "it was a long time coming. it was real, lori." he denied. rosaline was starting to become scared with his whole idea. was he convincing himself all of this?

     lori shook her head once more, "it was not."

     "it was you and it was me, carl, rose. it was real." shane insisted, "it was right. don't say it wasn't."

     "it wasn't."

     "yeah? just think about for a second- what you felt. everything falling apart all around us, but it... it was the one good thing."

     rosa ran to lori's defense, "that's right shane. everything was falling apart. if my husband died and people around me were coming back to life to eat each other, i'd make a rash decision too. one that i'd regret. you need to stop convincing yourself that it was okay."