"Carol, where in the damn hell is my coffee?" Ed Peletier questioned his wife as she made her way into the kitchen with their daughter. Carol knew as soon as Sophia tried to stay home from school that it was going to mean trouble from Ed. It was a small price to pay though; she'd take the beatings and harsh words from Ed if it meant that she could be somewhat of a good mother to her child.
"I'm sorry Ed, Sophia wasn't feeling well-" Carol started, keeping Sophia behind her before she was cut off.
"Carol, Carol, Carol, pathetic, useless, Carol. You stay home and sit on your ass all day, you don't even have a god damned job, because me, being the nice guy that I am, provides for your ass and that kid. And all I expect in return are just a few simple things, like having my damn morning cup of coffee ready."
His tone frightened Carol. Usually when he was angry and yelling he was drunk. The beatings then were relatively quick before he went to go pass out. When he seemed calm though, he was raging on the inside. The anger would be festering all day, only for him to take it out on her later that night.
"You're lucky that girl's in here. Just wait until tonight," he threatened. "You'd better have dinner ready by the time I get home," he turned and walked out the back door without another word.
"Mommy, I still don't feel good. Can I please stay home?" Sophia looked up at her mother, and Carol's heart sank to the pit of her stomach. She felt horrible for making Sophia go to school, but this was far from the first time Sophia had feigned illness to get out of going to school.
"I'm sorry baby, you have to go to school today. It'll be a quick day though, I promise. And I'll be right there waiting for you when you get out. Don't you have art today? Mrs. Morris said you were going to finger paint today, so you have to wear some old clothes. Let's go find some, okay?" Carol led her daughter back upstairs to get her ready for the day.
Sophia seemed to cheer up a bit when she was reminded about art class. Sophia excitedly explained to Carol that she was partnered with Carl, her "bestest friend in the whole wide world", and that they were going to paint pictures of each other.
By the time they got to school, Sophia was all but running into class, but not without saying bye to her mother first. "I love you, mommy! You'll be here when I get out, right?"
"I love you too, and of course, baby girl, I always am. Have a great day, honey." Carol saw her daughter off and was about to leave when Lori Grimes stopped her in her tracks.
Lori gave Carol a quick hug. "Carol! It's so nice to see you again, I haven't seen you in a couple weeks," she smiled warmly. "My husband's been dropping Carl off earlier lately, but he had to go into work early this morning. I think he's feeling guilty about working so much…It's already October and we both can't believe Carl's in kindergarten already. I'm sure you and your husband feel the same way."
"Yeah, it's still weird not having Sophia home all day," Carol said as they walked out of the school and towards the parking lot. "I know she was awfully excited this morning. She and Carl are partnered up for an art project."
"Oh yes, I heard all about it from Carl," Lori chuckled. "The boy must be the only one in his class that doesn't think girls are gross. We're going to have to keep our eyes on those two, you know," Lori winked.
"Oh god, I don't even want to think about that," Carol said with a warm smile of her own. Lori was a chatterbox, that much was true, but she also had this infectious ability to make those around her feel warm and welcome. Her happiness was something Carol had to admit she was slightly jealous of.
Then again, Carol had made her own bed and now she had to lay in it. Ed had been more than happy to make promises of the consequences that would occur if she ever tried to leave him. Carol knew by now that they were not empty threats, and that Ed always had ways of manipulating people and situations.
"Oh I know! You should come over for dinner tomorrow night! You can meet my husband, he finally has a night off. You can bring your husband and Sophia."
Carol tried to think quickly, to get herself out of this dinner. Lori had good intentions, but Carol wasn't supposed to have friends. Ed had made sure of that, not too long after they had started dating. They had been high school sweethearts, and as a result Carol had not had any friends for quite a few years.
"Oh, I don't know what we're doing and I don't want to impose…" Carol said anxiously. Her feet had subconsciously started shuffling, almost in an effort to run from the situation. In that moment she wished she could be a normal mother and wife, the type that wouldn't be terrified to ask her husband if they could have dinner with her friend's family. Her mind was racing, trying to come up with a better excuse. Lori wasn't the type of person to take no for an answer, and she had a way of convincing you into things, much like Ed could. The difference was that Lori did it almost unknowingly, and with good intentions. Ed did it with malice, and for his own benefit.
"Oh nonsense! Here let me give you our address," Lori said as she started moving things around in her purse, in search of a piece of paper and pen. "I should probably clean this out," she chuckled. "Never can find anything."
"Eureka!" She exclaimed when she found the objects. She wrote her address down and handed it to Carol. She peered down at the paper and recognized the street; only a couple blocks away, close enough to walk to.
"Does six sound good for dinner?" Lori questioned as she placed the strap of her purse back onto her shoulder.
"Uh yeah, sure," Carol stuttered nervously but with what she hoped had some semblance of a smile.
"Great! I'll see you tomorrow then! It'll be nice to have some more friends over," Lori replied before she got in her car and took off. "I'm sure Carl will be ecstatic, he hasn't had a friend his own age come over yet."
"I'm sure Sophia will be bouncing off the walls when I tell her, too," Carol said, with a smile that had no need to be forced. The thought of her daughter could always put Carol in a better mood. Sophia was the only thing she could be grateful that came from her relationship with Ed.
Carol spent the majority of the day wondering how she could either approach Ed with the idea of dinner at Lori's house, which she figured had about a ninety nine percent chance of not going well. Ed would ask how they had met, why she was talking to her, if she was fucking Lori's husband, or talking to other men if she was talking to Lori.
Her other option was trying to come up with an excuse by the next morning when she'd hopefully run into Lori or her husband when they dropped Carl off at school. Carol would have to make sure that she got there relatively early to ensure she'd bump into one of Carl's parents and inform them that she regrettably couldn't go.
For a split second, talking to Lori earlier that day, she had almost been excited at the idea of going to a friend's house for dinner. For Carol, it was like someone had told her she won a month long trip to Paris, sans Ed. Then reality came crashing down on her like a slap to the face, and that was how she spent the rest of her day, trying to come up with an excuse while making sure that the house was spotless, and dinner on the table before Ed got home.
Carol was taken aback that night, when Ed had come home in a relatively good mood. It was rare that he came home in a good mood, and she wasn't about to do or say anything that might set him off. She was extra cautious, making sure she didn't speak unless he asked her a question. She made sure that his food was warm, not too hot, not too cold, but just right. She made sure she grabbed him a beer out of the fridge before he asked for one.
Sophia, seemingly picked up on her father's good mood as well, and was on her very best behavior. That meant, that she was only seen and not heard. As soon as Ed had found out Carol was having a girl, he had very little interest in being a father. Carol was always failing him, and couldn't even give him a son. What the hell was he going to do with a girl?
Carol hated the constant silence of the house. Children were supposed to make messes, they were supposed to make noises and fill the empty space with laughter. She had mistakenly thought that maybe when she had Sophia, Ed would change and become the doting husband and father he had promised her he would be, the one he had tricked her into thinking he would be.
Once Sophia excused herself from the dinner table and went to her room, Ed finally spoke up.
"Frank's having a poker night at his place tomorrow night. Won't be back until Saturday night," he grinned. Poker and alcohol were about the only things that could get Ed out of the house outside of work. Ed's face fell then, back to its usual state. "You better not do anything stupid, you hear?"
"Of course not, Ed," she said, looking him in the eyes. She wanted to smile, but didn't, knowing it would raise suspicion from Ed. It looked like she would be able to go to Lori's after all. It was rare that Ed spent the night away from home, due to his distrust of Carol. It'd be risky, but Carol was confident that she could go to Lori's with Sophia, have a nice normal dinner, and Ed would never be the wiser.
Her nerves had changed into ones of excitement, as she no longer had to try and come up with an excuse. She wasn't sure if she was more excited about the dinner, or the fact that she'd have almost two whole days and a night without Ed.
One thing she knew for sure was the fact that without Ed, tomorrow would undoubtedly be one of the best nights of her life.
AN: Continue? Yea or nay? Honestly, I'll be continuing regardless. This is the first time I'm writing fanfiction for The Walking Dead, and the first time I've written fanfiction in a couple of years. Actually, the first time I've written anything in a long time, not that you folks really care, hehe.
It came about because: 1) I'm a DIE HARD Caryl shipper, and 2) I have a boring ass job, to be honest, and my mind wanders all sorts of dark and scary places. Lately though, this idea has wormed its way in and has been eating at me ever since.
I'm always open to reviews and input. If you want to see something happen in this story, let me know. I'll even ask questions along the way. Nothing's set in stone, and I can go quite a few different ways with this.
So, here's the first question. Who wants to see Daryl next chapter? I know I do ;)