Disclaimer: I don't own anything, except Abby!
As we were walking away, a gunshot was heard so Carl and I both turned around to look at the scene.
"Don't look back." My dad said making both of us look at him. "Just keep walking."
That was our home for so long. I thought as we moved on. I sure hope everyone is okay.
"Carl, slow down." My dad said bringing me back to reality. I was thinking about what happened with the prison and all.
I was helping my dad walk, Carl was way ahead of us. I don't know what his problem is. I don't know if he's upset with me or our dad…or if he's just upset about losing our home and possibly all of our friends. That one is more likely.
"Carl, stop!" My dad yelled again. Carl finally stopped in his tracks. We caught up with him. "We need to stay together. We got to find a place with food, supplies."
Carl was just ignoring him the whole time.
"Hey." My dad put his hand on Carl's shoulder. "We're gonna be—
He trailed off after the look Carl gave him. Okay, so I guess he's mad at our dad. At least it's not me.
Carl started walking again without saying anything to either of us. My dad sighed and glanced at me, I gave him a sympathetic look.
He touched the back of my head for a second. "Come on."
We kept walking until we found a little bar. Maybe we will find some food inside.
"Wait outside, okay?" My dad said to us, specifically Carl. "Keep watch."
"You keep watch." Carl snapped. "You can barely stand. I'm not gonna let you go in there alone."
"Excuse me?" My dad said roughly.
I just watched the two nervously. This wasn't like them. Carl never talks back to our dad.
"We've done this before. I'm gonna help you clear it." Carl held his gun up and snapped. "You should just let me do it myself."
My dad looked mad. He was about to say something, but I spoke first. "I'll keep watch." I said quickly and nodded. "You two go in, I'll stay here. Okay?" I looked at both of them. Carl just looked at my dad, he eventually sighed and gave in. "Let's go." He said.
As I was waiting outside, I heard a bit of a commotion inside then a gunshot followed by my dad's voice. "I said not to." He said.
"You couldn't do it with the ax!" I heard Carl yell even louder.
Yeah, they're obviously not worried about bringing walkers down on us with all their yelling. I thought annoyed.
We moved on. The boys were able to find some food in there after all. It wasn't much but it was something.
We found a little neighborhood. Once again, Carl was way ahead of us. I'm going to have to talk to him. Maybe I can get through to him and find out what's really bothering him.
I suddenly got a little dizzy and almost lost my balance. "Whoa."
"You okay?" My dad asked me.
"Yeah, just a little dizzy spell is all." I smiled.
He gave me a concerned look. "You just got over being really sick. You should take it easy."
"We should take it easy." I corrected him.
"Right." He sighed. "Hey." He called to Carl but of course he ignored him.
"Hey." My dad said again. "Hey."
"Carl!" I called getting annoyed. Carl finally stopped and turned to face us.
"That one's as good as any." My dad said pointing to a house.
My dad opened the door cautiously and we looked around before going in. The first room was clear. I sort of followed my dad but Carl went in a different direction.
"Carl." My dad scolded.
"I got it. All the doors down here are open." Carl said walking down a hallway.
"Just stop!" My dad yelled.
My brother stopped and turned to face my dad. I was anticipating another argument.
"Hey, asshole!" Carl finally yelled and pounded on the wall. My eyes widened. "Hey, shitface! Hey—
"Watch your mouth!" My dad scolded him again. I let out a nervous giggle that I was holding in, but immediately stopped once my dad sent me a glare.
"Are you kidding me?" Carl said annoyed. "If there's one of them down there, they would have come out." With that said, he walked away up the stairs.
My dad looked lost and a little hurt.
"Sorry, daddy." I said.
"He hates me."
"He doesn't hate you."
"Well, he's mad at me."
"Yeah, no shit."
"Hey, you watch your mouth, too, kid."
I rolled my eyes but smiled. "I'm gonna go try to talk to him."
I walked upstairs and found Carl in one of the rooms.
"Hey." I said. "Whatcha doin'?"
"Trying to find something useful."
I sighed and looked around. There were a bunch of video games on a TV stand. I picked one of them up and looked at it. "Well…I doubt you'll find anything in here." I found another one that was a racing game. We used to have it. Carl and I would play all the time, he never beat me. I smiled at the memory. "Check that out." I threw it to him. He looked at it and chuckled.
"We had a lot of fun with that, right?"
"We sure did." He laughed. "Remember that ugly, old lady with the mushroom haircut?"
I laughed loudly. "I forgot about that. But what about their awful names? Remember the one player named Cark?"
My brother laughed out loud. "Yeah, I do remember that. Who the hell names their kid that?"
We continued laughing.
"I miss my Xbox sometimes." Carl admitted.
"Yeah, well…you never would have had one if it wasn't for me." I smiled and put my arm around him. I remember my brother asking for one for Christmas one year. My parents had simply said no because it was too expensive. They were dealing with a lot of medical bills, thanks to me. Anyway, I had saved money from my job specifically so I could buy Carl an Xbox because I knew how bad he wanted one. I'll never forget the expression on his face when he opened it…or my parents for that matter. I smiled at the memory.
"I know." Carl said bringing me out of my reverie. Something suddenly changed in my brother. "But…none of that matters anymore. We'll never play another video game again. So…" He got up and knocked them off the stand and started cutting the wires.
"What are you doing?"
"I'm gonna use them to secure the door."
After he got what he wanted, he headed back downstairs. I sat there sadly for a moment. Seeing a glimpse of the old Carl made me feel sad. I feel so bad for my little brother that he has to grow up in this world. I mean…he's not even the age I was yet when all this started.
Later on, I was putting a blanket over the window when I heard my dad say, "find anything?"
Carl didn't respond, he was tying the door shut. I only spoke because I felt bad. "I found some books. Not really anything important, though."
My dad nodded. "I checked the back door."
"Good." I said and went back to the windows.
He started moving the couch.
"I tied the door shut." Carl said.
"We don't need to take any chances." My dad said and continued to move the couch in front of the door.
"You don't think it'll hold?"
"Carl." My dad scolded. I turned around to watch the scene before me.
"It's a strong knot." He snapped. "Clove hitch. Shane taught me. Remember him?"
I gasped and my eyes widened. How could he say something like that to our dad? That was just horrible and completely uncalled for! I'd like to grab him by the ear right now and drag him in the other room to beat his ass!
"Yeah, I remember him." My dad finally said. "I remember him every day."
There was a brief silence and I could tell Carl felt a little guilty for saying what he did. And he should.
"There something else you want to say to me?" My dad said roughly.
For a second, I thought my dad was going to drag Carl in the other room and beat his ass. "Help me move the couch." Thankfully, that ended when Carl decided to drop it and helped my dad move the couch in front of the door. My dad was breathing heavily after that and I did not like the sound of it. However, I didn't say anything because I didn't want to alarm my little brother.
"This'll have to do for the night." My dad said. He pulled out a bag of chips from his bag and handed it to Carl.
"You gonna have some?" Carl asked my dad.
"You should eat." My dad said. "Both of you."
"We should save it." Carl snapped.
I rolled my eyes. Why does everything have to be an argument with these two.
My dad was trying to open the bag and was struggling. I was about to help him when Carl ripped the bag out of his hands, opened it and then threw it at him. I was surprised at the way he was treating him and I was even more surprised that my dad was letting him. "Hey." My dad held the bag out.
"I don't want any." Carl said.
"Eat it." My dad said sternly and threw the bag down. "Now." He walked away.
Carl glanced at me. I shrugged. "Maybe you should just have some."
He looked at me like I was the dumbest thing ever. "Whose side are you even on?"
"I'm not on anyone's side, Carl, but he's our fuckin' dad. So…just listen to him, just this once."
"Oh yeah, because you're so good at that."
"What's that supposed to mean?" I said apathetically because I knew I was going to lose.
"You never listened to them." Carl stated. "Before all this. You…you were just a problem child. Getting in trouble all the time."
I didn't have a response to that. It was the truth and it hurt my feelings. "He worries about you, about us. You should think about that instead of all this arguing and getting mad at dad. He just wanted you to eat something."
"I'm not hungry." He snapped again.
I sighed. "Do what you want, Carl." I said softly and left to go find my dad.
I found him in the bathroom, he had his shirt off. I gasped at the site of his injuries. "Daddy?" He hurriedly put his shirt back on when he heard me. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, yeah I'm fine." He nodded.
"Don't lie to me!" I snapped. "I'm not a child." Although, I did feel close to tears. "You're not fine. Anyone with eyes can see it."
"I know. I'm sorry. Shhh."
I sniffled. "What happened back there?"
My dad hesitated then nodded. "I fought the Governor. I thought I had him."
"He did a real number on you." I stated. "No one can call that guy a pussy."
"Don't say that, kid." My dad said. "I don't like hearing you talk like that."
I was about to tell him I'm an adult, but instead put my head down. "Sorry."
There was a brief silence.
"Listen, sweetheart," my dad started, "if I don't make it, if I die…you're gonna have to—
"No, dad, don't say that!" I shook my head.
"Hey, hey." He grabbed my face with both of his hands. "You wanted me to be straight with you well I'm being straight with you. You're gonna have to do it. I can't have me hurt either one of you. I don't think it can be Carl."
My eyes widened as I realized what my dad just told me. That's a huge responsibility he just put on me. But…I can do it. He's right, I have to protect my brother. I took a deep breath and nodded. My dad hugged me tightly and kissed my forehead. It was so hard not to cry. I just hugged him back.
A little later, we were all sitting in the living room. My dad was sitting on the couch going through some supplies. I was cleaning my knife and I don't even know what Carl was doing. No one was talking. "Where are the keys?" My dad said out of the blue.
I didn't say anything because I really didn't know what he was talking about. I didn't take any keys. "What did you guys do with the keys?" He asked again. I looked up at him this time.
"I don't know." Carl said. My dad turned to me.
"I'm pretty sure he gave them back to you." I said.
"What do you mean me?" Carl snapped at me. "I never touched them. You're the one that had them!"
I gave him a stupid look. "You're such a liar." I said. "Dad gave them to you to check the back door."
"He gave them to you and then you gave them to me." Carl said. "I know, I remember. I don't have a memory problem." He snapped. That pissed me off.
"Carl." My dad scolded.
I stood up. "Well, apparently you do because you can't remember what you did with the keys. And don't start getting smart with me because I'm not the one to do that to."
Carl stood up and walked over to me. "I'll talk to you however I want, you're not my mom."
"Stop." My dad said.
"You called me a problem child earlier." I laughed. "You've been treating dad like shit all day. If I were him, I'd beat the shit outta you."
"Well, you aren't him. You're the farthest thing from him. And you treated both of them bad!"
"Me?" My eyes widened. "What about how you were with mom before she died. You think she liked that?"
"Stop it now." My dad said.
"You argued with her all the time before this!"
"Oh, shut up." I said annoyed. "Quit bringing up stupid shit from the past. You started an argument over something stupid, too! You had those keys last and you know it. I saw you give them back to dad."
"I didn't start nothing, stupid idiot!"
"Enough you two!" My dad said. We continued to ignore him.
I laughed. "Wow, how mature. Why don't you just go to bed, kid?" I smirked.
"Why don't you? Dumbass."
"Oh right." I raised my eyebrows. "I'm the dumbass."
"You are! You—
"You can't even admit that you took the damn keys!" I yelled. I was getting really annoyed and sick of hearing his voice. I was pretty fired up and pissed off now. It's not good when I get like that.
"Shut up!" My dad said. "Both of you."
I turned my attention to my dad. "Why? Does this annoy you?" I snapped. "Well, now you know how I felt when I had to listen to you and mom argue all the time when I was little. Or when you had me be your messenger because you two were too immature to just talk to each other."
"Abigail, don't talk to me like that, I'm your father." My dad said roughly.
"Yeah, and you said I treat him like shit." Carl said.
I turned back to him angry as ever. "You did! All day! That's all you've been doing is ignoring him or giving him smart answers! Don't try to tell me!"
"You're just as bad!"
"No, I'm not! Not at all!"
"I bet you that—
"Shut the hell up!" My dad yelled silencing both of us. He was right next to us and grabbed both of our arms. He started walking us over to the wall. "If you two are gonna act like children, then I'm gonna treat you like children." He put Carl in one of the corners in the room. I almost laughed. "Stay there and don't move." He directed him. Surprisingly, he listened. My dad walked me over to the other corner and tried to put me there, but I turned the other way.
"You ain't giving me no timeout." I said crossing my arms over my chest. "I'm almost eighteen."
"Hmm." My dad said. "Would you rather go over my knees?"
My face flushed. I couldn't believe he said that. Then, I shook that thought and laughed. "Ha. Yeah, right? You're all broken right now. I'd be down the street before you even raised your hand." I laughed and took a few steps back.
"You really wanna find out?" He was giving me a serious look. I just stood there. He finally reached for my arm but I pulled back.
"No." I said with a grin. "I'll get in the corner." I walked back over to the wall. He put his hands on my shoulders and gently pushed me so I was closer.
"Don't talk to each other." He said. I heard him sit down on the couch. A few minutes had passed with it being completely silent in the room. This felt weird. I can't even remember the last time I was in timeout. Surely it was before I was a double-digit age.
"So…how long do we have to stand like this?" I asked my dad.
"Well, it was going to be five minutes but now it's ten because you talked." My dad answered me.
Carl sighed. "Way to go, Abby." He snapped.
"Shut up!" I said. "He said don't talk to each other not don't talk at all."
"Now it's fifteen." My dad said. "Keep it up. Keep acting like little kids."
I sighed. My dad is right. I'm the older one, I should have prevented this whole thing. I just stood there with my head down. It was quiet for a few minutes.
"And you kids better find those keys." My dad said.
"Dad, you have them." I said.
"No, I do not."
"Yes, you do." I turned around to face him. "They're in your pocket."
He gave me a look but checked his pockets anyway. What do you know? He had the damn keys the whole time. He held them up. "Oh. Yeah, they are here."
"What?" Carl said and turned around.
"Told you." I rolled my eyes.
"Alright, both of you come over here." He said. We both walked over to him. "I want an apology from both of you and then you two will apologize to each other."
"No." Carl said immediately. "I didn't do anything wrong."
I huffed. Really?
"I'm not dealing with this right now." My dad said angrily. "Do what I—
"How can you take care of us when you can't even take care of yourself?" I said. I was just joking, though.
My dad gave me a surprised look. "Excuse me, young lady? What's that supposed to mean?"
I put my hands up. "I don't know. I just always wanted to say that to someone." I said quickly. He looked at me for a moment.
"She's not wrong, though." Carl said.
"I was just joking." I admitted.
"I'm not." Carl said. He walked away then ran upstairs. My dad sighed then looked at me.
"Sorry." I said.
He swallowed before speaking. "You know, Abby, you're older. I expect you to be the mature one."
I smirked but quickly wiped it away. "I know, I'm sorry."
He sighed again. "And I don't need that smart talk from you. It's bad enough I'm getting it from your brother right now."
"How many times do you want me to apologize, dad?" I joked.
"As many times as it takes for it to sink in."
I smiled. "I know. I'm sorry I said all that stuff to you. Really, I am."
He opened his arms and embraced me in a hug. I returned it. My dad kissed my temple twice. I felt him pull my shirt down in the back for me.
We both sat on the couch together, my dad had his arm around me. "Hey, I'm sorry about what mom and I did to you." I looked at him. "I didn't realize what I was putting on you."
I could tell from the look on his face that he really felt bad about that. It made me feel guilty. "Oh, it's okay, daddy." I reassured him. "I know that. I was mad before. You know how I used to get? I didn't mean to bring it up."
"Well, it must be bothering you then." He said, he rubbed my arm. "And the arguing. I'm sorry you had to hear that. Do you think about that a lot? Is it really bothering you?"
I had my head down. "Uh, no…not really. But there is something in particular." He was giving me a weird look. I cleared my throat and turned so I was facing him a little better. "I…I remember an argument you guys had when I was like five or six where you stormed out of the house and…I'm pretty sure it was about me."
My dad gave me a sad look then sighed. "I remember that."
"You remember?" My eyes widened a little. "What was it about? I never could remember." I was desperate to find out. I really needed to know. My dad gave me a strange look. "Just tell me." I said.
My dad sighed yet again. "It was about your medical bills. You were just sick all the time. And then your mom told me you wanted to take music lessons and I just…didn't know how we would afford it. I hated telling you guys no."
I just looked at him. "Oh." I finally said. I looked down sadly. I always knew I was just one big problem.
"…but, uh…it wasn't all you, baby." My dad tried. "I had a really bad day at work, people were being idiots and then there was…that."
I nodded.
"Hey." He lifted my chin so I had to look at him. "You're not gonna be upset over this, are you?"
I had to think about the question. I shrugged. "I hope not."
He gave me a dissatisfied look. "Please, don't be. It was so long ago and I'm sorry."
I nodded and forced a smile. "Thanks, daddy. You know you're my best friend." I moved closer to him, he wrapped his arms around me and kissed my forehead.
"So…were you really going to spank me?" I asked.
"No." He laughed. "Have I ever before?"
"No but you were so serious!"
"You're way too old for that."
"You put us in timeout." I pointed out.
"That's because you were acting like children."
I put my arms out as if to say, "what's the difference then?"
"Well, what? You want me to?"
I gave him a surprised look. He caught me completely off guard. "…"
He grabbed me and tried to put me over his knees. I laughed and pulled away. "No, dad, stop."
"Come here then." He kept trying to get me over there.
"No, daddy." I giggled and pulled back. He finally stopped and laughed then kissed my cheek a bunch of times.
Just then, Carl came downstairs and into the room. He gave us a look then sat down on the other side of the room.
"We should turn in." My dad suggested. We were all in the living room. Carl had taken one of the couch cushions and made himself a small bed on the floor. My dad had the couch. Where the hell am I supposed to sleep? Suddenly, I remembered what my dad told me earlier: if I don't make it, if I die…You're gonna have to do it…I don't think it can be Carl. The words were just playing over and over in my head, haunting me…
"Uhh…maybe one of us should keep watch." I suggested.
"Why?" Carl sounded annoyed. "I'm pretty sure the door is secure enough."
"…yeah, well…shit can still happen."
My dad gave me a look, which I ignored. I shook my head. "Look, I'll keep watch. You guys sleep."
"Suit yourself." Carl said and rolled over.
I nodded then looked over at my dad. He gave me a small smile. It was a sad attempt. I just nodded back at him. It's going to be a long night, but…I have to stay awake in case my dad turns.
It was the worst night ever. I tried to find something to keep me busy, but it was almost impossible to keep my mind off sleep. I could barely keep my eyes open by the time Carl got up.
"Abby, you can go to sleep now." Carl said to me.
I was leaning against the wall. "Okay." I mumbled. I slowly stood up and made my way towards the stairs.
"You can have my spot."
"Nah, fuck that. I need a real bed."
"Well…don't take the cool room with all the video games." Carl called. "I got dibs."
"Whatever." I called back. I'm surprised I made it up the stairs. I don't think I have ever been this tired before. I took the master bedroom because it had the nicest bed and practically collapsed.
I don't know how long I slept, but I have a feeling it wasn't very long. Still, it was better than before. The reason I awoke, though, was because I heard yelling; it sounded like my brother, then a door close. I got up out of bed and rubbed the sleep out of my eyes. Then, I tiptoed downstairs.
"Carl?" I called. No answer. I walked into the room and there was no sign of him, but my dad was still asleep on the couch. I decided not to wake him. I looked around the house but still did not find my brother. Where could be? Please don't tell me he went outside! I looked out the window but still didn't see him. This is not good.
By that time, I figured I should wake up my dad. He will probably be mad that he slept this long.
I gently started to shake his arm. "Dad. Come on, time to wake up." He didn't budge. "Dad? Daddy?" I swallowed hard. "Daddy? Daddy!" I shook him harder. Why isn't he waking up? "Daddy, please! Please wake up! Wake up! Wake up!" I stood up and took a deep breath. Calm down, Abby. I got down on my knees in front of him and put my head on his chest. I sighed in relief at the slow ba-bump of his heart. He's still alive, just in a coma or something.
I sat back and calmed myself down. "What do I do?" I said out loud. I know! Water! I got a bottle of water out of my bag and found a washcloth in the bathroom. I wet it and put it on my dad's forehead. Maybe that will help.
I guess now I'll just wait for Carl to come back.
Suddenly, I felt angry. How could that boy do this to me? Leave without telling me and especially at a time like this. Our dad is in a freaking coma! I contemplated going to look for him but decided it best to just stay here. But when he gets home…he's in so much trouble!
I looked out the window, the sky is getting dark. God, I hope he's okay. Both of them. I glanced over at my still unconscious dad. Please come home, Carl. If he's not already dead, I'm going to kill him. Jeez, maybe I shouldn't joke about that. "Okay, okay, just chill, Abby." I laid down on the half-assed bed Carl made. It's actually kind of comfortable. I closed my eyes.
I must have dosed off because the sound of a door opening and footsteps woke me up. I immediately grabbed my gun and waited. Carl emerged from around the corner, my shoulders slumped and I sighed in relief.
"CARL GRIMES!" I was on my feet in a second and walking over to him. "Where the hell have you been?"
"I-I went to find supplies."
"Yeah? Without telling me?" I screamed.
"You were asleep. A-and you're not my mom."
Something inside me snapped after that. "I'm the closest thing you've got!" I took a step closer to him. "And if you haven't noticed, dad is in a coma."
"I know." He said quietly.
"What? You knew and you still left?" I put my hands up. "Okay, I really wanna beat your ass right now. Don't you EVER leave again without telling me or dad. Is that clear?"
"I'm not a little kid. I don't have—
"Being a kid has nothing to do with it!" I cut him off. "Would I do that to you? Would dad do that to us?"
"No." Carl put his head down.
"No, he wouldn't."
"I feel really bad."
"Good! You should!" I turned around and took a deep breath. "God, Carl how could you do that to me?" I was close to tears. "I was so worried. You and dad. I can't…I can't do that."
"I'm sorry." He walked closer to me. "I'm really sorry, Abby."
I sighed. "It's okay. Just don't ever do it again, all right?"
He nodded and to my surprise, he hugged me. It's usually me that hugs him first. I hugged him back tightly and kissed his cheek.
"All right." I let him go. "Let's go check in on dad."
He nodded and as he was walking away, I gave him a smack on his butt.
"Ow." He said. "That actually hurt."
"Good." I smirked.
It was now pitch black outside and Carl and I were sitting in the living room. He had his head on my shoulder and I was playing with his hair. I think it was putting him to sleep, I was a little tired myself.
"Hey, kiddo, why don't you go on up to bed? I got this." I reassured him.
"No, I'm not leaving you…again."
I just looked at him for a minute before giving him a sideways grin.
Suddenly, our attention was brought to our dad. His breathing changed and then his hand moved. We shared a look of fear. He started moving and moaning kind of like walkers do. I felt all the blood drain from my face and it felt like I was punched in the stomach. It's happening.
Carl gasped and we both moved away from the couch.
"Carl. Stay back." I pulled my gun out.
"No."
"You know what happens." I said sadly. I pointed my gun at "my dad." He fell off the couch and was coming closer.
"Wait." Carl stopped me. "I'll do it."
I hesitated. "…no." I shook my head. "You put mom down. No reason why you should have to do both of them."
I felt his hand on my arm. "I have to. After the way I treated him. Please…"
I thought about what he said…and…I understood. I handed him my gun. "Quickly."
He stood his ground and pointed it at our "dad." It was coming closer. I started breathing heavily and shaking. Tears were involuntarily streaming down my face and I wondered why Carl was being so hesitant. He was crying pretty hard. I was about to take the gun off him. I felt like an idiot. I'm so irresponsible.
"Carl." I said. It was struggling to make its way closer to us on the floor. Finally, it grabbed my brother's foot.
"Carl!" My eyes were super wide.
"I can't." He cried and put the gun down. "I was wrong. Just do it." He put his head back and looked away.
I don't think he was talking to me and it about killed me. I was about to grab the gun but I heard the best sound that I ever heard in my life.
"Kids." My dad said. Carl and I just stared at my dad. "Don't go outside. Stay safe." Then he rolled over and passed out again. I couldn't believe it!
"He's alive!" I cried. "Alive!"
I put my arm around Carl and grabbed my dad's hand. My brother and I cried together.
"I'm scared." Carl said quietly. "I'm scared. I'm scared."
"Don't be." I whispered and kissed his head. "We're gonna be okay now."
"You shouldn't have risked it, going out there like that." My dad told Carl. "It's dangerous."
It was morning and the three of us were sitting there on the living room floor talking. My dad was in the middle with his arms around us.
"I was careful." Carl replied. "And don't worry. Abby already took care of me. She yelled worse than mom…and she spanked me."
"What?" My dad gave me an amused look.
"That's right." I crossed my arms. "I don't think he'll be running off again anytime soon."
"Did he say he was sorry?"
"What? You're taking her side?" Carl said. "She hit me."
"Hmm…I guess he just likes me better than you." I shrugged.
My dad laughed. "All right. You," he pointed at Carl. "No more running off and you," he pointed at me, "no spankin' your brother. Although I bet it was pretty funny."
"It's a shame ya missed it." I smiled.
Carl glared at us.
"I'm just kidding." My dad laughed. "It's good that you found more food."
"I found even more. But I ate it." Carl said.
"What was it?" Asked my dad.
"112 ounces of pudding." Carl laughed.
I grimaced. "How in God's name did you eat—you know what, never mind. I don't wanna know."
My dad chuckled at us. Then there was a brief pause.
"I know we'll never get things back to the way they used to be." My dad said breaking the silence.
"What?" Carl asked him. I just gave him a questioning look.
"I only clung to that for you. For Judith. Now she's…gone." My dad put his head down. I became saddened.
"And you…you're a man, Carl." My dad said. "You're a man. I'm sorry."
"You don't need to be." Carl gave our dad a small smile. I smiled at the two of them.
Our nice moment was soon broken up by a knock on the door. It was so quiet that hearing that made all three of us jump.
My dad was the first to react. "Stay back." He told us.
Carl and I both held our guns up. My dad looked out the peep hole then started to laugh. Carl and I shared a look. Has he gone crazy?
"What?" Carl finally asked.
My dad looked at my brother and said, "It's for you."
I was so confused. I looked out the window and gasped. It was Michonne!